need some help

[jasonpply]

hi all. I'm new here. i bought a telescope and a digital camera last year. my camera is a sony DSC-H2. i wanna do some astrophotos this summer after i buy a telescopic lens. my problem is i dont know how to setup for long exposures. i can only set the shutter at 2 seconds. anybody have this camera or have an idea how to help me would be awesome.:doh:

[jasonpply]

i may be in the wrong thread

[Nick Theodorakis]

If you want the thread moved, report your original post (click on the red triangle thingy) and ask the mods to move it.

Nick

[Swift]

jasonpply, I went ahead and moved it. If this doesn't work for you, drop me a PM (personal message)

[jasonpply]

thank you any help lol

[aurora]

I do not have that camera, but if you have a manual for it, or if you can look one up online on the manufacturer's web site, you can see if it mentions how to adjust the shutter speed. Some cameras have what used to be called a "bulb" (B) setting, which basically kept the shutter open until you clicked to close it.

If your camera can only be set to have a 2 second exposure at the longest, then I fear you will not be able to do much astronomy with it. Other than the Moon, which is very bright.

[stktos]

I do not have that camera. But have digital that is kind of like it. And yes, all that camera can do is 2 sec. at the longest. Sorry, but unless you can find a hack (software) for it somewhere to force it to stay open for X amount of time you may be out of luck.

[schlaugh]

Well, maybe a bit more than two seconds but still only useful for short durations. From a product review website (http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/H2/H2A.HTM):

- Shutter speeds from 1/2,000 to 1/4 sec in Auto mode; 1/2,000 to one second in Program mode; and 1/1,000 to 30 seconds in Manual mode.

- Image noise high at ISO 400 and up; at 800 and 1,000 images are almost unusable

Basically you can take a shot of the moon or maybe a planet but unlikely you can resolve constellations. And forget Deep Sky Objects such as nebulae; for those you need the ability to leave the shutter open for many consecutive minutes. Which is why at the low-cost amateur level, film is still pretty darned useful.

(Sorry...) :sad:

[jasonpply]

so if i get what you had said i can only get 30 secs of exposure time so would deep sky objects still be outta the question even with a telescopic lens.

[aurora]

Yes. You could image the moon, and also the brightest planets (Jupiter and Saturn).

In a wide field view from a dark site with a 30 second exposure, maybe the very brightest stars would show up, but I'm not sure.

[schlaugh]

so if i get what you had said i can only get 30 secs of exposure time so would deep sky objects still be outta the question even with a telescopic lens.

Correct. DSOs require many minutes of exposure and even if your camera could take a a 50 or 60 minute exposure the noise produced by the CCD would render the image into a mess. And a longer lens would only reduce the light entering the camera and require even longer exposure times.

See this site for a good primer on astrophotography (http://www.astropix.com/).

FWIW I have a Nikon Coolpix which can produce a 5-minute exposure. Even at that duration the constellation Orion barely shows up and, without an equatorial mount and electric drive, is already creating star trails.