Star shooting with D5000

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Mis Adam

Senior Member
I was just wondering if anyone out there has attempted star shooting with the D5000 and what lens you used. I attempted this after reading an article in Digital Camera Magazine.
I used some of the tips they suggest as far as simple camera settings (wide open AV of f4 and an ISO of 800-1600) I tried manual and auto but I feel that I found myself more and more frustrated and excited at the same time. I was having trouble with focusing. When I was in manual mode it seemed worse to focus than in auto. Are there any tips you can give for another attempt. All help is greatly appreciated.
these are what ended up being my two best shots. (lens used was 18-55 and the 55-200)(both shots were at 55mm)
6 25 11 (2)crp.jpg


6 25 11 (3)crp.jpg
 
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Carolina Photo Guy

Senior Member
The first question that comes to mind is...

What are you focusing on?

The nearest star to earth that is not the sun is Proxima Centauri. 4.3 light years away or approximately 14 TRILLION kilometers!

ALL of the rest of the stars are a LOT farther away.

Focus is not the problem. TIME of exposure is. You can actually open the aperture all the way, focus to infinity and keep the shutter open about 10 minutes!

Of course, this is NOT at 6 pm. This is more like midnight. ;)

Hope this helps.
 
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Mis Adam

Senior Member
I was just trying to get the stars to look clearer than they did to mean but I wasn’t getting it to work. LOL maybe that was my issue or it was the time of 1/30 . I will be attempting this again real soon but allot further from the city lights from where I was as at. We were only about 10-15 miles away from the nearest city. I plan to go further into Utah’s desert this next trip. I will use the information you provided. Thank you so much.
 
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Mike150

Senior Member
Just a note for consideration:
I have the same two lenses you listed. I've found that during manual focus, turning the focus ring all the way to the stop is actually infinity and beyond (quoting Buzz Lightyear).

You have to back off a little. I understand this is because the focus motor needs a little extra room to accomodate for overshoot during focusing. If not it would be banging into the stops at infinity. (motors can't start and stop instantly). I had to practice during the daytime to get a feel for how much to back off on the focus ring.
 
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KWJams

Senior Member
Some of the most awesome night skies I ever saw was on highway 50 through western Utah and central Nevada!
They seem so close that you can reach out and touch them.
Looking forward to seeing your shots. :)
 
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Mis Adam

Senior Member
Thanks all your tips are wonderful, I kind of cheated in my own back yard last night let the camera motor go a couple of time and watched it through the view finder and mimicked it with manual to get what I saw I think it worked I got a really cool shot thanks to a neighbor that drove by, the head lights kind of turned the sky and orange color. So cosmic looking. last night was much more clear and there were a ton, hubby was checking them in the telescope so I decided to practice on the harder ones with city lights then go out in the desert and go for it again ( these are attempt #2 from my back yard in the middle of the city)
Both shot have the same information of
f/4
30 sec
ISO 800
55MM


06 26 11 (2)back yard.jpg.


06 26 11 (6)backyard.jpg
 
M

Mis Adam

Senior Member
KWJams said:
Some of the most awesome night skies I ever saw was on highway 50 through western Utah and central Nevada!
They seem so close that you can reach out and touch them.
Looking forward to seeing your shots. :)
Click to expand...

You should see it off the sand dunes in Juab county. on a weekend that is not hoppen of course. nothing like sand and stars . I took my best moon shot out there a few years ago with a pentax slrk20d it was so awesome. it looked as if it was sitting right on top of sand mountain.
 
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Mis Adam

Senior Member
Carolina Photo Guy said:
You keep up the good work! Soon, it will be second nature to you! :)
Click to expand...

practice is the best part of photography in my mind. Its really nice to know that all the reading of the mag's and books on photography tips and tricks is gonna pay off one day.

@ Ken if you are interested in the moon here is a link to my photo shop page. myst-shyft's gallery | Photoshop.com ( I hope its ok to post that) I didnt want to post it here since it was taken with my first major DSLR camera. the Pentax K20D.
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Know the area very well. :) I finished 1st place at the Sugarloafer's Cherry Creek 2003 Hare & Hound in the Vintage Class on my 1970 Triumph.

Not sure if this will help (since I am learning this DSLR stuff myself) but the D5000 has a bulb mode where as I understand it,from a tripod and a remote, if you go to "M" and after pre-focusing and turning off the noise and selecting an aperture then open the shutter in the bulb mode you can leave the shutter open as long as needed instead of setting a long shutter speed. I was reading about this today and it is supposed to be the best way for shooting things like lightning and fireworks. I would guess that stars would be the same.

Hopefully someone who know more about this can step in here. :)
 
M

Mis Adam

Senior Member
there is something to that sort in a book I just finished and learned so much from. it was called Nikon D5000 from snapshots to great shots. that book was so wonderful on tips and tricks for the D5000. It is a must read for sure if you just get the D5000. I havent had a chance to see the cherrry creek races yet but there is some awesome stuff to get lost in out there, if you like old abondened things.
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Yes -- that is the same book! Tremendous book that helped me understand how to go beyond scene modes! :)

When you said old things I thought of Porter Rockwell's place where me and some freinds rode to several times and did a google search and found this --> YouTube - ‪Cherry Creek Utah To Porter Rockwell Ranch‬‏

My legs are killing me just watching that guy on them whooped out trails. It is like Disneyland for dirtbikers. :cool:
 
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Mis Adam

Senior Member
LOL I watched that same video the day we decided to go get stuck in the mud just after the trurn off for stone cabin above the cherry creek res. Its all fun till you have to call the sheriff to pull you out. ha ha ! I had a blast out at Rockwell taking pictures. Its nice to know something like that can still be there with as many riders that pass by, and do not destroy but take care of it. (for the most of them anyway) that is one thing I can say about most Utah ATVers is they try to keep what they have and tred lightly. BLM loves to try and take the fun out of adventure.
I will have to pull the file and add a couple to the folder on here.
and thank you on the moon shots. that was the shot that really got my Photograpy hobby from low gear to high. thinking I actually did that.
 
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mabey9

New member
Can someone explain how to shoot a 30 second exposure with a Nikon d5000 I am novice to photography and want to shoot the stars a step by step message would help
 
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