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Question: What nikon digital camera accessories are best for capturing fantastic photos of the night sky?

(Posted by: on 2010-08-28 00:56:17)

My mother has a top- notch Nikon digital camera with some pretty cool on- screen editing options, zoom lens (I don't know the exact magnification, sorry), and so on. It's a very nice camera. But, no matter what I do (what zoom I use, flash, no flash), I can only capture the brightest objects in the night sky - usually the moon. Tonight, there was a magnificent wave thing going in the sky - but all I see are tiny specks that are various shots of the moon as the clouds passed over or revealed it; everything else is black (well, except the edge of a tree lit by the flash - although that actually looked kinda cool). Obviously, I don't have the right equipment or camera for night photography (or night sky photography, in this case). With Christmas only a few months away, I'd like to know what kind of accessories I would need to capture those awesome moments in the night sky's history.

Posted by: Hondo on 2010-08-28, 01:01:12

You need a tripod and a stopwatch. For photos of the night sky, you will need to keep the shutter open for several seconds or even minutes. During that time the camera CANNOT MOVE, hence the tripod. BTW, a flash will not work for the night sky. Stars are millions of miles away, and even the best built in camera flashes are only good for 50 feet or so.

Posted by: Harry on 2010-08-28, 01:08:06

- Tripod to hold the camera steady, since you need to have the shutter open for longer time for any night photography - wireless remote if you want to turn on shutter for longer time (in bulb mode if present). Also has an added advantage of reduce the vibration which might come on pressing of shutter release button manually - optional view finder cover. we can use a dark cloth to cover it as well..

Posted by: Jeroen Wijnands on 2010-08-28, 02:18:17

O?K, newsflash, problems like these are not solved by throwing money at it. All you need is a tripod and an understanding of what youre doing. Get a copy of a good photography book for beginners

Posted by: Zachary on 2010-08-28, 08:06:56

Yeah.. your going to want to get a tripod. A cheap one is good. I use one I bought from Target. I use a Canon Digital Rebel xTI EOS. 35-55mm and have a fish-eye lens as well. When shooting you want to use the lowest ISO (100), no flash. Flash will over expose the picture. Your going to want to leave the shutter open for about 30 seconds to about 1.5-2 minutes. Depending on the environment your in. I shoot in B &W in Night photography. If you visit my website you can see some night/ low-light shots. zachsphotography.webs.com I've been in photography for 3 years. I'm more of the trial and error type of freelance photographer. I am starting to experiment with infrared photography. Which gives the photo a "gothic " look.