[samyshah]

Hello All

I have been trying to see if I can get some tips or guidelines on how to do Star Trails or Milky Way photography using a Nikon D5100.

I understand some basic requirements are to use a tripod, go far away to a place where there is hardly any city pollution etc etc

But I am looking for guidelines in terms of how to set the equipment (Nikon D5100, 18-55mm or 55-200mm or a 50mm prime lens) as in like what should be the shutter speed, the f-stop and the ISO settings per say.

I look forward to your inputs.

Cheers
Samy

[vlad]

Hi!
For shooting non star trails photos of stars you need a shorter shutter speed than 1 minute. When I did this type of shots I was using my 50 mm lens at f1.4, along with a shutter speed of 30 seconds and the necessary ISO for the correct exposure. For startrails shot just use a long enough shutterspeed for the trail to take place, and use the other two parameters to adjust exposure. Make sure you use a tripod and the camera's timer or remote. Shoot in manual mode and go for trail and error (pun intended).

[cloudrider]

Hello All

I have been trying to see if I can get some tips or guidelines on how to do Star Trails or Milky Way photography using a Nikon D5100.


Cheers
Samy

The first step is fresh batteries. Keeping the shutter open a long time eats batteries. If you want the iconic picture of star trails around a central point, you must center the view on the north star. I don't know what it would be in the southern hemisphere. Focus the camera to infinity, or an object as far away as possible. Set the camera to the lowest F stop your lens will allow, and the ISO to 100, and experiment on the duration of the shutter (obviously set the camera to bulb). Leaving the shutter open 5 minutes will give you 24 hours divided by 5 minutes of arc divided by 360 degrees ( a full rotation in 24 hours) ie. about .8 of a degree. Experiment with the ISO setting and F stop to compensate for earth shine and light pollution.
If you want a Milky Way picture experiment with a wide open lens and high ISO. The higher the ISO the more "noise you will have. Try it, it's personal choice how much you can stand. As a rule of thumb the stars will "streak" after 2-5 seconds. If you are rich this can be avoided by buying a motorized mount used for telescopes and mounting the camera to the mount. Be warned they are very tricky to calibrate and setup. One last thing do this on a "new moon" (no light from the moon to spoil the shot).

[samyshah]

I really appreciate all your inputs Vlad and Cloudrider. I shall experiment with these settings and come back and let you know how it went. Maybe I just have to get it going once and with lot of trial and errors shall be able to achieve the final result.

[Barbara G.]

Thanks cloudrider for the tips! Welcome to the forums - great to have you here with us!

[Barbara G.]

Here is a video tutorial which may also be helpful for some on ShutterTalk:

[samyshah]

Thanks a lot Barbara! This video is of great help and outlines the tips perfectly. Exactly the piece of information that I was looking for. I have to give it a try now and I hope I can get a good photo.