Anza-Borrego Night Sky Panorama
- Thread starter Dave_W
- Start date
What was your exif for this one Dave? iso, shutter speed and aperture?
I used my 14-24mm and varied the ISO from 4000 to 6400 to keep the shutter speed below 20 sec. This exposure is 15 sec @ f-3.2. But I'm not really liking the results and am going to try it again tonight only this time from on top of a mountain instead of the desert. I'm also going to use my 28mm f/1.8G lens. I've been avoiding using it solely due to the lack of wide angle but I think I can make up for it with faster exposures when gathering up a panorama.
I'm also not completely convinced the in-camera NR is any better than PP NR and up to now I have good evidence that it's not but tonight I'm going to definitely settle the question
BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Nice shots. I'm with you on the in-camera NR, and I almost don't even bother with it any more. I definitely wouldn't if I needed to shoot panos at night - things move too quickly at 15-20 seconds a clip, even if they only move a little.
I'm struggling with the trade off between lower ISO vs. higher ISO's, as well as the interplay between length of exposure & ISO vs. the different levels of NR and High ISO NR.
For instance, if you shoot the stars at a lower ISO like 2800 or 1600 and you limit your exposure to 15 sec (to keep the stars as close as possible to single points) you end up with less heat and high ISO noise, however, when you raise the exposure levels during PP you introduce a significant amount of noise. On the other hand, if you raise the ISO level up to say 4000 to 6400, you introduce a great deal of heat noise. So my question is which type of noise is easier to deal with? ISO/heat noise or exposure attenuation noise produced during PP?
That's one variable I would like to fully understand. I would also like to finish up the conversation you and I had on NR. I would like to both understand the role of Long Exposure NR and High ISO NR vs. NR performed during PP vs. both NR and PP NR. Which is why I'm not altogether satisfied with these images. I would like to have convinced myself that a lower ISO coupled with PP NR would have produced less noise than a higher ISO and the combo of in-camera and PP NR. I am also not thrilled by the light pollution coming from in on the horizon. I can get the MW higher in the sky but will still be hampered to one degree or another with this orange light pollution. So my next adventure will be on top of Mt. Laguna and hopefully be above the bulk of the pollution. I had intended on leaving very early this morning but it's going to have to wait until tonight. Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some answers (or more questions) about these variables.