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star photography

Looking at the Samyang 18mm FE for star photography

Oct 13, 2020 by Ole Henrik Skjelstad Add Comment
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We reviewed the Samyang 18mm FE in February, but that was too late for the milky way season. From the middle of August, it is sufficiently dark in southern parts of Norway to shoot the stars. We have a rather modest window every month where the moon doesn’t wash out the stars. During that time we need to get lucky with clouds.

I have been out with the Samyang 18mm FE for three evenings this fall. The small and lightweight lens hasn’t disappointed. On the contrary.

The Samyang is sharp wide open, vignetting is well controlled and the stars look very decent at close inspection. Let’s have a closer look at a few images; please remember that high iso is not optimal for details and sharpness. All images below were shot with the Sony a7r III.

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Astrophotographers: The Moon, Venus and Jupiter will form a smiley face in the sky next month

Apr 2, 2020 by John Aldred 15 Comments
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UPDATE: there will be no smiley in the sky tonight. What we thought of as a smiley, will be a rare conjunction (close pairing) of Venus and Mercury.

As Forbes points out, on May 22, 2020  you will see the bright planet Venus about 10º above the horizon. Look just beneath it and you’ll see the tiny red dot of the planet Mercury. They will be just 0.5º apart

It’s almost like a great cosmic “It’ll be ok”, but next month, on May 16th, to be precise, a crescent moon will sit in the sky beneath Jupiter and Venus to form a smiley face amongst the stars. The scientific term for such an event is an occultation and in this case, it happens when the moon is positioned between Earth and Venus.

The timing of such an event might seem like a sign from above, but they’re not as uncommon as you might think. It was visible in 2008 from Asia and 2012 from Australia to North America. But they are easy to miss, only being visible for a short period after sunset.

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Automated star tracking astrophotography with Sky-Watcher

Nov 4, 2019 by John Aldred 2 Comments
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There are generally two types of astrophotography. There’s the kind that’s more like landscape photography, where the skies form a part of the overall scene with the ground, and then there’s the kind where the skies are the main subject and focus of the images. Sky-Watcher makes devices to help with the latter.

Specifically, we’re talking about the Sky-Watcher trackers, which rotate your camera counter to the earth’s rotation to shoot long exposures of the stars and distant planets. We caught up with Sky-Watcher at PhotoPlus 2019 to find out more about them and how they work.

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How To Photograph The Stars – A guide to astrophotography

Dec 11, 2018 by Richard Johnston Add Comment
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Before we get started it’s essential to understand that astrophotography takes time and practise in order to achieve good results, so don’t get frustrated if you don’t nail it on the first go. When it comes to photographing the night sky there isn’t an exact setting which is going to achieve the same results across the board. This is due to the amount atmospheric light which is available in your area. So in order to help get you started, we decided to write ‘how to photograph the stars’.

Our aim is to shed some light on the type of equipment you will need and give you a general starting point for where your settings ‘should’ be so that you can head out into the night and have some fun with it.

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The world’s largest digital camera is definitely not designed for shooting selfies

Nov 21, 2018 by John Aldred Add Comment
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It’s not often that one has to wipe down, cover up and head into a clean room to check out a camera. For the guys at Gizmodo, though, when visiting the SLAC National Accelerator Lab at Stanford University, it’s a requirement. And it’s easy to understand why. This 3.2 gigapixel camera is destined to sit inside a telescope in the Andean foothills of Chile to survey the skies.

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America declares its first International Dark Sky Reserve for astrophotographers and stargazers

Dec 20, 2017 by John Aldred 6 Comments
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Finding somewhere truly dark for astrophotography becomes more and more difficult with each passing day. Light pollution always seems to be increasing. Towns and cities are ever expanding, getting larger and brighter. And many astrophotographers guard the secrets of their favourite spots to shoot. For those just getting into it, finding somewhere dark can be quite the challenge.

Now, though, America has a designated 1,400 square mile (3,600 square km) area of Central Idaho set aside for stargazing and astrophotography. Designated as America’s first International Dark Sky Reserve, the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve joins only 11 other such locations around the world.

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Shoot for the stars – The beginner’s guide to astrophotography

May 30, 2017 by John Aldred 1 Comment
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I’m not really a big astrophotographer, the skies are just too bright around here most of the time. I’ve dabbled with it here and there, but never anything serious. Recently, though, I’ve found myself in possession of the Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens (review coming soon). With a lens this wide (field of view) and this wide (aperture), it was made for astrophotography. So I’ve been experimenting again.

So, this video from YouTuber Josh Katz has come along at just the right time for me. He too, says he’s no expert in photographing the night sky, but he knows enough to explain the basics and get you started. Also like myself, Josh lives in an area where there’s a constant struggle to find a sky dark enough to actually be worth shooting. But he offers a few tips for that, too.

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Star Eater – Why I No Longer Recommend Sony Cameras for Astrophotography: An Open Letter to Sony

May 5, 2017 by Ian Norman 6 Comments
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Sony makes excellent cameras. In the last few years, they launched a completely new full frame camera system that has pushed the bounds of digital photography. I switched entirely to Sony gear after first seeing the tremendous low-light capability of their a7S and have enjoyed many outings shooting astrophotography on many different Sony camera bodies since. I have previously recommended Sony gear to countless numbers of fellow photographers looking for the best landscape astrophotography cameras. That is no longer the case. If you want to shoot landscape astrophotography, don’t buy a Sony. If you already have a Sony camera, don’t update the firmware.

Here’s why I no longer recommend Sony cameras and how the latest firmware update made Sony’s a7RII and a7SII terrible for astrophotography.

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This is what the canon rubber thingy on your strap is for

Aug 22, 2016 by Udi Tirosh 8 Comments
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If you own a Canon and use their strap. Have you ever wondered what that little rubber thingy on the end of the strap is? I did, and I don’t even use a Canon. Turns out this little rubber thingy is a cap. And not just a cap, it is used to block the view finder so there are zero light leaks and flares. It’s usefull for when you are doing extra long exposures, light shooting stars at night. Huge thanks to Bassam Sabbagh for sharing this tip with us.

Now if you wanna go out and shoot stars, this is how to start.

 

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World’s Biggest Digital Camera Secures Funding; Checks In At 3200 Megapixels And Weighs Over 3 Tons

Jan 16, 2015 by Tiffany Mueller 12 Comments
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Scheduled to be completed in 2022, the prized digital camera that will be part of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) has recently garnered “Critical Decision 2” approval from the Department of Energy (DOE). Together with funding the telescope received in 2014 from the National Science Foundation, the DOE’s approval sealed the deal, as officials from LSST have confirmed the world’s most powerful camera will be completed on schedule.

Even if we do have to wait 7 years to see a photo from it, the camera is poised to be a revolutionary new pathway to space exploration. It will weigh in at just over 3 tons and will be similar in size to a small car–making it the world’s largest digital camera.

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Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

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