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D3100 Examples of high ISO settings star photos

11 Jan

Just a quick example of the different ISO settings I have attempted to use in my attempts to carry out time lapse of the star filled night sky. This is an FYI just to give you an idea of the quality that you can capture using ISO 1600 or ISO 1800 and also the difference in the amount of stars you can pick up. Shutter speed obviously plays a part as well but this video is to highlight what you could expect from higher ISO settings in regards to capturing stars at night. Hope it helps. Camera used Nikon D3100 DSLR

 
25 Comments

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  1. thejman2005

    January 12, 2013 at 12:14 am

    Great, thanks for your responses, much appreciated.

     

  2. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 1:06 am

    I compile the individual photo’s into a video using a lossless codec to then edit in to a video editor if needed.

    I use QuickTime Pro to compile the images into .MOV format or you can also use VirtualDub to do the same thing but I believe it saves in .AVI format which gives a larger file size.

    I then use Adobe Premiere Elements 9 to edit the footage together or to perform any zoom or Pan effects. I use Premiere Elements 9 to then export the rendered final video.

     

  3. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 1:10 am

    Manual is predominantly the only focus option for photographing the stars, you may be able to focus on the moon initially in some cases. Then switch off auto focus as during the time lapse the focus point will change if left on. Stars are too faint for Auto focus.

    I take a series of photographs adjusting the focus manually and reviewing the image on the LCD by zooming in to check the sharpness. Taking another photo until I’m happy with the result before I start the time lapse capture session.

     

  4. thejman2005

    January 12, 2013 at 1:19 am

    This is really helpful, thanks. I’m just about to try something similar with my d3100 and intervalometer – I’d be grateful if you wouldn’t mind answering a couple of Qs: 1) Is manual the best focus option? I’ve read that infinity focus is the best for star shots but don’t think the d3100 has this option. Is autofocus useless for this? 2) what software did you use to create the time lapses? Many thanks!

     

  5. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 1:21 am

    Yes, it’s the value setting of the Aperture. So F/3.5 is when the Aperture is at its widest (Largest opening) setting and F/32 is at its narrowest.(Smallest opening).

    Apologies if you already knew that…just trying to help 🙂

     

  6. shonenarts23

    January 12, 2013 at 2:11 am

    does the “f” mean aperture?

     

  7. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 2:44 am

    (Cont…) I find that ISO 1600 is what I tend to use with exposures from 15 to 20 secs. Longer will bring out more stars but could also cause stars to “stretch”. ISO 3200 would be the max as image noise starts to be more noticeable but passable in some instances.

     

  8. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 2:58 am

    What lens are you using? I use the 18-55mm lens & always use it at 18mm. I’ve found that if you zoom in the stars start to stretch from a dot. I sometimes have trouble focusing. If the moon is out I’ll manual focus on that first or a bright distant object.

     

  9. JackFrostAU

    January 12, 2013 at 3:46 am

    Ive been really trying hard to get some sharp star timelapses- using high ISO (Hi 1) on the D3100 with a 20 second exposure and f3.5. It brings out the stars and the landscape really well however noise is a problem, the quality is not so great and everything seems to have a blur to it. I do use noise reduction which improves it but they are OK at best. would you recommend using a lower ISO and a longer exposure to improve this? I do live in the country so their is no light pollution

     

  10. JackFrostAU

    January 12, 2013 at 4:32 am

    Thanks for the Reply- No matter how long 🙂 i will look into the lense heaters! ive just been using a small towel which absorbs most of the moisture but my battery usually ides before i get any lense fogging- i do live in the south of Western Australia and i can get pretty cold!

     

  11. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 5:11 am

    (Cont…lol!) But I wouldn’t wan’t to risk it but having said that there was a time I left my camera going for 4 hours on a frosty morning and it was fine afterwards. I now use dew heaters which are used on telescopes to prevent dew and they seem to work a treat so now I have no issue with dew forming. They’re belts that wrap around the lens powered by a small 12volt battery which is said to last 12 hours.

    I got mine from a store in Melbourne. Check out “Bintel” on the web.

     

  12. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 5:39 am

    (Continued Prev Post). So when photo’s are taken with light backgrounds using F20+ stops they appear as small dust particles in the photo. But I imagine that if enough moisture condenses within the camera body that anything that has a powered circuit board there’s a chance that damage can occur if the two mix. I guess that would take a lot of time for the camera to get to that stage, the battery life is shortened by cold so it probably wouldn’t get close to being an issue. (Cont.)

     

  13. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 6:19 am

    To be honest I personally freak out when it happens as I’m paranoid about lens fungus forming but I think that’s only an issue in high humidity tropical areas. I try to avoid leaving the camera exposed in the cold air with condensation forming as I think there’s a chance that because the attached lens doesn’t provide an air tight seal that it could allow condensation to form on the image sensor. (Continued next post…)

     

  14. JackFrostAU

    January 12, 2013 at 6:55 am

    Nice examples. I also have a D3100 and like to do star lapses- do you think it does the camera any damage leaving it in a dewy night or letting the lense condensate like in your vid?

     

  15. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 7:54 am

    Hi. Yes it’s a tripod I use for most of my time lapses. It’s an old Manfrotto Art 075 Professional tripod I bought over 10 years ago. I’m sure you can get something equivalent nowadays, although at the time I paid around $350 for it. It’s a nice heavy sturdy tripod that doesn’t vibrate too much with the wind but is a little on the heavy side but that’s what you want especially with time lapses. The head mount allows quite a lot of tilt.

     

  16. stuntflix

    January 12, 2013 at 8:28 am

    Oh and I’m shooting with a canon, and can’t find a noise reduction option, will look into that too.

     

  17. stuntflix

    January 12, 2013 at 8:34 am

    was using manual, but used F8. I’ve done a lot of shots of the moon and F8 worked best for me, but as you know the moon is much brighter and I didn’t need the high ISO, didn’t know that the f-stop effected noise, good to know, thanks for the info. Might have to go out and play with it at F3.5 tonight, but will remember to take the laptop so I can check the noise while I’m there since it doesn’t show on the camera screen.

     

  18. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 8:47 am

    Cont.. Your lens will determine the smallest Fstop (Largest Aperture). But they’re the only two things I can think of. (Apologies if you already knew any of that!) That either your Noise Reduction is turned off or that your F stop is too large to allow enough light into the sensor. I also don’t know what shooting mode you are using. I use Manual mode and adjust both ISO and Aperture. If you’re using another mode such as Aperture Priority maybe that’s causing your problem.

     

  19. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 9:38 am

    Hi, I prosume you have a d3100 as well. The only thing that I can think of is that perhaps you have your noise reduction turned off when you take photo’s. Which can also double the time it takes the photo or that perhaps you have your aperture set too high when you’re taking the photo’s. There’s been a couple of instances where I’ve taken a photo at ISO 3200 or 1600 and had the Aperture set at F8 and notice a bit of image noise in the shot. Usually with star shot’s I keep it at F3.5.

     

  20. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 10:00 am

    Hi, I prosume you have a d3100 as well. The only thing that I can think of is that perhaps you have your noise reduction turned off when you take photo’s. Which can also double the time it takes the photo or that perhaps you have your aperture set too high when you’re taking the photo’s. There’s been a couple of instances where I’ve taken a photo at ISO 3200 or 1600 and had the Aperture set at F8 and notice a bit of image noise in the shot. Usually with star shot’s I keep it at F3.5. 

     

  21. stuntflix

    January 12, 2013 at 10:38 am

    if I use anything over 800 I get way to much noise, not sure how all you guys are doing it, maybe it’s just my camera

     

  22. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 10:48 am

    Hi, I’m glad you found it useful. Thanks for letting me know. Looking forward to seeing your star lapse. 🙂

     

  23. southtexan11

    January 12, 2013 at 11:29 am

    Thank you for this video, saved me a lot of time! I also have a D3100 and it’s great. I have a star/night timelapse I just posted on my YT page yesterday. Check it out!

     

  24. phoenixomen

    January 12, 2013 at 11:35 am

    @PropagandaBuster, Hi the remote I used was a Hahnel Giga T Pro 2.4Ghz wireless remote.

    Their Youtube channel is HahnelIndustriesLtd if you want to check them out.

    I think they now a have a new Gig T pro II version out now.

     

  25. PropagandaBuster

    January 12, 2013 at 12:13 pm

    May I ask what device you used on the camera for the time lapse?