bcorton Posted January 27, 2013 Share #1 Posted January 27, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Has anyone here tried using the X2 for night sky or star photos? If so, how does it do? Thanks, Brent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 27, 2013 Posted January 27, 2013 Hi bcorton, Take a look here X2 and star photos?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Reminic Posted January 28, 2013 Share #2 Posted January 28, 2013 I can't answer for the X2, but assuming it's not very far from the X1, the following might have some relevance : I was doing long exposures one night with the X1, and targeted the sky once, just for fun - to see what the result looks like. I'm suspecting the white from the lower right corner is a nearby street light. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ISO 1600 - f/3.5 - 30s - unprocessed raw (only converted to jpeg for the forum) Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ISO 1600 - f/3.5 - 30s - unprocessed raw (only converted to jpeg for the forum) ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/197054-x2-and-star-photos/?do=findComment&comment=2227499'>More sharing options...
bcorton Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share #3 Posted January 29, 2013 Thanks for posting the photo. It's lovely. It looks like the X1 does OK, but I think I'll need to save up pennies for a digital M to get the kind of photo's I'm after digitally. I already have the fast lenses I need. I'm just gonna have to sell something first. Here's a film rendition from an M6 TTL with Noctilux and TMZ. Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/197054-x2-and-star-photos/?do=findComment&comment=2228275'>More sharing options...
davidfung Posted January 31, 2013 Share #4 Posted January 31, 2013 You can always try stacking so that you can use lower ISO, longer exposure and smaller f stops. If seriously interested try the astrophotograhy sites and software. That may help... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcorton Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share #5 Posted February 2, 2013 David, Thanks for the tips, but longer exposures and stacking only really work for guided astrophotography. For including both stars and landscape, exposure times are limited if one wishes to avoid stars that look like hotdogs. High ISO and large aperture are one's best friends. I knew this when I asked my question. I know I'm probably nuts, but recently I tried my DMR at star photos and was encouraged that it seemed to be better at recording stars than it should have been (at ISO 800 and f4). This gave me the crazy idea that maybe the higher ISO combined with the f2.8 of the lens on the X2, might be able to give me results I'd be happy with. But alas, another crackpot idea is probably going to meet an ignominious demise, and I'll have to save up for that ME. 'Best Brent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reminic Posted February 2, 2013 Share #6 Posted February 2, 2013 Brent, just in case, have you seen those ? L1001535 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Starry Night @ The Mausoleum | Flickr - Photo Sharing! moon and star | Flickr - Photo Sharing! There might be more somewhere in there: night sky - Flickr: Search Just my 2 cents... Your picture is jolly good by the way ! : ) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcorton Posted February 2, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted February 2, 2013 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ooooh, I had not found these. Thank you, Reminic. The Summer milky way photo was especially impressive. I notice that all of these photos were taken by X1s. How does the X2 low light performance compare to that of the X1? Thanks again, Brent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
giulio74 Posted February 4, 2013 Share #8 Posted February 4, 2013 Brent, just in case, have you seen those ?L1001535 | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Starry Night @ The Mausoleum | Flickr - Photo Sharing! moon and star | Flickr - Photo Sharing! There might be more somewhere in there: night sky - Flickr: Search Just my 2 cents... Your picture is jolly good by the way ! : ) Thanks!!! I haven't seen them before! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcorton Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted February 21, 2013 Well, I bought an X2. It arrived Monday and last night I had to try it out on the night sky despite the dismal temperatures (teens F), and the fact that the sky wasn't dark because the waxing moon was just past first quarter. I couldn't wait. I also botched the job somewhat, because I guess I fouled up the settings and didn't save DNGs, only JPGs. Oh well, next time. Anyway below are a couple of samples of what I did get, mediocre files, light pollution and all. The first is recognizably Orion. The moon was not far out of the frame, just above Orion's head. It looks as though the lens has a bit of coma on the extreme edges, but not bad really. The second photo is the Cassiopeia-Perseus region. Just left of center, you can just start to make out the extended glow of the Andromeda galaxy which is cut off by the frame. Cool. Both exposures were at f.28 @ 15 seconds. I look forward to trying this again with no moon and DNG files with more latitude. Still I'm encouraged. I'm glad I bought the camera. And, I must say that the X2 was a joy to operate there in the dark. The menus were simple, well designed, and easy to navigate. I'll post more later. Thanks to all who helped in the decision. Brent Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/197054-x2-and-star-photos/?do=findComment&comment=2248981'>More sharing options...
wwwwy Posted February 21, 2013 Share #10 Posted February 21, 2013 I don't know how to shoot stars picture , I tried different setting , here is 2 pics from my x2 first one is f6.3 @ 15 sec , second one is f2.8 @ 30 sec Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/197054-x2-and-star-photos/?do=findComment&comment=2249360'>More sharing options...
bcorton Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share #11 Posted February 21, 2013 Oops! I meant to write in the post above, "Just left of center ON THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE FRAME, you can just start to make out the extended glow . . . ." I also failed to mention that I was using ISO 3200. And "f.28" should, of course, read "f2.8." (Good grief, is it any wonder I messed up the file settings? I think I need a vacation.) I'd edit the post, but it looks like its too late (no edit button). Brent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcorton Posted February 21, 2013 Author Share #12 Posted February 21, 2013 I don't know how to shoot stars picture , I tried different setting , here is 2 pics from my x2 first one is f6.3 @ 15 sec , second one is f2.8 @ 30 sec It looks like you've done just fine. Thanks for posting. [Warning: I'm about to tell you things you probably already know. I hope I don't insult your intelligence, but since you indicated that you didn't know how to shoot stars, I thought I'd put in a little primer—just in case some of it might be helpful:] The wider your aperture, of course, the more light you'll gather, and the more stars you will record. Likewise, the longer the shutter is open, the more light gets gathered, but after a certain point the stars will start to elongate due to the angular distance the star images starts to trace across the sensor (due to the rotation of the earth). A rough calculation tells me that this will start to occur on an APS-C sized sensor, coupled with a 24mm lens, at about 17 seconds. So anything up to the 15 second setting will give you round stars. 30 seconds will show stars evolving into sausages. I did experiment with the 30 second setting, and I have to say that the effect isn't too pronounced. Star fields near the celestial pole, where the angular distance the stars appear to move is much smaller than that of near stars near the equator, could probably be photographed at 30 seconds with little elongation. Or, if one doesn't mind a little elongation (it bugs some of us), one could probably use 30 seconds with abandon. I need a clear moonless night at a dark site to play some more . . . er . . . I mean to do more research. Best, Brent Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkCambridgeshire Posted February 25, 2013 Share #13 Posted February 25, 2013 I can't answer for the X2, but assuming it's not very far from the X1, the following might have some relevance : I was doing long exposures one night with the X1, and targeted the sky once, just for fun - to see what the result looks like. I'm suspecting the white from the lower right corner is a nearby street light. [ATTACH]358143[/ATTACH] ISO 1600 - f/3.5 - 30s - unprocessed raw (only converted to jpeg for the forum) Perhaps it's worth trying using f2.8 and ISO 3200 at various shutter speeds? dunk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Elidia Posted February 25, 2013 Share #14 Posted February 25, 2013 You can always try stacking so that you can use lower ISO, longer exposure and smaller f stops. If seriously interested try the astrophotograhy sites and software. That may help... thank you very much Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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