· Get a Cloudy Nights T-Shirt · Submit a Review / Article Click here if you are having trouble logging into the forums Privacy Policy | Please read our Terms of Service | Signup and Troubleshooting FAQ | Problems? PM a Red or a Green Gu… uh, User You are not logged in. [Login] Entrance · Main Index · Search · New user · Who's Online FAQ · Calendar General Astronomy >> Beginners Forum Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio DSLR settings       #5252143 - 06/02/12 02:26 PM Attachment (86 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi. I am a new DLSR user. Here's the result of my first attempt at photographing the sun. I've experimented with different shutter speeds, but beyond that don't know where to start with the settings on the DLSR. How can I improve? Thank You 127mm Mak from Orion Glass solar filter from Thousand Oaks Optical Nikon D5100 Edited by Ellicott (06/02/12 02:33 PM) Post Extras:       Don Trinko Carpal Tunnel Reged: 07/05/09 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5252201 - 06/02/12 03:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Try the digital AP section. Looks over exposed to me. Try faster shutter speed. All IMO; Don t. Post Extras:       REC Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/20/10 Loc: NC Re: DSLR settings [Re: Don Trinko]       #5252249 - 06/02/12 03:45 PM Attachment (66 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I usually set the ISO at 400 and let the camera pick the right shutter speed. I have the same filter and use it on my 90mm Mak. This picture was shot at 1/60 sec. Good luck with the Transit! Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: REC]       #5252579 - 06/02/12 08:53 PM Attachment (41 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks REC for the tip. I tried 1/60 s and ISO 400 as well as a lot of other combinations but still have the noise. At last I stepped down the aperture with paper but didn't get a chance to test it due to clouds. The picture on the live view looks awesome, as does the view through the viewfinder. Could there be another setting that is causing all the noise? The same thing happened the other day shooting the moon, but I solved the problem by adjusting the shutter speed. Post Extras:       Al8236 Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/18/10 Loc: 48.9173N 122.1390W Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5252778 - 06/02/12 11:26 PM Attachment (57 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   This was taken at ISO 100 and 1/4000th. sec. with my 127/700 and Canon 300D. This seemed to hit the spot so to speak. Post Extras:       Intensity2x super member Reged: 09/06/11 Loc: Northern NJ Re: DSLR settings [Re: Al8236]       #5253041 - 06/03/12 09:03 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Why not let the camera choose the exposure, see what it chose and then adjust from there? Post Extras:       REC Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/20/10 Loc: NC Re: DSLR settings [Re: Intensity2x]       #5253182 - 06/03/12 10:40 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Yeah, I just set the camera to apeture priority as the lens is a fixed f/15 and let the cameras meter set the shutter speed. Al, that's a pretty sharp picture of the spots. That filter must be different from mine as the Sun is always yellow-orange in mine. Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: REC]       #5253424 - 06/03/12 01:43 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Thanks for the help so far. I haven't solved the problem yet, but I think I'm on to something. The Nikon 5100 has a manual mode, shutter priority, aperture priority, programmed auto, and a number of scene and special effects mode. The only mode that works with a telescope is manual, as all of the other modes require a Nikkor lens. In manual mode, the display is showing "F--" where the -- is supposed to show the aperture, for example "F15". The picture in the camera monitor shows a really small aperture. I haven't figured out how to set the aperture when the camera is attached to the telescope. However, when a Nikkor lens is used, I can set the aperture just fine in manual mode, and it is set automatically in all of the other modes. Post Extras:       REC Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/20/10 Loc: NC Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5253448 - 06/03/12 02:04 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I don't know about that. It should work in aperture priority mode and the meter should read the image and set the correct shutter speed. At least that is how my Canon T2i works and is supposed to be very similar features in the Nikon 5100? Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: REC]       #5253511 - 06/03/12 02:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   When I try to use aperture-priority mode, it says: Non CPU lenses can be used in manual mode only. Post Extras:       Fuzzyguy sage Reged: 12/21/11 Loc: Colorado/Kansas Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5253564 - 06/03/12 03:38 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   If you are using the camera's internal meter to determine exposure, make sure your metering mode is set to "center weighted" or "spot" metering. I've never seen the type of noise your image has, but it also looks like there are at least two images combined. Make sure the camera isn't set to "multiple" exposures. As for setting the aperture when you attach your camera to a telescope, you can't. The scope doesn't have an aperture ring to set, it is fixed at probably f/15 or close, so you can only change exposure by changing shutter speed. That f stop is pretty small. Most camera lenses (Nikor, Canon etc.) go to f/22 which is only a little over a stop smaller. You should be able to find a shutter speed that will give you a correct exposure. Another thing to try is locking the mirror up just prior to making the photo if your camera has the ability to do that. And lastly, it may be there is a light leak somewhere in the system. Have you had problems using this camera with Nikkor lenses? Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: Fuzzyguy]       #5253599 - 06/03/12 04:14 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The camera package came with a Nikkor lens and I have had no issues with the lens, though I haven't used it much. The images of the sun both through the viewfinder and on the live-view monitor are clear. Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5253691 - 06/03/12 05:27 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Well, I've taken well over 100 test photos, trying to adjust for one variable at a time, and still haven't eliminated the noise. The one thing that most of the images have in common is that there are always two or three disks, always side by side horizontally in the image, no matter which way the telescope is oriented or how the camera is rotated with respect to the telescope. Seems like an internal reflection issue. Maybe there is a reflection off of the back side of the solar filter? The other day I took some practice shots of the moon (see above.) I was able to eliminate the noise by adjusting the shutter speed, and it only took a few test photos. I don't remember having any mulitple exposure issues. Of course, I wasn't using a sun filter. Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5253795 - 06/03/12 06:54 PM Attachment (35 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Good news, bad news. The good news is that I finally got a decent photo - but with a different camera. Here's the result of: 127mm Mak from Orion Solar Filter from Thousand Oaks optical Nikon Coolpix s3100 Steady pics camera holder from Orion 25 mm Plossel eyepiece 45 star diagonal some cloth to cover the space between the eyepiece and the camera Now the bad news After spending most of the weekend messing with the Nikon 5100 DLSR, I took it off the telescope and put the Nikkor lens that came with it on. I snapped a few photos in several modes and I got an image full of noise, just like the failed solar photos. Either the camera is broken, or I am doing something very wrong. Looks like I am going to try to capture the transit of Venus with the coolpix. Thanks for the help from those who responded. Post Extras:       Ellicott member Reged: 06/01/12 Loc: Ohio Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5254022 - 06/03/12 10:36 PM Attachment (43 downloads) Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Meanwhile, here is a typical photo from the Nikon D5100. Can anyone tell me what is wrong? The live view looks fine, but I learned in the meantime that the liveview and the photo are not related, which kind of defeats the purpose of the live view. Post Extras:       Midnight Dan Postmaster Reged: 01/23/08 Loc: Hilton, NY, Yellow Zone (Bortl... Re: DSLR settings [Re: Ellicott]       #5254091 - 06/03/12 11:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Is that a daytime photo? If so, there's something seriously wrong with your camera. Is there an automatic setting for the camera - where it does everything itself? Try that on a daytime subject. If it works then maybe some of your settings that are way out of wack. If the automatic mode doesn't work then the camera has a problem. -Dan Post Extras:       Al8236 Pooh-Bah Reged: 08/18/10 Loc: 48.9173N 122.1390W Re: DSLR settings [Re: Midnight Dan]       #5254102 - 06/03/12 11:48 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Just curious, did you happen to try to take a pic without a filter? If so you may have fried the sensor. Post Extras:       SteveNH professor emeritus Reged: 07/10/11 Loc: Millbrae, CA Re: DSLR settings [Re: Al8236]       #5254204 - 06/04/12 02:43 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Hi Ellicott, your camera is in need of repair. Post Extras:       archer1960 sage Reged: 07/26/11 Re: DSLR settings [Re: SteveNH]       #5254317 - 06/04/12 07:55 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Looks like either the sensor or the processing chip is shot. Post Extras:       REC Carpal Tunnel Reged: 10/20/10 Loc: NC Re: DSLR settings [Re: archer1960]       #5254440 - 06/04/12 09:53 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Yeah, that camera looks shot. Well at least you will get some shots with the eyepiece projection method. Now just pray for good weather and let us know how you did. Good luck, Bob Post Extras:       Pages: 1 | 2 | (show all) Previous   Index   Next   Threaded   Extra information 16 registered and 25 anonymous users are browsing this forum. 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