Any tips for shooting tonights meteor shower?

[spidey07]

Nikon D5200, kit lens and a zoom. I have a tripod and remote shutter.

Open the aperture wide open?, set focus to infinity manually, maybe set speed manually as well? How about ISO?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Smoove910]

how big is the aperture? ISO should be around 800-1600 if you want the landscape around you to show up. Play with the settings and experiment to find the best results. Personally, I shoot at F2.8, 14mm, ISO 800-1600, 30 sec exposure.

Those are the settings I used for this pic:

 

[spidey07]

Nice pic. 3.5 min aperture. Do you use the cover for the view finder? My manual says that can mess with exposure but if I'm setting it manually does it matter? I guess so since it's letting light into the box.

Some googling days max aperture with widest angle lense you got. And just fire away constantly.

 

[MongGrel]

Trying to think of a good spot might get on my roof too much pool screen and trees in the backyard.

Have to see if it's worth it even later and move about.

 

[Imp]

Crappy view of sky and beaucoup light pollution so no go for me. If I did, I'd focus on video and 'Tube it.

 

[spidey07]

I'm starting to understand why you want or need a big aperture. Otherwise the shutter is open too long. Having a foreground would be nice but I'm a beginner and just want to get good exposure.

I guess once you have it set with good results you just keep it there. The light isn't changing.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Clouds actually cleared up, assuming none roll in, when the sun is down I will go out and check it out.

I have a 35mm prime lens with a low aperture so guessing that's probably my best bet. I don't have anything wider unfortunately. I'll try my zoom lens though which goes to 18mm but at f3.5

 

[spidey07]

That's the same as my kit lens. I'm still going to try.

 

[blastingcap]

Listen to Smoove. If you want to avoid star trail blurriness you need to have a reasonable short shutter speed. In your case, don't go wide open on your kit lens; stop down slightly (even if it's just to f/4) to gain sharpness, at least if your kit lens is like most kit lenses that aren't very good wide open. Then crank up ISO to get a reasonable shutter speed. Aim for 30 secs or less. Tripod is a huge boon in this kind of situation, but remember to turn VR off if you are using a tripod.

 

[spidey07]

Thanks. My tripod just broke and I can't find my monfotto.

Don't buy cheap tripods. Ever. The metal sheered like cheap aluminum.

I had every thing ready for tonight. And now no tripod. Learn from my mistakes.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Interesting, did not know about turning VR off if using a Tripod, what does that do, create sharper image?

Anyone see anything? I went out in the field in front of my house just to take a quick look but did not see anything, kind of cold out right now so did not stay long though, how often is it happening?

Field in front of my house is not the best though, lot of street lights.

On subject of star photography I did take this a few weeks back:

 

[blastingcap]

Interesting, did not know about turning VR off if using a Tripod, what does that do, create sharper image?

Anyone see anything? I went out in the field in front of my house just to take a quick look but did not see anything, kind of cold out right now so did not stay long though, how often is it happening?

Field in front of my house is not the best though, lot of street lights.

On subject of star photography I did take this a few weeks back:

I was busy doing other stuff so didn't see... anyway VR (or IS, or OS, etc.) can interfere with itself and create feedback loops if the camera is on a tripod. Just leave it off for sturdy tripods. Read your camera's instruction manual to be sure, though, as this may not apply to all brands. Also, some lenses have "tripod mode" apparently: http://www.nikonusa.com/en_US/IMG/Images/Micro-Sites/VR/technology/normal/tripod/