Photographing the Nova - advice needed

[Analog6 (Odille)]

Will I get a decent image with my Canon nifty 50 (f1.8) lens?
How long an exposure should I give, and recommended ISO speed?
I have a Canon 1DsMkII and a 40D - I'm thinking the 40D will be better at higher ISO?
Any help sincerely appreciated. And I hope I can find the darned thing in the sky!

[JB80 (Jarrod)]

Well I'm giving it a go with the nifty 50 now, finding it is going to be the hard part but I figure if I can keep Delphinus in my bottom left corner then I should be able to get it.
But I'm in the Northern hemisphere so everything may be upside down for you.

Do you have a tracking mount?
If so then I'd go for exposures as long as you can go without too much light pollution orange creeping into the photo. 1 to 2 minutes but really I'd just try and see what works best. I'm on ISO 800 and am using f/4.0 on the 50mm, I have no idea if I would be better served with different settings but it seems to work for me0

If you don't have a tracking mount then probably exposures between 8 - 10 seconds with the 50mm and as high an ISO as you can get away with depending again on LP.

I can't say between the two cameras as I have never used either but I'm sure both will perform well no matter which you choose.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

If you put Delphinus in the center of the FOV, you will catch the Nova.
Once you become familiar with the star field, you can try with a longer lens.
ISO1600 and maybe 15 second exposures. Experiment with the times.

[Jon (Jonathan)]

You'll want to stop down the aperture a bit (try f 3.2) to avoid colour halos around the stars. 15s at ISO1600 should be plenty.