Nature did a good job of helping me out too. Over the next two hours, we watched the moon transition through its lunar eclipse. The camera boasts a 26.2 MP full-frame CMOS sensor, a continuous shooting speed of 6.5 fps, an ISO range up to 40000 that’s expandable to higher settings, and an optimal shutter speed for astrophotography. The right gear for astrophotography is only as useful as the camera settings you dial in. This lens balances nicely when paired with the Sony A7III and has a sturdy feel. I’d have to say that using Lightroom to tweak the image was a challenge but the end result is passable. The neoprene cover on the lens is made by LensCoat. Natural Bridge, Yoho National Park. I even had a home darkroom for a while. We’ve sold up and are road tripping around the world. 18 mm lens. With the MoonCalc website open. Really good photos. I flew into New Zealand with a very loose idea of what I wanted to do and I wasn’t even sure how long I was going to spend here. And when you mentioned the planet next to the house I muttered, “Sooo cool!”. Double check that the stars are in focus, no star trials, etc.. tweak settings and keep shooting until you get what you like. As the moon becomes brighter, I should have stopped down or increased my focal length, decreased the shutter speed and maintained the ISO at 100 so the image didn’t over-expose with bright reflected light from the moon. Being an Australian brought up in the country, Lars learnt at an early age to enjoy the freedom and beauty of nature. Basically the deal going on at Best Buy. I invested in a 3/8″ D-ring which I screwed into the base of the Kirk footing with a bit of Loctite. I was aiming to have something interesting in the foreground. To be honest, I’d never heard of this one until recently. Understanding Focus Magnifier. This means that we may earn a small commission from purchases you make through our links, at no extra cost to you. Handheld image shot with Sony a7III and Sony 200-600. Your email address will not be published. Yes, the a6300 is well suited to many kinds of astrophotography. 3) Camera Menu. It means I carry the lens and camera upside down but it is very comfortable and easily accessible. I have an a6000 as well and have used it extensively for astrophotography. Recommended Sony A6000 Settings. A coat pocket kit with mini-tripod is the sweet spot for a small camera. Learn how to setup the Sony a6000 for portraits. It’s fair to say that this camera is a work-horse in any situation and comes at a reasonable price. Sony’s a7III camera has enjoyed rave reviews since its introduction earlier in 2018. I was dipping my toe into the water for the first time with those moon photos. Still, you can have a lot of fun with it. Whether you’ve carefully planned your location or just arrived at some random spot, it pays to really study your earthbound subjects to decide what’s going to work well under the amazing backdrop of your night sky. s.async = true; Click here to Browse our Photography Galleries from which you can choose gifts such as jigsaws, mugs, coasters, placemats, bags or prints and canvasses. The controls range from point-and-shoot, simple through to full manual. What an inauguration! Tampering with your camera will void your manufacturer’s warranty. Though the sheet lightning flickering around the sky was blood red. From the below image, the azimuth is about 140 degrees with an elevation of 3.5 degrees at the hour of day slider value of 2300 hrs. So I headed over hoping to do one big hike in the area. s.type = 'text/javascript'; If you have an interesting foreground subject like Mobius Arch shown above, the rest is easy.Let’s explore that idea. I have now retired my Sony a6000 and added a new filly to the stables, a Sony a7III. Throw in a couple of extra batteries, battery charger and memory card and I had all the gear I needed to get going. The settings might be in different areas of the menu depending on your camera and firmware. I heard from other travelers I met in New Zealand that Tongariro National Park was a place I couldn’t miss if I wanted to see some of the unique nature/volcanoes of the North Island. Aside from the hot shoe and camera’s built-in flash, there ... 2) Rear Buttons. The Vikeholmen lighthouse I had chosen would work perfectly. This camera/lens combination is brilliant during bright daylight and I have to say that I am more than pleased with this nighttime result. Here are the before and after images. Ideally, I would have taped the focus ring down but I’ll remember that for next time. Lars, these photos are excellent and I’m sure you were chuffed to get them. Click the shutter button and wait the 20-25 seconds for the exposure. It’s easy to do and doesn’t require as much equipment as star or Milkyway photography. For astrophotography, none of those auto functions are of any value. So I scouted out an interesting location with minimal light pollution. I remember having to park my car on the side of the highway because I couldn’t focus on the road with the amazing sky full of stars above me. Or, rather, the built-in noise reduction removes them and there's no way to disable it. You might try stacking if you haven't already. The plan was to keep the ISO low, let the focal length float between F8 to F13 and play with the shutter speeds. I was using a wireless shutter release and relying on the sony a6000 back LCD screen to follow the moon and ensure it was always in the frame as it moved across the sky. Try to block any kind of wind or anything from causing even the slightest vibration to your camera. Shifting the hour of day slider gives a corresponding Moon Azimuth and Moon Altitude value. 20-sec., f/2.8, ISO 10,000 The settings that I'm thinking of using are and ISO@1600 f4.5 and a 15s shutter speed. Life Pixel – Sony A6000 DIY Digital Infrared Conversion Tutorial. Thanks to modern science and technology though, predicting weather, Milky Way positioning, moon phases and dark sky areas are just a quick internet search away and with proper planning you’ll be able to maximize your chance of being out during the right conditions. I was happy after I got to see the images on the big screen as viewing them on the rear camera display doesn’t give you much of an idea of what you have captured. The table will automatically update the moon information (Rise, Culmination, Set, Distance). Learn how your comment data is processed. We consider this list dynamic in that we plan to update it whenever Sony or a third-party company release a relevant wide-angle product and we are able to test it. Boredom, the Disregarded Fuel of Productivity and Creativity, A Trip Down Memory Lane in Shijiazhuang, China, Fresh Perspectives on Going Back To a Full Time Job, Internet Addiction and Well-being While Stuck at Home, Pivoting to Lesser Known Places - Takayama, Japan, Mount Fuji over the Lake in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. You have found a nice spot, you have your camera on the tripod and the main dial is set to M (Manual mode). var s = d.createElement(sc), p = d.getElementsByTagName(sc)[0]; Even though the Manfrotto tripod has a 6kg load rating and the camera + lens is about 3 kg, just my touch when manually focussing the lens, induced wobble which made sharp focusing difficult. *See bottom of post for more on this. I would manually focus on the lighthouse (about 500m away), using the camera focus magnifier to fine-tune the setting and after gaining focus, make sure that I didn’t move the manual focus ring on the lens. The software allows you to control focus, framing, plate-solving, scheduling, and much more. Tweet. Just beware that it "eats" stars. The predicted time of moon-rise was 10:05 pm but it teased us by making a late, grand entrance at 11 pm. Great to hear from you. This camera is an absolute powerhouse, perfect for capturing stunning wide-angle views of the cosmos, planets, and DSOs. The Moon Azimuth is measured as an angle from 0 to 360 degrees (N, S, E, W) and Moon Altitude from -90 to +90 degrees. It was compact, had an unbelievable 11 frames per second, was packed full of features at a very reasonable price. One of the handiest astrophotography tips is to practice dialling in your camera settings until you can do them blindfolded. What camera did I settle on? It was shot with a tripod, bracketed 3 shots (-1, 0 +1 EV) and using a remote shutter release to reduce potential vibrations. I am not the best photographer myself though and I could learn a lot from you on this subject. 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