Photography tips, tricks and hints.

I know of a sweet stargazing spot up here. We should check it out when you move here. Come alone....
 
There's a great site called borrowlenses.com that you can rent anything from basic telephoto lenses to the same lenses the pros use at sporting events - like those big ass white Canon L lenses that can cost several thousand dollars. I've rented several different telephotos for a week or two for the kids sporting events & special occasions. Check it out - the rates are pretty reasonable. Also good for trying out a lens you're thinking of purchasing. There were a couple I was seriously considering but after renting decided they weren't the way to go.
 
trailraider said:
thank you

I currently just have two , both are Nikon lens 70/300vr and a 18/55vr. i have tries running a small f stop bit then the shutter has to be open longer causing the star chasers. although i think it was a 22 i tried
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turn off the VR on the lens when tripod mounted- and suggestions made by others
 
trailraider said:
usually when i'm out in the country/mountains. no city, i like the pitch black and trying to take pictures of stars.

tripod for sure with remote to limit and shaking.
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You need fast lenses, primes are usually fast for cheap. Your shutter speed can't exceed 30 seconds or else you will get trails instead of sharp stars. You need a body that can do 3600-6400 ISO with relative cleanliness, and do some post work. If you have specific questions, I can help. :)
 
Make sure your VR is turned OFF when using the tripod. They don't play well together. Use your 18-55, set to 18, aperture wide open, focus to infinity. Use your Live view zoomed in and manual focus to dial it in. Try not to go longer then 30 seconds, the Stars will start to smear. Get as far away from light pollution as possible, and don't expect it to look amazing right out of the camera. It will need a little work to bring out the Milky Way.


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I use an old canon rebel XT and due to its age evry night photo comes out noisey. So i always set the image to RAW and the camera has an option for sharpness and i set it to medium as well. Now i mostly use a hero 5 for night photos though.

Here is a picture ive taken with my canon if you zoom in you can see the grainyness in it

IMG_6976+%281%29.jpeg

Here is a similar picture with my hero 5
GOPR0568_1494562112003_high.jpeg

There is a lot less noise when zoomed in.
 
GraniteCrystal said:
Hard for me to justify at this point with the quality of pics my phone is producing. The camera purists will hate me for that, but it's true.
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That's the reason I want a DSLR. My buddy had one on a road trip we took. My phone did better than my point and shoot camera, but his DSLR was amazing, and he'd only had it about 2 weeks. He didn't really know how to use it to full potential.


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notnalc68 said:
That's the reason I want a DSLR. My buddy had one on a road trip we took. My phone did better than my point and shoot camera, but his DSLR was amazing, and he'd only had it about 2 weeks. He didn't really know how to use it to full potential.


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I have the Canon you posted up above. Like you said, I haven't used it enough to really take advantage of all the manual settings. But from the pics we have taken so far, the auto setting on the Canon is far and away better than any IPhone picture we've ever taken. I can't wait to really dive into it more in the future. Unfortunately, not a ton of scenery to take advantage of it here in Texas lol.


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Mike_JK_Houston_711 said:
I have the Canon you posted up above. Like you said, I haven't used it enough to really take advantage of all the manual settings. But from the pics we have taken so far, the auto setting on the Canon is far and away better than any IPhone picture we've ever taken. I can't wait to really dive into it more in the future. Unfortunately, not a ton of scenery to take advantage of it here in Texas lol.


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I just talked to a friend that is kind of semi-pro in photography, and he recommended that Canon. He started with that model.

There's a lot of beauty in Texas. Maybe not so much around Houston, but it's there.


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GraniteCrystal said:
Hard for me to justify at this point with the quality of pics my phone is producing. The camera purists will hate me for that, but it's true.
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First I'll say that in no way shape or form am I anything other than an amateur, but phone cameras can't match the shutter speeds that a SLR camera is capable of. If your interests are landscapes and pictures of Jeeps on the trail then a phone camera
is great. They can't capture images like this though. I caught these dragsters at 1/8000 shutter speed about 1/20th of a second past the green light. Look at how the tires are wrinkled. If you're into action pics then a SLR is hard to beat. Paired with really good prime lenses they can be awesome

dragsters.jpg

notnalc68 said:
Actually, the great tightwad, trying to find a good camera, that won't break the bank. I'm not sure how dedicated I'll be to being really proficient with one.
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I use a Canon 7D MKII and its a great camera. But you can get pretty good results with the Canon T series (or the Nikon equivalent) and there are some really good packages out there. Costco always has the Canons & Nikons on display in the electronic sections and always have good prices as well. You might be surprised at how much you actually use it. The best thing about digital is that you can delete the shitty pics & only keep the good ones
 
Ddays said:
First I'll say that in no way shape or form am I anything other than an amateur, but phone cameras can't match the shutter speeds that a SLR camera is capable of. If your interests are landscapes and pictures of Jeeps on the trail then a phone camera
is great. They can't capture images like this though. I caught these dragsters at 1/8000 shutter speed about 1/20th of a second past the green light. Look at how the tires are wrinkled. If you're into action pics then a SLR is hard to beat. Paired with really good prime lenses they can be awesome

View attachment 266919



I use a Canon 7D MKII and its a great camera. But you can get pretty good results with the Canon T series (or the Nikon equivalent) and there are some really good packages out there. Costco always has the Canons & Nikons on display in the electronic sections and always have good prices as well. You might be surprised at how much you actually use it. The best thing about digital is that you can delete the shitty pics & only keep the good ones
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Nice. I had seen those pics, already but I hadn't zoomed in to notice the detail. Thanks Jerry.


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notnalc68 said:
Nice. I had seen those pics, already but I hadn't zoomed in to notice the detail. Thanks Jerry.


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You bet! One other thing great about the SLR's is the lens availability. I rent lenses from borrowlenses.com to try out or for special occasions for really good prices. It allows you to see if a particular lens is what you are looking for without having to spend hundreds of dollars only to find out that the lens doesn't work like you thought it would. There are good reviews on the lenses there as well.
 
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