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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

New to Astrophotography (1 Viewer)

tbc

Well-known member
Hi to All & Paul,

I am from Singapore and have been following this forum on Astrophotography. Noticed a very interested community building up a group like this. I have just joined this hobby recently (This is my first posting) and still learning as well. Hope to be able to share and gain insights as well.

I noticed Paul have been doing plenty of experiments and giving advices. It sure adds lots of values and shortens the learning curve for beginners like me.

Hope to learn more from you guys.

Tan BC
 
Hi Tan,

A warm welcome to BirdForum. I am sure that, like me, you will find a great deal of help and advice here if you need it. Looking forward to seeing some of your pictures.

Mike
 
Hi Tan,

A warm welcome to BirdForum. I am sure that, like me, you will find a great deal of help and advice here if you need it. Looking forward to seeing some of your pictures.

Mike


Thanks Mike for the warm welcome. I am totally new to photography and just got my first DSLR. Couldn't figure out the plentiful of functions and buttons and the relations between them. Very steep learning curve I guess.

tbc
 
Welcome Tan and glad you find all the info here useful. Feel free to join in. |=)|

Paul.


Hi Paul,

I am currently using Nikon D300s on a televue 85. I have used remote shutter cable and still couldn't get sharp pics. I find my shots to be out of focus when viewed on desktop. Am I doing something wrong? Based on your experiences, can you provide a checklist for me to try out so as to eliminate some factors to narrow down and pinpoint to a few and keep practising. As I have mentioned in the previous messsage, I am totally new to photography and DSLR.

Thanks a lot.

tbc
 
Mostly I refocus every shot or at least every two shots just to be sure I'm getting focus right. The chances of getting it out of focus every time should be slim. Take all photos in RAW format and not jpeg. RAW files can be edited without affecting or losing any quality of the final image while jpegs are already compressed to some degree. With more editing they just degrade further. Even so, the initial photo needs to be in focus. If you have a strap hanging off your camera then place it on top of the scope so tat it doesn't blow around and cause vibration. Just a gentle sway of the strap can be enough to move the scope. Also if you use a shutter release that has a wire between the switch and the camera then make sure the wire isn't hanging down and moving during the shot also. Make sure the tripod is sturdy enough. After you take the photo with the shutter release cable look through the viewfinder to see if the scope is moving. The action of the mirror flipping up can make the scope shake a little and you will see this in the viewfinder as the scope settles down after the shot. If there's no sign of movement then that shouldn't be a cause of out of focus shots. Try maybe using mirror lock up along with the shutter release cable just to be sure to eliminate vibration. If photos are still out of focus after that then you know it's down to your focusing. Focusing just comes down to practice and getting an instinct for what is and isn't out of focus. I do it so quick now that I don't even think about it.

Paul.
 
Hi Paul,

Thanks for the detailed description, I will go through them in the field. By the way, what are the settings on your camera?
Aperture / shutter Priority / Program / manual Mode, ISO / White Balance, etc ... or any other settings which may have a bearing on higher keeper rates?

tbc
 
I use full manual mode with spot metering if it's a pure whit bird or more generally centre weighted metering for most other stuff. For fast shutter speeds I tend to always use ISO800 as noise isn't a problem at that level. I use auto white balance but that is easily altered in RAW processing if it isn't quit right.

That's about it.

Paul.
 
Paul,

By the way, I have seen from your other posts that you are using extension tubes for your EOS that comes with a AF confirm chip. I have searched through the net and not found anything similar for Nikon. Just in case you came across something similar, please give me a link.

Thanks

tbc
 
I don't use an AF confirm chip myself but some others have glued them into their extension tubes. They generally only work with the scope at prime focus and need good conditions or good contrast to allow them to work. Once you add in a teleconverter then magnification and light loss due to high f number means they tend not to function.

Look on ebay for Nikon AF confirm if you are interested in getting one.

Paul.
 
I don't use an AF confirm chip myself but some others have glued them into their extension tubes. They generally only work with the scope at prime focus and need good conditions or good contrast to allow them to work. Once you add in a teleconverter then magnification and light loss due to high f number means they tend not to function.

Look on ebay for Nikon AF confirm if you are interested in getting one.

Paul.


Thanks for the link. Checked through and most of them are for Nikon lens to EOS or other bodies. Guess I have to put in more practice.

tbc
 
Hi tbc... i think what you need first is a MAX dslr scope to Nikon mount.

The AF confirm chips you find on Ebay are all for mounting different photographic Manual Focus lenses onto a DSLR. They're not built for mounting a scope onto a DSLR.

If you get a MAX dslr mount for a nikon, you can then buy an AF confirm chip adapter, as long as the mounts are compatible, but I dont know Nikon mounts so you will have to figure out which is best.

Paul , i hope, will correct me if i'm wrong here
 
I've never purchased one myself but I'm under the impression from what I remember that people just glue the chip into their scope adapter of choice. Because they only really work all that well without teleconverters I've never tried one myself.

Paul.
 
For more accurate manual focus and sharp images I use few techniques:
- an angle finder like this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKu8iQem5IY . It has two advantages: adds a plus of details (at 2.5x) and it can be rotates for various positions, very helpful. It has not a perfect optics, actually is far from perfect but it helps
- a steady tripod
- shutter cable and mirror look up
- high iso and light as much as possible (small exposure time)
- focus confirmation (available for Pentax bodyes, I don't know for the rest)
- rotate the focus knob hoping to find the best focus
- many shots and select the best one
Of course, most of them works for steady subjects. For moving ones it is a bit difficult, it is a matter of luck.
 
Hi tbc... i think what you need first is a MAX dslr scope to Nikon mount.

The AF confirm chips you find on Ebay are all for mounting different photographic Manual Focus lenses onto a DSLR. They're not built for mounting a scope onto a DSLR.

If you get a MAX dslr mount for a nikon, you can then buy an AF confirm chip adapter, as long as the mounts are compatible, but I dont know Nikon mounts so you will have to figure out which is best.

Paul , i hope, will correct me if i'm wrong here

Actually, Nikon bodies don’t need an AF confirm chip, in any of them the AF light works perfectly fine without it, metering is another story though ;) but on the D300 the OP is using it’s not a problem either.

That said, I really don’t see the point in using it, I thing it’s way more efficient to “educate” your eye to see when the image is in focus or not, you’ll get far more keepers than using the AF light, JMHO.

Also like Paul as noted the confirm chip is useless with TCs.
 
Thanks all for the advices.

I was deliberating so much when it came to which brand of DSLR to buy and the plenty of reviews on conventional photography weren't helpful at all if not contradictive.

Wanted to buy the Canon's latest 7D but was rumoured to have AF issues so in the end opted for Nikon since many friends said to buy one of the most common brands in the market will ensure sufficient accessories.

How's the weather and shooting conditions up north? Still cold?

Cheers
tbc
 
Hi All,

I would like some advice on how to attach pics to show the terrible blur I am getting and ask for advice on improvement. If straight from the CF card, I believe the file size is too big and I do not own any photo editing software. Not sure if resize will affect the quality and hence not the true scenario.

Thanks.

TBC
 
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