South Celestial Pole - star trails

[StarLane]

This shot of the SCP was taken at Leyburn QLD on June 15th.

Camera and lens: Nikon FM3a with Nikon 20mm f2.8 lens
Exposure: 40 minutes @ f5.6
Film: Fujifilm Superior ISO400

The brightest part is the Large Magellanic Cloud. Above that is the Carina and Vela regions of the southern Milky Way.

[iceman]

Fantastic image Paul, I love it! I'd love to get shots like that.

Would a non-cooled DSLR be capable of such a long exposure without filling half the frame with amp glow?

[astro_south]

Great shot Paul

Thought I recognised the trees ;) . Will have to get out there again soon.

[sheeny]

Very nice!

Al.

[StarLane]

Thanks for that Mike.

I have often wondered that myself. I reckon your right, a non-cooled DSLR would show unwanted glow over long exposure periods. Apart from that, the batteries would run out after a couple of exposures and close the shutter in the middle of a shot.
This is the main reason I used the totally mechanical Nikon FM3a. This camera will work in any conditions regardless of temperature, moisture etc.
Next time I'll try my DSLR and see how long I can shoot for and check the result regarding amp glow.
What I like about this shot is the huge number of stars recorded on the film. This can only occur at a dark sky site.

Cheers, Paul.

[Omaroo]

Very nice Paul :)

You've just jogged me into setting both of my Nikon F and EL film cameras up for a couple of star trail shots. I have the F sitting there right now with a 23mm at f5.6 and the EL is there with a 55mm at the same. I'll give them about 40 minutes too - the same as you and on 400ASA Fuji slide.

Time to develop all of these. I haven't done any in a while after getting the D40. At least I still use all of my lenses regularly :)

Cheers
Chris