Nikon SLR Cameras

Nikon D3200 Problem?

Guest
Guest

I have been trying to take a picture of the stars however, when I click the button, it will focus but will not take the picture. I'm in manual mode but I do not have a remote, so instead I use the 10-second timer. Plus, when I try to take the picture it will flash "Subject is too dark" and the exposure indicator will flash. Does anyone know how I can take a picture of the stars?

qrk
qrk

What you describe tells me that you're not in manual exposure mode. You need to set the top dial (as shown on page 3 in your manual) to the M mode. You adjust your aperture (smallest number possible) and shutter speed (in the order of seconds to 30 seconds) using the thumbwheel control as explained on page 57. You also need to set your ISO to something like 1600. Turn off Auto-ISO. You also need to manually focus (see page 42) which is tedious when dealing with stars.

Instead of using the 10 second timer, set it to two seconds so you don't have a long wait. See page 141.

If you're really interested in pursuing star photography, consider getting the ML-L3 remote for your camera. They cost $15 and very handy.

EDWIN
EDWIN

Make sure you're actually in Manual Mode by setting the dial to M.
Turn the AF on camera and lens to OFF. There's nothing "tedious" about manually focusing the lens to infinity.

Your camera must be on a tripod. Get as far away from any ambient light sources as possible. Set the self-timer to a 2 second delay.

Read: http://www.davidkinghamphotography.com/blog/2012/11/how-to-avoid-star-trails "500 Rule"

This is simple division. Divide 500 by the focal length of the lens being used. Round the answer down and then divide that by the crop factor of your camera - 1.5 for your D3200.

Suppose you use the 55mm end of your 18-55mm zoom. 500/55 = 9.09 which you round down to 9. 9/1.5 = 6 which is your exposure time - 6 seconds.

Try an exposure of 6 seconds with the lens at f/5.6 using ISO 400. If the picture is too dark try 6 seconds at f/5.6 using ISO 800. If your picture is still dark try a 6 second exposure at f/5.6 using ISO 1600.