I'm constantly having issues trying to get my Samyang 14mm f2.8 ED lens (with petal hood which introduces problems with fitting a clamp on filter and no filter thread) focused while trying to photograph the Milky Way. I can get it near with a mark I've put on the lens with a white marker but I found out last night it's not near enough after taking numerous images and viewing them on the larger computer screen. Though some of that can be attributed to the sun like street light out front, across the road and obstructed by a tree but it still got in my frames from a dark spot in my back yard
We used to have sling shots and rifles todeal with them when I was younger if it shone through the bedroom window all night (my father couldn't spend his beer money on decent curtains, a 22 was far cheaper. I kid you not!)
The camera is a Nikon D810 and I've seen mention on other forums where live view is far from great in the dark,I get something akin to noise on the view screen regardless of ISO, aperture or exposure length.
I've seen mention of using a wire strainer as a crude (very crude) form of Bahtinov mask but had no luck with this and last night I was looking up a review on two toaster type mesh screens which are supposed to work (I can't recall the names but I'll look it up).
SharpStar 2 and the Focus on stars.
I just got an email, one of the 2 won't work with the lens hood (not removable, well, I do have a Dremel and small angle grinder so nothing is impossible)
I can't find them online in Aus and am guessing they are quite pricey, probably still cheaper than Optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Does anyone have any suggestions other than take a large screen out in my back yard and keep pulling the CF card out after every shot and checking the focus?
Leo, this gets harder the wider you go unfortunately.
I have a tiny (guide scope) bahtinov mask that I use with my 50mm lens with a few matchsticks to hold it on the lens hood. That is still quite tricky because the spikes are very small at that focal length.
Pick a bright star to make it easier on yourself. If you can get some magnification in live view, then the more the better. Still, without a mask or some other aid, it’s going to be very hard to nail it.
If you can hook your camera up to USB, I think APT supports Nikon cameras, so you might be able to get a live view in that which makes it easier to see?
Thank you for the information Dunk!
I know it can hook to a monitor somehow, I never remember. I have a 21" unit I bought specifically to take outside which runs from a 12 volt power brick. I should look into cables and see if I can get that working. Throw in pathetic eyesight.....
I did get sent a youtube link by one of the mask manufacturers/suppliers I mentioned. Samyang used to make a filter mask for that very lens which allowed insertion of varying filters but no longer made and no longer available:
I don't know why this would no longer be made available with the popularity of these lenses, particularly with the astrophotographers who have these lenses, they were the best bang for the buck when I got mine. Sure, I'd love a genuine Nikon 14mm, I'd also love that Mayne Nickless van to pull up out the front and have the driver and guard disappear after opening the doors, lol
Just found this via a Google search:
Quote:
Television Playback
Use of an AC adapter and power connector (available separately) is
recommended for extended playback. If the edges of photographs are
not visible in the television display, select 95% for HDMI > Advanced > Output display size (0 270).
HDMI and Live View
When the camera is connected via an HDMI cable, HDMI displays can
be used for live view photography and movie live view (0 48, 59).
Note that if 1920 × 1080; 60p is selected for the Movie settings > Frame size/frame rate option in the shooting menu (0 62), the
selected setting will only be reflected in the HDMI output during
movie recording if all the following conditions are met: Auto or 1080p (progressive) is selected for HDMI > Output resolution, 100% is
selected for HDMI > Advanced > Output display size, and Off is
selected for HDMI > Advanced > Live view on-screen display.
(0 270).
I'll try this tomorrow night if the sky is clear and see if the 21" monitor sees anything other than noise.
Hey Leo just put it on AF just before dark take the pic at something in the distance and just leave it there and switch to Manual.
Just don't touch the focus ring on the lens again, it really does work.
As Leon says, you can use AF during the day and it does work. As an alternative to keep good focus through the night as temps change is to use something illuminated near by.
Short focal length lenses have a very short hyperfocal distance (infinity) of a few metres, so using an object 30 to 50 metres away will get you good focus. I've used street lights, signs, illuminated windows & even the tail lights of my car at dark sites. Use AF to get focus then switch to manual & alls good.
Leo,
I am using small printed B-mask for my w lenses (28 50, 100, 135mm).
And of course - live view, with zoom (not sure about Nikon, Canon has 10x LCD zoom).
Canon 60d is the most practical because of articulate LCD screen.
Hey Leo just put it on AF just before dark take the pic at something in the distance and just leave it there and switch to Manual
Yes, I do this with most of my lenses EXCEPT this is a manual focus lens. That is where my problem lies, I've done that for years with auto-focus lenses, when switched over to manual focus they don't change when I move the camera as long as I don't touch the focus ring.
Thank you gentlemen still but auto-focus is out.
Bojan my Nikon has 10 times zoom on live view but it's pathetic in the dark, it's just noise regardless of what settings I use (f2.8 -22000 ISO either 15-30 seconds or bulb exposure. I've seen this mentioned elsewhere about this camera (by people other than myself), it really is bad.
I'm going to get a poly plumbing fitting (or make something out of sheet brass) and figure out my own wire screen for a Bahtinov mask.
The Canon however, I had a friends 5D mk4 for a couple of months and it's live view in the dark with the same lens (and F to EOS adapter) was AMAZING, I got some nice Milky Way shots from my friends farm with that camera. I could have had his old original 5D which doesn't have live view very cheap, I had it here for over a year but with numerous old Nikon lenses it made sense to get Nikon when the opportunity came up to buy an affordable, used full frame camera.
Had I known about the live view I may have been swayed the other way.
Same friend has an 800mm lens he paid $20,000 for new, he wanted me to bring that home with his Mk4 and play but I declined, now had I gone Canon I may have eventually taken him up on that offer.....
I may go out today and try and find infinity but, I've always found daylight infinity is never spot on the same as star infinity, or my eyes are bad (which they really are, the result of staring into 400 picture tubes per day from a few inches (they emit x ray radiation)), one of my jobs at National was staring into the screen from inches away with my hand feeling around blind making adjustments within. Oh yes, I got some nasty shocks too, they used to run a lot of models with live chassis (240 volts across the entire chassis).
I will however take my 35mm and 85mm Rokinon/Samyang lenses out and see if they have auto focus (I don't remember, I don't use them often) and if they do mark them for night time use.
Thanks Bojan, I already know that and have the adapter, that's why I had my friends old 5D here for over a year and ran it with my Nikon lenses other than one Canon 28-70 zoom he left with me.
You can still use the light/illuminated object I suggested with manual focus. Much easier than trying it on stars. As I say if you can get something 40 or 50 metres away all will be good - in reality at that focal length something 10 or 15 metres away would be more than enough.
Thanks Mark!
I did a heap of playing and even got my son to help, I found out laying awake all night with a bad migraine then trying to focus a 14mm camera on trees at least 100 metres away while still having same migraine was nothing short of shear lunacy.
I went through my 14, 35 and 85mm Rokinon/Samyang lenses (35 and 85 are f1.4) and found focus on the nearest mountain which is still a good distance away. I've marked the lenses with a red marker so it will be easy to find (maybe not in the dark). Not one of them is right at the infinity mark, two are close but the 14mm isn't even remotely close.
Instead of marking, I would use sticky tape to fix the focus position for the coming night.
You can repeat this procedure next day again if you wish to use the lens for "normal" work next day..
BTW, the infinity focus [position may vary from camera to camera..
They are marks that wipe off easily, nothing permanent.
I just spent some time out with my Astro-Trac and the 35mm lens. From what I've read the astro trac should be fine with the wider lenses if they are pointed roughly south for 2 minute exposures and it was pointed at my solar noon south line I have marked with steel in the ground (pipe laying across the yard dug in for mowing purposes) but my 30 second exposures are still out of focus a little at f2 and more rotation than I would have expected to see so my solar noon south line is not accurate. Possibly not even close.
Of course my intervalometer cable has a broken wire so it no longer works but I managed to find just the short wire that connects to the camera cheap on eBay and purchased 2 of them.. Seeing 49 having sold I'm guessing it's a common problem for that particular device.
I'm out playing after a major migraine all night and no sleep so I'm a little not fussed and the headache hasn't abated or I'd have fitted the polemaster up and aligned everything properly. I do know my tripod head was level this time. Last time some IDIOT (me) decided he'd just level the actual head, not the tripod base where the head screws on, that didn't work out very well. I'm living proof you don't have to be stupid to do really stupid things. Or I never used to be.........
I found some plumbing fittings that can be used to make my own, one s a filter and I've seen mention of wire mesh strainers working as a Bahtinov mask with a camera lens but can't find the links now (probably book- marked with all of the other crap I bookmark and never find again).
Aliexpress do have a very nice looking 150mm filter holder specifically for the Samyang lens if anyone else is looking for a solution (it's a little out of my price range):
Couldn't you save yourself a lot of $$ and just get a small (3D printed?) Bahtinov mask and glue some match sticks on it to hold it on the end of the lens when needed?
Yes Dunk I probably could do that but it's cost me under $10 for some plumbing fittings and with the loop side of adhesive Velcro (branded) stuff stuck inside it's a perfect slide on fit. One of the fittings is a screen filter and the mesh screen is perfectly square. I have read in the past a strainer can be used as a Bahtivon mask for camera lenses so I'll see how it works. Failing that I'll get a 90mm plastic Bahtinov mask and make another identical fitting without the screen and adhere the Bahtinov mask into that. It is a good fit.
Anything to hold over the petl shape of that particular lens is not easy to work with, I don't think a couple of plastic bolts (what I use in my larger units) or match sticks would hold very well.
Since one screen filter thingie didn't go right down over the petals I cut a 15mm section off another straight 90mm joiner and glued it on the bottom of the screen unit with plumbing adhesive (and primer). Now I know I need another bottle of adhesive because it's almost solidified bit it worked and is rather strong.
As silly as it may sound I have adhesive, conductive copper tape and I'm going to cover the outside of the thing to stop the static charge and hair, 5 cats and 2 adults with long hair and beards (my son and I, both hairy critters).
Hopefully it will work but of course cloud and rain have returned, typical.
I did find the plastic (PVC pipe) is highly static and we're a household full of hairy monsters so I covered it in adhesive, conductive copper tape which also has conductive glue (used for electronics) and it discharges the static much easier and results in fewer cat/hairy old coot hairs. It's a good fit, if it doesn't work I'll buy an appropriate sized Ba33333htinov mask and glue it in the pipe, I have spare.51111111111111111111111196.33 3333
My cat says "HI".
This is the screen fitted to the lens. It's a perfect fit but did require using the plumbing adhesive to join 2 separate bits. It holds fine.
The adhesive copper (I may have already mentioned, I'm tired, haven't slept) is to discharge static, it actually seems to prevent the build up of static and we are a household full of hairy critters, my son and I included.
