Astrophotgraphy with the Nikon D3200
Here I am using..
Nikon D3200 with the standard lens kit that came with it, i.e the 18-55mm VR
Jessops TP327 Tripod
A cheap remote shutter release from Amazon. (Eliminates camera movement when you're clicking the picture)
For optimal conditions, check out this website to see if your chosen location for photographing the night sky is heavily light polluted. It may well be that you don't have to go far to find a place that has less light pollution.
https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=8&lat=7080697&lon=-111788&layers=B0TFFFFFFF
Huddersfield has a high amount of light pollution, and whilst there isn't a chance in hell of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye, there is still opportunity for some nice photos from the back garden. My main issue at the moment is getting a clear night sky free of cloud cover.
Camera Settings
Focal Length: 18mm
Mode: Manual. (so that you can manually set the rest of the settings below).
F-stop: 3.5
Exposure: 30 seconds
ISO: 3200
Photo Type: RAW + JPG
Getting the focus right
One method I had read about was to use the electronic viewfinder to zoom into a bright star and then adjust the focus. I found this to be completely useless as I could not get anything but image noise through the viewfinder. Instead, I set the focus ring so that the lens was fully retraced, chose a spot to photograph (in this case Orion) and using the peaks and troughs of the focus ring grip as a guide, turned the ring by a single peak/trough each time I took a photo. After taking 5 shots, going back inside and examining each photo I was able to determine that the optimal place seemed to be turning the focus ring four peak/troughs from the start point.
Setting a good exposure duration
Due to the earths rotation there is a general rule that exposure time should be no more than 500 divided by focal length. In my case this is 27.7 seconds.
For the first test I set it to 30s and when zoomed in, it is quite clear that the stars are elongated. I'm not convinced the extra 2 seconds will have made much of a difference given the degree of elongation occurring and will try ISO 6400 next time at a lower exposure and attempt to utilize the free tool Deep Sky Stacker to eliminate extra image noise that may occur from using a higher ISO (http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html).
This is the result....
After opening the RAW NEF file in Photoshop and setting...
Exposure -2.6
Contrast +86
Shadows +100
Whites + 7
Blacks -65
Clarity +70
This is the result.
All in all, not a bad first attempt. The next step will be getting some calibration shots taken ready for using Deep Sky Stacker and also taking down that clothes line!
Nikon D3200 with the standard lens kit that came with it, i.e the 18-55mm VR
Jessops TP327 Tripod
A cheap remote shutter release from Amazon. (Eliminates camera movement when you're clicking the picture)
For optimal conditions, check out this website to see if your chosen location for photographing the night sky is heavily light polluted. It may well be that you don't have to go far to find a place that has less light pollution.
https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=8&lat=7080697&lon=-111788&layers=B0TFFFFFFF
Huddersfield has a high amount of light pollution, and whilst there isn't a chance in hell of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye, there is still opportunity for some nice photos from the back garden. My main issue at the moment is getting a clear night sky free of cloud cover.
Camera Settings
Focal Length: 18mm
Mode: Manual. (so that you can manually set the rest of the settings below).
F-stop: 3.5
Exposure: 30 seconds
ISO: 3200
Photo Type: RAW + JPG
Getting the focus right
One method I had read about was to use the electronic viewfinder to zoom into a bright star and then adjust the focus. I found this to be completely useless as I could not get anything but image noise through the viewfinder. Instead, I set the focus ring so that the lens was fully retraced, chose a spot to photograph (in this case Orion) and using the peaks and troughs of the focus ring grip as a guide, turned the ring by a single peak/trough each time I took a photo. After taking 5 shots, going back inside and examining each photo I was able to determine that the optimal place seemed to be turning the focus ring four peak/troughs from the start point.
Setting a good exposure duration
Due to the earths rotation there is a general rule that exposure time should be no more than 500 divided by focal length. In my case this is 27.7 seconds.
For the first test I set it to 30s and when zoomed in, it is quite clear that the stars are elongated. I'm not convinced the extra 2 seconds will have made much of a difference given the degree of elongation occurring and will try ISO 6400 next time at a lower exposure and attempt to utilize the free tool Deep Sky Stacker to eliminate extra image noise that may occur from using a higher ISO (http://deepskystacker.free.fr/english/index.html).
 |
| Nikon D3200/18mm/30s/3200 ISO/Single frame - Earth rotation issue at long exposure |
This is the result....
 |
| Nikon D3200/18mm/30s/3200 ISO/Single frame - Light pollution visible |
After opening the RAW NEF file in Photoshop and setting...
Exposure -2.6
Contrast +86
Shadows +100
Whites + 7
Blacks -65
Clarity +70
This is the result.
 |
| Nikon D3200/18mm/30s/3200 ISO/Single frame - NEF Raw processed in Photoshop |
All in all, not a bad first attempt. The next step will be getting some calibration shots taken ready for using Deep Sky Stacker and also taking down that clothes line!
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