Lens suggestion for night photography with a Nikon D7100 ?

proudgeek

@proudgeek:

I think you meant divide FL into 600 or 400 didn't you? i.e.for 400mm lens on a D7000 400/400=1 sec and for a 200mm lens you get 400/200= 2 sec?

Correct. I got it backwards. So 600 / FL = Shutter Speed

heartyfisher

Thanks for that little formula ... very useful ..

proudgeek

One more note on this topic. I follow a Bay Area-based amateur photographer on Flickr by the name of Matt Walker, whose stuff I think is great.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rootswalker/
He's done some great astrophotography work both in Yosemite and Big Sur (his fog pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge are pretty good too). He does a really nice job explaining his process too, which is nice.
He's totally one of us—before taking a trip out to the West Coast last summer I asked him for some advice on which lenses I should bring, given that he shoots out there so much. His advice? All of them.

lkbuchanan

@dissent I fixed the link so that it is not private. I have been using the software that came with the camera for post production but I also have Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop CS5 and PhotoNinja but I have not learned how to use Lightroom or PhotoNinja yet.

@ Golf007sd Thanks for the chart, I will try using that next time I go out which hopefully will be tonight.

I purchased the 35mm f/1.8 lens and took photos last night but did not have time to look at them on the computer due to getting home at 2:30 am and needing to be up at 6:30 am to get ready for work I-) but I will try and post the outcome later this evening. Maybe after a nap LOL!!

Thanks to everyone for all their input! Everyone is so kind!! I love this site!

Godless

Try the cheap Samyang 16mm f/2 wideangle.

lkbuchanan

Image Quality: Jpeg Fine (8-bit)
Camera Info
Device: Nikon D7100
Focal Length: 35mm
Focus Mode: Manual
VR:
Exposure
Aperture: F/1.8
Shutter Speed: 20s
Exposure Mode: Manual
Exposure Comp.: 0EV
Metering: Spot
ISO Sensitivity: ISO 2500
Image Settings
White Balance: Color Temp. (3850K), 0, 0
Long Exposure NR: OFF

obajoba

I am going to make only one small suggestion, others may not agree, but I think the 35/1.8 is far sharper and has a lot less CA (chromatic aberration) at f/2.0 than it does at f/1.8. You might think about sacrificing a bit of ISO speed to bump to f/2 or f/2.2 on that lens. That is based strictly on my experience with a D7000 and the 35/1.8.

dissent

These aren't bad at all Laura. You're getting a bit of star trailing with the 20 sec exposure time. Golf's table sets the max exposure at 14 sec for the crop sensor on the D7100. The next method you may want to look into is to take multiple frames at shorter exposure times (to reduce trailing) and then use a program like Deep Sky Stacker to stack them together. As I understand it (I'm a certified newbie here), the program will align the frames using bright stars for reference. This should improve your signal to noise ratio. I'm hoping to spend some more time on this sort of thisng in the near future, but I envy you for your nice dark sky site. I'm going to have to drive a couple hours west to get away from my nearby city lights. Makes for a real long night.

Golf007sd

A cool program to consider. The following video might also bear some fruit for some of you night shooters.

StarStax Application.

Darryl

Hey, Just saw this thread for the first time and wanted to chime in.
The 7100 is a great performer for a crop sensor. I shoot pretty much strictly at night and use the 7000. The 18-105 is a workable lens but it does create a few "seaguls" around your stars. The Tokina 11-16 f2.8 is probably one of the most used lenses among Landscape Astrophotographers as it is relatively low on CA, is fast and pretty sharp.
I've got a bunch of tutorials online if you're looking for night shooting.
http://darkclearskies.blogspot.ca/p/blog-page_10.html (Tutorials page)

spraynpray

Tokina 11-16 f2.8 is the lens I use, great performance and good price too. I find the f2.8 essential for night work.

Msmoto

@Darryl. Great post, excellent instructions on link. Thanks and welcome to NRF

lkbuchanan

I just want to thank every for their input. I did buy the Tokina 11-16 lens but have not tried it a night yet. I think I overwhelmed myself when I bought a few lenses at the same time. I also purchased the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 and absolutely love it!

@Darryl I will check out the tutorials, thank you!

shoot123

The lens you'll want depends A LOT on the type of subject you're shooting. Sometimes you'll want a fast wide angle lens, and sometimes a "slow" consumer zoom lens is fine. A lot depends on the scene you're shooting and various components of exposure that you want to control (aperture setting, shutter speed you need, ISO setting).

I've been using a handy slide chart calculator from FotoSharp for a number of years that you might want to consider. It can help you decide what type of lens you'll need for various situations you might be shooting before you leave home, or help you pick a good exposure when you're in the field shooting

http://fotosharp.com/day_night_exposure_calculator.html

HipShot

Yes, Daryl, thanks for sharing!