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This has come up a lot: Comet photography tips

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

Lots of folks are asking me how to photograph the comet. Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is in its glory for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Look southwest and find Venus. Then look a bit to the right and up from Venus. Venus is the brightest star in the southwest sky right after sunset so it is easy to find by anyone.

_OS19492.jpg_OS19501.jpg

Canon 1DX with Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports Lens at 300mm. Exposure ISO 1600, f4, SS 4 sec.

Use all manual and MF. Focus your lens on the Moon first and leave it there so not move the focus ring. Use a good heavy duty tripod.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!
9 REPLIES 9

stevet1
Authority
Authority

Ernie,

Thanks for this.

It's nice of you to help people out.

Steve Thomas

justadude
Rising Star
Rising Star

Great tips, Ernie!  Nice images as well.
One additional tip I can add would be to use a little bit of gaffers tape on the focus ring once you get it set.  It is so easy to bump that when taking nighttime photos.  Yes, I've learned this the hard way - lol.  


Gary

Digital: Canon: R6 Mk ll, R8, RP, 60D, various lenses
Film: (still using) Pentax: Spotmatic, K1000, K1000 SE, K2000, Miranda: DR, Zenit: 12XP, Kodak: Retina Automatic II, Duaflex III

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

My rig for shooting Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

rig.jpg

If you are going to try it sooner is better than later as it is getting farther away as we speak which means more dim.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

surfercook
Apprentice

Amazing shots, biggs! I have a Canon sx70 and am struggling to get a decent shot of Comet ATLAS. Didn't help that I didn't even learn of the big fella until the 15th. I've been using Tv mode and setting the exposure to maximum at 15 seconds. Camera on tripod triggered w/wired remote. Not sure how to set the ISO. I see you are shooting at ISO 1600. I have never set ISO, don't know how to do it, and don't even know what it is! LOL! Can you tell I'm an amateur photographer? I do get satisfying results shooting the moon which I try to shoot every super moon event and I did Google ISO so at least you don't have to explain it to me. Looks like it ISO 1600 is for super low light conditions but artifacts a lot of noise into an image.
Camera ISO is a camera setting that controls how sensitive the camera's sensor is to light
Here are my results and I've edited most of them in PS.
10/1510/15

10/1510/1510/1510/1510/1610/16Harvest Super Moonrise 10-16-2024 web.jpgComet Atlas guide chart.png

Harvest Super Moonrise 10-16-2024 landscape web.jpg

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

I am sorry as I don't know how to set things on the Canon SX70. I had to Google it to see what model it is. But since it ia a camera the settings required will be the same and that is what I advise you to try. Sky photography is all about trying. You try as many different settings as you deem pertinent to the situation. I landed on Exposure ISO 1600, f4, SS 4 sec. but I tried several others to get there.

Last night I used a 150mm lens and got this shot.

_OS19542.jpg

This shot shows you have (3.8 to 247mm lens) what you need to get a good photo with your Canon SX70 and fixed zoom lens. Although I am sure other settings like Tv can and will work however I recommend you try mine first since we know they work.

I failed to mention to make sure you use raw format. Not jpg, never, never use jpg. And do make sure you use Photoshop to edit.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

surfercook
Apprentice

Your pictures are awesome. Thanx for the inspiration and help. I checked out ISO settings in Tv mode and it appears that ISO can only be increased w/SS of 1 sec. And incremental increase is SS negates ISO to 100 as a default. I'll try again tonight w/various settings. I did manage to find RAW so hopefully that will also help. Thanx again.

CinCinderella
Apprentice

How are you getting a "tail" streak? My settings are same, but no streak. Thank you for taking the time to teach us. I feel rather dumb. Are you stacking your photos? If so, are you using photoshop? Obviously I don't have editing software. Yet 😉

ebiggs1
Legend
Legend

CinCinderella,

The photos are as shot. They do go through Lightroom and perhaps Photoshop for some enhancement of what is already there. LR applies lens correction upon import from the camera. In this case lens correction may not be a necessary thing but it is a preset in my LR.

"My settings are same, but no streak."

I would have to know more detail and perhaps a sample photo to explain why no comet tail. It could be the resolution of your lens or low light sensitivity of your camera sensor, I don't know with out more info. One thing I may have overlooked is to always make sure you are using raw and not jpg. Raw collects and saves way more digital info than jpg does.

"I don't have editing software. Yet "

Canon offers DPP4 for free all you have to do is d/l it from their website. It is a capable editing software package which does automatic import to your computer. No good reason to not get it.

The lens you use will have different results. Here is last evenings shot using a 600mm lens. It is a much slower lens and is more challenging to get a good photo.

_OS19530-Enhanced-NR-Edit-Edit.jpg

As FL gets longer and exposure gets longer, tracking starts to become an issue. Plus the need for a very sturdy tripod.

EB
EOS 1DX and 1D Mk IV and less lenses then before!

Great tips, thank you! I've got to remember to shoot in raw. My settings were 1600, 2.8 wide shot of 24mm to 70 mm, shutter open for 20 to even 30 secs. I'll keep trying. 

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