I took a timelapse of the stars

[nboy22]

Last weekend, I went to a friend's cabin in Payson, AZ. It is very dark out there since it's deep in the woods, so I wanted to attempt a time lapse of the stars.

Here is the result (best viewed in 4k res setting): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfuPcHXCsow

This video is a timelapse from 6:30 PM - 12 AM. I have way more footage but at around 12 AM, dew formed all over the camera and especially the lens. I shot all the way to 5:30 AM, so I'm a little disappointed that I didn't have the extra 5 1/2 hours. I woke up at 5:30 AM to bring the camera back inside the cabin and it was covered in quite a bit of water. After a good wipe down, it seemed everything was still functioning and no condensation got inside the lens.

For the photography geeks, I used a Canon 5DmkII with a 24-70mm F/2.8L @ 24 MM. 13 second shutter, F/2.8, ISO 1250. I also used Magic Lantern firmware for the intervalometer, which was taking a picture every 20 seconds.

All I gotta say is it is amazing out there. Living in the city makes it easy to forget how many stars are in the sky.

 

[Tweak155]

Pretty cool!

 

[Wingznut]

Very cool!

 

[Humpy]

Holy shit! An ATOT post where someones does something constructive and interesting.

 

[Exterous]

awesome - thanks for sharing!

 

[Ichinisan]

Nice :thumbsup:

 

[Arcadio]

Reps. That was awesome.

 

[CraKaJaX]

Living in the city makes it easy to forget how many stars are in the sky.

Ain't this the damn truth...among many other things. Awesome video!

 

[John Connor]

Cool. I haven't seen the stars like that in years since I went camping here in Colorado. I just have to drive about 20 miles to see them like that out here.

 

[Zorba]

I love star time lapses, really time lapses in general. I recently got this lens for the purpose of doing night time lapses, but haven't really played with it yet.

 

[Zorba]

You can actually see the dew forming on the lens in this timelapse, which is kind of cool.

 

[Eli]

That was awesome, thanks for posting it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Nice!

I did it too during the summer, though not as impressive, not enough night time hours to really get a good one and YT compression kinda butchered it, the original looks better.

I may try it again late in winter or even at this time would work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfqGZwQmFc0

Wish I lived in a more secluded area so there would be less light pollution though. I suppose one of these days if I feel brave I could go setup my camera in the middle of nowhere outside of town and hope a bear does not get to it.

 

[SKORPI0]

Nice.

5 1/2 hours for a 15 sec time lapse. 3 shots/minute. So about 990 shots.

 

[Nohr]

Very nice! I spy the Andromeda galaxy in the first half of the video. I've had several star trail photo sessions ruined by dew, it's quite annoying.

If you're interested you could try stacking all those photos in to a star trail pic. I like to use StarStaX.

 

[stargazr]

:thumbsup:

 

[edro]

Can you somehow heat your lens to prevent dew?
Small heater blowing on it? Wrap a pipe heater cord around the barrel?

Awesome!

 

[Rakehellion]

For some reason I thought this said "timelapse of the stairs." Clicked anyway.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Very nice! I spy the Andromeda galaxy in the first half of the video. I've had several star trail photo sessions ruined by dew, it's quite annoying.

Yeah, I saw that too - a little northeast of center in the first second of the video, right? Very cool.

Well done OP.

 

[DrPizza]

Awesome job, OP! Tip for avoiding dew: cut out the toes of a pair of socks. Put the sock over the outside of the lens, fold it over on itself to give you a couple layers. Then, a hand warmer or two. Then, the other sock to hold the hand warmer in place. If the lens stays above the dew point, no dew.

 

[nboy22]

Thanks everyone for the kind words! I'm glad that you liked it.

Holy shit! An ATOT post where someones does something constructive and interesting.

Well I'd like to think that at least some of us here do some neat things with their free time!

I love star time lapses, really time lapses in general. I recently got this lens for the purpose of doing night time lapses, but haven't really played with it yet.

You can actually see the dew forming on the lens in this timelapse, which is kind of cool.

Looks good! I've seen some really nice stuff from Rokinon. Good luck with getting some awesome shots! You're right, towards the end the dew forms and then it just gets worse on the rest of the footage. Kinda a shame but now I know what to do for next time.

Nice!

I did it too during the summer, though not as impressive, not enough night time hours to really get a good one and YT compression kinda butchered it, the original looks better.

I may try it again late in winter or even at this time would work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfqGZwQmFc0

Wish I lived in a more secluded area so there would be less light pollution though. I suppose one of these days if I feel brave I could go setup my camera in the middle of nowhere outside of town and hope a bear does not get to it.

That's not a bad start. In fact, my first timelapse a couple years ago looked very similar. I think all you need to do is make the camera more sensitive to light with a long open shutter, higher iso, and low aperature.

When I do these timelapses in Payson I'm always afraid of the rain, but luckily there wasn't a cloud in the sky this time around.

Very nice! I spy the Andromeda galaxy in the first half of the video. I've had several star trail photo sessions ruined by dew, it's quite annoying.

If you're interested you could try stacking all those photos in to a star trail pic. I like to use StarStaX.

Yes, you do! My co-worker pointed it out. I had no idea I captured it until he mentioned it yesterday. Thanks for the software recommendation, I have seen those photos around but didn't know of any specialized software to make them! I will have to give it a shot.

Awesome job, OP! Tip for avoiding dew: cut out the toes of a pair of socks. Put the sock over the outside of the lens, fold it over on itself to give you a couple layers. Then, a hand warmer or two. Then, the other sock to hold the hand warmer in place. If the lens stays above the dew point, no dew.

Thanks! This is a really awesome tip. It makes a lot of sense and I will definitely try it. I even had all the supplies I needed for it on this last trip, but didn't even think dew would be an issue till about 4 AM. I will make sure to do this next time!

 

[DrPizza]

If you search online, they make a commercial lens warmer that is basically the same thing - a sleeve to put over the lens which holds hand warmers. I can't remember the brand name.

 

[Spacehead]

Yeah, I saw that too - a little northeast of center in the first second of the video, right? Very cool.

Well done OP.

Andromeda galaxy is just about center at the beginning of the video & moves about straight up.
The "Double Cluster" is on the left center visible throughout the video. The Pleiades is rising thru the trees towards the end of the video.

Thanks for the post OP :thumbsup:

 

[Zorba]

This was my first attempt at a night time lapse, with a 50mm on a T4i body. Not that happy with how it turned out, but the scene is nice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxRmIkKFXFc I think windows movie maker way over compressed it, but the original images look great.

Awesome job, OP! Tip for avoiding dew: cut out the toes of a pair of socks. Put the sock over the outside of the lens, fold it over on itself to give you a couple layers. Then, a hand warmer or two. Then, the other sock to hold the hand warmer in place. If the lens stays above the dew point, no dew.

Couldn't the definitional heating affect your focus/sharpness? I know that is why Canon claims they make their long L-glass with gray bodies.

 

[BudAshes]

cool