haring
Established
I would like to take some photos of stars at night. I have found the location. No problem. I have to keep an eye on the alligators while I am doing this because the location is in the Everglades. No problem.
The only problem I am facing is that I have hard time focusing at the stars because the viewfinder is black. (It is 1:00am at night after all.... )
I manually focus at infinity and the stars are out of focus.
I have tried to use the screen in video mode after increasing ISO. No luck. Even the screen on the back of the camera is dark so I am not be able to see the stars for proper focusing.
My question: How do you focus in total darkness? Did I miss something?
I manually focus at infinity and the stars are out of focus.
I have tried to use the screen in video mode after increasing ISO. No luck. Even the screen on the back of the camera is dark so I am not be able to see the stars for proper focusing.
My question: How do you focus in total darkness? Did I miss something?
HuubL
hunter-gatherer
very good question Ronald M
Veteran
Camera or lens is not in proper repair.
How does subject a half mile away look in daylight?
If you are using a lens wide open, they generally are not sharp there.
How does subject a half mile away look in daylight?
If you are using a lens wide open, they generally are not sharp there.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
Set it to infinity. Manually, by wire, but stars are on infinity.
If results aren't sharp - rig isn't stable enough while you are dealing with gators or exposure is too long. Or something is wrong with the lens, as it was mentioned above.
Focal Length 17mm
Exposure 28s
F Number f/4.5
ISO 400
kzphoto
Well-known
Some camera manufacturers allow their lenses to focus past infinity. Be it due to manufacturing tolerances, IR imaging, etc.
I would recommend focusing on somehthint bright like the moon, making sure it's sharp, and (depending on your camera / lens combo) lock focus or tape down the focus ring to keep it from moving.
I would recommend focusing on somehthint bright like the moon, making sure it's sharp, and (depending on your camera / lens combo) lock focus or tape down the focus ring to keep it from moving.
ssmc
Well-known
Ok a dumb question but what camera are you using? I'm really surprised that you can't see the stars on the LCD. I assume you can zoom in live view? When I shot some stars with a D700 I couldn't see anything until I zoomed in and then it was super-easy even at low ISO. I found that the Nikkor 50mm (like many lenses) can focus past infinity, but bringing it back a touch sharpened things up (AF was useless of course)
HTH,
Scott
HTH,
Scott