NIKON D5100 BIG Help NEEDED- URGENT?
Ok so i have a nikon D5100 and i wanna try to shoot a star trail.
I want to put my camera on exposure 15 or even more than 15 minutes. Is it possible. I can see that a maximum of 30 seconds only is available. I will never get a real star trail like this. How should it be done?
Check the manual about the BULB setting for shutter speed…
star trails are better with multiple shots combined…
but they need to be about 5 min maximum each…
Camera on a tripod, fully charged battery, Manual Mode, small aperture, try f11 or f16, ISO at 100, shutter on 'B' setting, (the next step after 30 seconds on your shutter dial), in 'B' shutter mode the shutter stays open whilst ever the shutter release button is held down. You'll need a cable release, most have a shutter lock to keep the shutter open.
To avoid a long 'black frame' turn off noise reduction, by default your camera will take a 'black frame' with the shutter closed on long exposures, this records the noise generated by your sensor and subtracts it from the final image, the duration of the 'black frame' will be the same as the long exposure. It's normal to turn this function off during very long exposures.
Then it's a case of practise, open the shutter and lock it open, wait for however long you want, and then close the shutter. See what you have got, if it's too dark open the aperture and try again, if the star trails are burnt out use a smaller aperture and try again. Once you have the correct aperture it will always be the setting you need.
Trees in your shot will record as a silhouette, avoid the Moon in shot, it's too bright, the average exposure for the Moon is ISO 100, f8, 1/125th of a second. The Moon is brighter than you think, Ideally a moonless night is best for star-trails. If you point your camera due North the star -trails will form a circle.
Don't try to record for too long, your experiments will show you the maximum time you can use, most of the long star-trail pictures you see are multiple shots combined in Photoshop.
Long exposures on a Moonlit night are worth trying too, Moonlight is eerie and will illuminate the scene like daylight with a long exposure, try around a few minutes.
One huge advantage with digital is they just keep recording Photons whilst the shutter is open, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you get even when it's totally dark to you, your camera can record a full colour image if the shutter is open long enough, more difficult than star-trails as exposure times are basically guesswork. Keep a notebook with your times in, then you can repeat or show you if you need more or less time. You need a still night for this as otherwise everything will be blurred.