night sky/stars at DVinfo.net

Nagisa Kodama · July 24th, 2007, 09:05 PM

Is it possible to get USABLE footage of a starlit sky with the A1? The moon I can get, but the surrounding clouds are non-existent black. I'm pretty sure that a framing of the moon will come out, but maybe that the light of stars are too weak to be filmed.

Doug Davis · July 24th, 2007, 09:24 PM

I haven't really tried but I would assume to be able to get remotely usable footage you could set the shutter to the longest possible shutter (1/3) (24p) and open up the aperture as much as possible depending on how far you have to zoom in... Then you could mess with the gain... But unfortunately that would introduce quite a good bit of noise....

You could just do what everyone else does and CG them in... lol... j/k...

Henry Cho · July 24th, 2007, 10:33 PM

when shooting a starry night sky with an slr camera, shutter speed is measured in seconds, not fraction of seconds. a shutter speed of 1/3 is still way too fast. additionally, it would be very tough for any video camera, including the current crop of hd cameras, to resolve all the tiny speckles that are stars in a nice wide shot of the nighttime sky. a good still camera would be your best bet.

Doug Davis · July 24th, 2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Henry Cho

when shooting a starry night sky with an slr camera, shutter speed is measured in seconds, not fraction of seconds. a shutter speed of 1/3 is still way too fast. additionally, it would be very tough for any video camera, including the current crop of hd cameras, to resolve all the tiny speckles that are stars in a nice wide shot of the nighttime sky. a good still camera would be your best bet.

Oh yeah... I agree the A1 would probably yield marginal results at best... As well as any other 'video' camera out there that I know of... Except an SLR, something maybe like a D80 or D200...

Chris Hurd · July 25th, 2007, 07:39 AM

The Canon XH can do it as a still photo but not nearly as well with video.

See my images here:
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72218
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=68770

Those are from an XL H1 but could be done with an XH and a teleconverter.

Matthew Nayman · July 25th, 2007, 10:19 AM

Your best bet, if you need it for a shot, is to lock off your camera, film your night time scene, and then drop in some matte-painted or photographed stars in after effects. Check out Close Encounters of the Third Kind for how effective this can be.

Or, if you need time-lapse footage of moving stars use a DSLR and use a wide shutter, taking one picture every 30 seconds (maybe 3 second shutter)... looks great as a jpeg sequence.

Jay Cowley · September 7th, 2008, 09:47 PM

i've seen movies in which the night sky and stars are very vivid and large, with actors shown doing things below the sky, in that same shot. One that comes to mind is a scene from Pearl Harbour, that shows the night sky with stars everywhere. how are they able to do this?

David W. Jones · September 8th, 2008, 06:06 AM

It can be done with a DSLR or a video camera.
The trick to keeping the shot from smearing while extending the shutter time, "remember the Earth is spinning", is to mount your camera to a telescope controller.
I use a Meade AutoStar setup with the telescope mount removed, and use a custom bracket to mount the camera. You can then program the unit to hold position while the Earth is turning.
Good Luck with your project!

Juan Parmenides · September 9th, 2008, 02:09 AM

I use my Nikons D200 or D300 to do this. With the Nikon D300 you can raise the ISO to 800 with no increasing noise. Take shots in a solid tripod, sequenced, every shot must be about 10-12 seconds, (for a 50mm f:1,8 lens), no more time or you will get star trails.
Import the images to your software to do "Stop motion".
Put the camera in a high place, outside the city, to avoid contamination.
And good luck.

Philip Younger · September 10th, 2008, 03:05 AM

I wonder if it would be possible shooting through a night vision monocular or similar - the one my brother has for fishing / hunting (and in his case finding poachers!) has a camera adapter ring - obviously this shoots in green instead of black, but could be shot in black & white.

Annie Haycock · September 11th, 2008, 01:57 AM

There is an adapter that enables you to do this. Alana used to sell them - probably still do but I haven't checked their catalogue lately

Alana Ecology Wildlife, Nature Conservation and Field Equipment

July 24th, 2007, 09:05 PM	#1
Nagisa Kodama Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: California Posts: 28	night sky/stars Is it possible to get USABLE footage of a starlit sky with the A1? The moon I can get, but the surrounding clouds are non-existent black. I'm pretty sure that a framing of the moon will come out, but maybe that the light of stars are too weak to be filmed.

July 24th, 2007, 09:24 PM	#2
Doug Davis Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Birmingham Alabama Posts: 259	I haven't really tried but I would assume to be able to get remotely usable footage you could set the shutter to the longest possible shutter (1/3) (24p) and open up the aperture as much as possible depending on how far you have to zoom in... Then you could mess with the gain... But unfortunately that would introduce quite a good bit of noise.... You could just do what everyone else does and CG them in... lol... j/k... __________________ "The only thing the camera sees is light..." http://www.GoWildOlive.com

July 25th, 2007, 07:39 AM	#5
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	The Canon XH can do it as a still photo but not nearly as well with video. See my images here: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=72218 http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=68770 Those are from an XL H1 but could be done with an XH and a teleconverter. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

September 11th, 2008, 01:57 AM	#11
Annie Haycock Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Pembrokeshire, Wales Posts: 734	There is an adapter that enables you to do this. Alana used to sell them - probably still do but I haven't checked their catalogue lately Alana Ecology Wildlife, Nature Conservation and Field Equipment __________________ Canon XH A1; Canon XF100; Nikon D800

July 24th, 2007, 10:33 PM	#3
Henry Cho Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 516	when shooting a starry night sky with an slr camera, shutter speed is measured in seconds, not fraction of seconds. a shutter speed of 1/3 is still way too fast. additionally, it would be very tough for any video camera, including the current crop of hd cameras, to resolve all the tiny speckles that are stars in a nice wide shot of the nighttime sky. a good still camera would be your best bet.

July 25th, 2007, 10:19 AM	#6
Matthew Nayman Major Player Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Toronto Posts: 917	Your best bet, if you need it for a shot, is to lock off your camera, film your night time scene, and then drop in some matte-painted or photographed stars in after effects. Check out Close Encounters of the Third Kind for how effective this can be. Or, if you need time-lapse footage of moving stars use a DSLR and use a wide shutter, taking one picture every 30 seconds (maybe 3 second shutter)... looks great as a jpeg sequence.

September 7th, 2008, 09:47 PM	#7
Jay Cowley Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Niagara, Ontario Posts: 141	i've seen movies in which the night sky and stars are very vivid and large, with actors shown doing things below the sky, in that same shot. One that comes to mind is a scene from Pearl Harbour, that shows the night sky with stars everywhere. how are they able to do this?

September 8th, 2008, 06:06 AM	#8
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	It can be done with a DSLR or a video camera. The trick to keeping the shot from smearing while extending the shutter time, "remember the Earth is spinning", is to mount your camera to a telescope controller. I use a Meade AutoStar setup with the telescope mount removed, and use a custom bracket to mount the camera. You can then program the unit to hold position while the Earth is turning. Good Luck with your project!

September 9th, 2008, 02:09 AM	#9
Juan Parmenides Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Canary Islands Posts: 54	I use my Nikons D200 or D300 to do this. With the Nikon D300 you can raise the ISO to 800 with no increasing noise. Take shots in a solid tripod, sequenced, every shot must be about 10-12 seconds, (for a 50mm f:1,8 lens), no more time or you will get star trails. Import the images to your software to do "Stop motion". Put the camera in a high place, outside the city, to avoid contamination. And good luck.

September 10th, 2008, 03:05 AM	#10
Philip Younger Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Warwickshire Posts: 207	I wonder if it would be possible shooting through a night vision monocular or similar - the one my brother has for fishing / hunting (and in his case finding poachers!) has a camera adapter ring - obviously this shoots in green instead of black, but could be shot in black & white.