The Whole Planet is Spinning

[Lochnar]

This is my first stab at long exposure night shots. I shot this using a cabe release and, of course, a tripod. This is a 5 minute exposure.
Equipment and settings:
Canon Rebel XTi
18-55mm kit lens
18mm Focal Length
f/3.5
Cable release with lock
5 minute exposure
Spinning earth

Things I learned from this experience: Do it on a night when the wind isn't blowing. There was a constant 15 mph wind when I shot this and guted up to probably 30. It really messed with the clarity of the shot. I also need to remember to enable the Long Exposure Noise Reduction on my camera when shooting these shots. Shoot on a night that has no moon in a place with no light pollution. 5 minutes of exposure equals 5 more minutes of that camera processing what it just saw.

What I like: The shot turned out much better than I had expected, despite the slight bluring in the star trails. Without planning it I was aimed almost at the North Star which gives a great arcing affect in the start trails. The biggest thing that saved me was using a short focal length, it is less suseptable to camera shake. I plan on doing more shots like this.

[bedor]

hey there.. nice shot! but what about any info on focus setting and iso setting?

[Lochnar]

Thank you so much!

I kept my ISO at 100 to reduce the noise as much as possible. I used Auto focus against a star to get it focused and once it idaled in I set it to Manual Focus

[mr. Unknown]

I'm an amateur, so keep that in mind.

Hasn't the EF-S 18-55 mm IS, which is what you most likely own, got the sharpest image at @F5.6 (when 18mm focal length)? Perhaps what I'd go for is a bit higher ISO and slower aperture.

[michelsondl]

Yea, that processing time really bugs me sometimes. I ended up turning my noise reduction off so that it doesn't take the time to process. It's pretty easy to fix most of the noise in PS. My camera, a Sony a100, also gets a ton of hot pixels, which I fix with either the spot removal tool, or Startrails by taking a dark frame and letting the software work it's magic.

[Lochnar]

Originally Posted by mr. Unknown

I'm an amateur, so keep that in mind.

Hasn't the EF-S 18-55 mm IS, which is what you most likely own, got the sharpest image at @F5.6 (when 18mm focal length)? Perhaps what I'd go for is a bit higher ISO and slower aperture.

The Canon Rebel XTi, when I bought it, did not come with an IS lens . I wanted to stay away from a higher ISO because I was afraid it would produce more noise, especially on a 5 minute exposure. Trying a smaller apeture, like maybe f/11, is a good suggestion. I am going to try that next time.....on a night with no wind

[Lochnar]

Originally Posted by michelsondl

Yea, that processing time really bugs me sometimes. I ended up turning my noise reduction off so that it doesn't take the time to process. It's pretty easy to fix most of the noise in PS. My camera, a Sony a100, also gets a ton of hot pixels, which I fix with either the spot removal tool, or Startrails by taking a dark frame and letting the software work it's magic.

Thank you for the tip on the Startrails software, I will certainly check that out!

[sgeary]

Great tips....I will be trying some of these soon!