Camelopardalid meteor shower (never before seen) on May 23-24, 2014

I am planning on going to a place with no city light distractions to take photos of this meteor shower. I have only shot pictures in day light situations and have never tried at night. I have no idea what to do....If you guys can help, it would be an exciting experience!

Make sure you have tripod, cable release and fast glass

I have two lenses (they aren't the best out there, but they are still okay to use) and the maximum aperture it can reach is f/3.5. Would that be enough?

TaesunShim wrote: I have two lenses (they aren't the best out there, but they are still okay to use) and the maximum aperture it can reach is f/3.5. Would that be enough?

You should be OK if that is all you have. Make sure you have a very steady tripod and maybe some additional weight to hang on the tripod for additional stability. You will need a stopwatch as you may want to exposures beyond the settings of you camera. A cable release with a manual lock. Also it would be worth experimenting with the way your camera deals with long exposure and noise reduction before you head out on the shoot.  

I know the "BULB" feature, and I know how to use a cable release. I just don't get any idea on how long my exposure should be for the best result....(trial and error wouldn't necessarily be an option because I am dealing with a meteor shower which won't last all night). If I have my exposure too long, I am worried that the movement of the Earth will move the stars from its first alignment and make a "semi-star trail" which, what I think, would look ugly. (A whole, 250 frame star trail would look great though)

TaesunShim wrote: I know the "BULB" feature, and I know how to use a cable release. I just don't get any idea on how long my exposure should be for the best result....(trial and error wouldn't necessarily be an option because I am dealing with a meteor shower which won't last all night). If I have my exposure too long, I am worried that the movement of the Earth will move the stars from its first alignment and make a "semi-star trail" which, what I think, would look ugly. (A whole, 250 frame star trail would look great though)

I recently read an article (the one on how to take pictures of the milky way recently posted on the PT facebook page) that said that shooting at a maximum of 30 seconds is good, because anything more would typically record a star trail, another way is as you said, shooting multiple frames to try and catch as many meteors as you can but edit out some of the stars creating trails. 

I have never done a star shoot, so all of my ideas are coming from articles and knowledge from the internet. 

Takennnn wrote: I recently read an article (the one on how to take pictures of the milky way recently posted on the PT facebook page) that said that shooting at a maximum of 30 seconds is good, because anything more would typically record a star trail, another way is as you said, shooting multiple frames to try and catch as many meteors as you can but edit out some of the stars creating trails. 

I have never done a star shoot, so all of my ideas are coming from articles and knowledge from the internet. 

Nothing wrong with working from accurate articles. My understanding is also 30 seconds or less.

Multiple exposure won't work. Each one needs to be properly exposed, or you'll never record enough light to register the stars.

Are you recommending a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less? I think that might lead to an underexposed picture. Well, I do not know anything of low-light photography so... Maybe a higher ISO might work but it feels like in such dark conditions, using a very high ISO would create a lot of noise.

Oh, and how do you "reply" to someone (where your post is below another post you are replying to)?

TaesunShim wrote: Are you recommending a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less? I think that might lead to an underexposed picture. Well, I do not know anything of low-light photography so... Maybe a higher ISO might work but it feels like in such dark conditions, using a very high ISO would create a lot of noise.

Oh, and how do you "reply" to someone (where your post is below another post you are replying to)?

There's a "quote" button in the bottom right corner of the post.

Yes, a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less. Yes, it's very dark. Yes, you have to increase your ISO, but it's amazing what happens when you combine the two. You will need to do some exploration on the interweb, or go out and experiement.

As for noise, you will also want to look at the "dark frame subtraction" technique.

Thirty seconds for a very wide lens. It gets much shorter as focal length increases.....

www.photographyblogger.net/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way/


starcircleacademy.com/

garyrhook wrote:

TaesunShim wrote: Are you recommending a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less? I think that might lead to an underexposed picture. Well, I do not know anything of low-light photography so... Maybe a higher ISO might work but it feels like in such dark conditions, using a very high ISO would create a lot of noise.

Oh, and how do you "reply" to someone (where your post is below another post you are replying to)?

There's a "quote" button in the bottom right corner of the post.

Yes, a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less. Yes, it's very dark. Yes, you have to increase your ISO, but it's amazing what happens when you combine the two. You will need to do some exploration on the interweb, or go out and experiement.

As for noise, you will also want to look at the "dark frame subtraction" technique.

I've known about the "dark frame subtraction" technique for quite a time but never understood it. Is it where I would take a picture and take another (same settings) but with the lens cap on? What would I have to do after in Photoshop to minimize noise, and how does it work?

Here you go:http://www.takegreatpictures.com/photo-tips/software-tips-and-techniques/dark-frame-subtraction-using-adobe-photoshop-br-by-chris-limone

TaesunShim wrote:

garyrhook wrote:

TaesunShim wrote: Are you recommending a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less? I think that might lead to an underexposed picture. Well, I do not know anything of low-light photography so... Maybe a higher ISO might work but it feels like in such dark conditions, using a very high ISO would create a lot of noise.

Oh, and how do you "reply" to someone (where your post is below another post you are replying to)?

There's a "quote" button in the bottom right corner of the post.

Yes, a shutter speed of 30 seconds or less. Yes, it's very dark. Yes, you have to increase your ISO, but it's amazing what happens when you combine the two. You will need to do some exploration on the interweb, or go out and experiement.

As for noise, you will also want to look at the "dark frame subtraction" technique.

I've known about the "dark frame subtraction" technique for quite a time but never understood it. Is it where I would take a picture and take another (same settings) but with the lens cap on? What would I have to do after in Photoshop to minimize noise, and how does it work?