Mt Banks Rainbow

[adavis]

Well, here is my third attempt at getting this shot right, and I think that I am getting close. it troubles me to look at this version and think 'why didnt I up the exposure in processing' but I will do that tonight :-)

oh forgot the details :-)

Canon 7D
18mm, f3.5, 20s
two rows of 12 images (24) stitched.

[Larryp]

Nice work, Andrew

[ourkind]

Oh that's stunning well done Andrew!!

[iceman]

That's really good! Now you just need more foreground :)

[adavis]

lol, yeah OK well the 6th trip out there will be the winner :-)
I didnt think of more foreground, bugger.

[iceman]

Foreground gives it context - a time and place.

It's not a nightscape without some foreground (in my books, anyway :)).

[adavis]

Ok OK OK, very valid feedback :thumbsup:
I'm heading back to Mt Banks this Saturday, so i'll give it another shot.
The moon will be much dimmer then too, so it is a worthy exercise.

[gregbradley]

Did you have the camera on full manual? The right hand side panels are brownish. You need to lock exposure so it doesn't auto meter as you swing around.

You can get a higher frame by holding the camera in portrait orientation (you may've done that).

F3.5 is kind of slow - is that because the lens has aberrations wide open?

Greg.

[adavis]

Camera was shot in Bulb mode, so I guess that is pretty much fully manual, I use an intervalometer to set exposure times and control shutter.
I think that the colour casting is due to the bright moon illuminating the left hand side and when the camera isnt looking at it the colour cast changes, not sure to be honest, but the exposures were all the same.

yeah it is portrait shots, two high, I just didnt think to get more foreground in the shot, not to mention that it was pitch black :-)

Unfortunately, f3.5 is the widest that this lens goes to, otherwise I would be definitely shooting wider open.

[gregbradley]

I don't think the moon is the reason for that brown cast. I haven't seen that happen with any of my cameras (several brands). What does the exif data show about exposure details for those shots? Did you set a fixed white balance for all when processing? I usually process a RAW of one from a series in a panorama to where I like it then save the settings and simply apply them to the rest in the sequence. That works well.

No polariser on the lens is there? If that happens again I would suggest holding down the exposure lock button when taking the shots and not use an intervalometer.

The Samyang 14mm F2.8 lens is hard to beat bag for buck and you can load a distortion correction lens profile to correct that. It will help get a wider and higher image.

Greg.

[iceman]

Andrew has the 7D, so the Samyang 14mm isn't very wide on a crop sensor.

I'd recommend the TOkina 11-16 f2.8.

[adavis]

Hi Greg, thanks heaps for the pointers and suggestions, it is appreciated :-)

No Polariser, I would need to look at the WB but it wasnt on auto, in fact, nothing was on auto. I have seen the variable colour cast from Mt Banks before due to the different types of lights at each end of the pano.
On the right the glow cast is from the fog based street lights at Bell, where as in this image the moon gave a much whiter tinge to it.

I'm going back this weekend for another crack at it, and will do some playing around this time.

I didnt process the individual images beyond a lens profile before stitching, I processed them in LR after stitching as one, so that wasnt the issue either.

Yes, I am looking for a better lens, just trying to convince the minister for finance that it is a good idea :-)

[adavis]

Cool, thanks for the recommendation Mike, I am looking for a wider, lower aperture lens very soon, so that really helps out.
Thinking ahead, will that lens work ok with full frame sensor?

cheers

[iceman]

No :)

It won't work on a full-frame sensor. So it depends how long you plan on sticking with the 7D before you get itchy for full-frame :)

Not long I suspect ;)

[adavis]

hmmmm, arrrmm, hmmm, bugger.

I'm itchy, dont get me wrong, but having JUST bought the 7D, cant justify a full frame.
well, not this year at least, that just wont fly.

I got the 7D by stealth, we needed a family camera as we were sick of using iPhones and getting no photos of the kids in assemblies and band recitals.
Now we have fantastic photos of the kids, but yeah, Im left wanting :-)

[gregbradley]

No Polariser, I would need to look at the WB but it wasnt on auto, in fact, nothing was on auto. I have seen the variable colour cast from Mt Banks before due to the different types of lights at each end of the pano.
On the right the glow cast is from the fog based street lights at Bell, where as in this image the moon gave a much whiter tinge to it.

I'm going back this weekend for another crack at it, and will do some playing around this time.

I didnt process the individual images beyond a lens profile before stitching, I processed them in LR after stitching as one, so that wasnt the issue either.

Yes, I am looking for a better lens, just trying to convince the minister for finance that it is a good idea :-)[/QUOTE]

Its an odd phenomena. Its hard to understand because I haven't seen it happen with my gear. Perhaps next time if it happens again try using the exposure lock or double check you are in fact in manual mode (bulb may not put it in manual mode??). Actually now that I think about it I have seen something similar with my 40D. Perhaps something is still on auto despite the settings (auto metering or auto white balance). I would try setting white balance to a specific temperature like 4200K.

I have my cameras set to manual mode and set the exposure using the internal camera exposure settings and set the ISO and white balance usually to 4200K and for the Nikon I knock down green and magenta one click - Canon would be different. I set the aperture manually. Focus is set and sometimes locked (with a piece of tape on the focus ring) or simply left alone. It can be tricky with a Polarie as the action of mounting it on the Polarie can knock the focus ring and put focus off.

Different brands have slightly different responses. For Fuji XE1 (best mirrorless low light high ISO low noise performer) and Sony Nex 6 auto white balance works really well. Fuji in particular has a fantastic white balance firmware, superior to other cameras I have used. Sony is good too but in a more automated way, noisier than the XE1 but still quite good. It really needs longer exposures and the 30 second style of shooting isn't deep enough to take much processing. XE1 is and Nikon D800E is quite a strong and deep signal (high sensitivity chip).

Its part camera, part lens, part tracking device, part Art! About equal doses of each!

Greg.

[adavis]

Good point, I will give that a crack for sure.



Yep I figured out the focus trick myself, I have a rubber band that slips over the focus ring and holds it in place. The Canon 18mm-200mm zoom has a really loose focus ring in manual.

Im beginning to work it all out and get into a routine now, that has me checking the focus, the ISO, the aperture and the intervalometer timing maybe 5 times before I take a shot. I need to add WB and such other auto items in there too.

[lacad01]

Great image Andrew, nicely done :thumbsup:

[adavis]

Thanks, I'm going to have another crack at it this weekend to see if I can improve the shot. :)

[matt34]

Nice work Andrew, I bet it was fun trying to stitch all 24 images together.

My 2 cents re lenses is get ones that are full frame compatible. I'm a very recent convert to full frame and I'm so glad my investment in lens isn't wasted. When I first started buying additional lenses I never thought I'd go full frame but thought it was a way of future proofing myself. It also helped me justify the full frame purchase as I only needed a new body all my lenses still worked so it was "just" the cost of the body :)

[adavis]

Stitching them actually was a piece of cake for that one, chuck it at the software that I am using and that was pretty much it, I didnt need to adjust anything. (hugin)

I need to do some research at the pro/cons of going full frame lens on the non full frame body, but yeah I do agree with the principal.

[adavis]

OK, wrong place to ask the question, but to all that have made the comments I am after your feedback on lenses for the 7D, to go full frame or not.

I found the image attached to try and understand the difference.

If I can get away with a FF lens on the 7D then it is probably the best option for a later FF upgrade, but I dont want to lose out on wide angle.

I need a lens that is at least in the low double digit focal length, but if I go full frame that means that a 10mm = 16mm?

Can anyone weigh in on the down sides of FF on 7D?

thanks

[rogerg]

I have the 7D.
I would only buy full frame lenses. I bought many of mine back in film days (full frame), and one day will go back to full frame in digital.
I have the 17-40 F/4 L and 8-14 F/4 L fisheye as my wide angles.

I think you need to factor in what you're wanting the wide angle for. If it's to get more sky in one frame, then yes the sky is at infinite distance and the only way you'll fit more in is to get a wider angle lens. If it is to fit more landscape in, or to achieve a different effect with landscape, then it comes down to technique (including positioning yourself relative to foreground and distant objects) as much as the wide angle. It can be surprising how wide field a photograph can look even though it's taken with a 24 or 35mm lens. I learned the latter thought John Shaw books I bought (back in film days).

On the 7D... The 17-40 is very wide and will fit the central bulge of the milky way no problem. Obviously the 8-14 will fit a lot more, basically a whole half the sky pretty much, which is huge. You get the fisheye effect with the 8-14 which suits some shots and not others. Both lenses are top quality, especially the 8-14 which is extremely sharp and pinpoint undistorted stars to the edge at F/4.

Btw, great shot :thumbsup: ... which is why I came to the thread in the first place :)

[adavis]

Hi Roger,

thanks for the good info.
I'm actually pretty convinced now to go with Mikes Tokina 11-14 suggestion due to the loss of frame at 1.6 on a FF lens.

I currently have the Canon 17mm-200mm zoom and while it is good, I want to get that bit wider shot, but overall I want a bigger aperture than f3.5.
That is pretty much my number one driver at the moment, aperture.

That all said, I very much appreciate that I am definitely going to want to go full frame in the future. How long away that is is yet to be determined, but it isnt going to be this year, I've only just bought the 7D.

[rogerg]

no problem ... 11-16 f/2.8 looks like a good price for the aperture :)