Curious to what settings and equupment you are using for these shots!
It'd be cool if you could do a 15 min time lapse but not many people have lasers that can handle that duty cycle. Bet my MagLite would do wonders in the cold. Was looking to bring it home this holiday season but stuck in FL now
Oh well, WalMart sells smoke bombs down here so ill have to have some fun in the sun
I wonder if you get longer duty cycles if your out in the cold.
Thanks fells
Settings were about 20 seconds at F2.8 with my tokina 11-16
Used high ISO 800-3200 for different shots
Where is tom at to tell me what that cluster is in the green pic!?
Could be the seven sisters. Wasn't paying attention to the star charts at all. With ultra wide angle its hard to tell
I'm planning on doing reviews and laser**** pics for my units soon. I'd like to do night shots on a new moon at the Colorado National Monument, and try to capture the red rocks, stars and laser beams in one pic. I know my camera is not up to snuff. Are shots like this possible with a setup costing less than $200 or maybe $300? can someone point me in the right direction for a good camera for night beam shots, It'll obviously need adjustable shutter speed
Google "Devil's Kitchen Colorado National Monument" to see the location, I may do more in other areas of the park. Google just "Colorado National Monument" to see more scenery
Beam shots from the overlook to "Independence Monument" should be cool.
I love your shots, rep for you tsk1979
Wow, you can't say **** here? wierd. what about ****ography? just those four letters huh!?
300$ is a good amount of money. You can get an entry level mirrorless for that much.
You need something with 4/3" sensor or better APS-C sensor.
I am not much aware of the 4/3 micro 4/3 scene, but I do own a sony NEX with APS-C
The entry level NEX can be had for around 350$, similarly for the Canon EOS M as well as your Olympus pen series.
Small sensor cameras with manual controls can also do such shots. Take one with not so high pixel density
So lets list out the cameras
Mirrorless 4/3
Olympus E-PM3 -> 350$ approx
Sony nex - 3n/F3/A3000 anyone will do 300-400$
Canon EOS M - 330$ approx
All these are with kit lenses. So very limited.
For your use, an enthusiast camera is best with manual controls and decent usable zoom
Panasonic FZ-200 - Fast lens great zoom, great all rounder. Little noise heavy due to small sensor, but you can do a F2.8 shot at ISO 800 and get stars in the sky without issue in a 30 second exposure. Switch on laser for only 2 seconds. 350$
Panasonic LX7 - 280$ - Limited zoom, but much better sensor. So not so much of an all rounder
DMC LF1 - Again, larger sensor, better zoom range good IQ 299$ better all rounder - Probably best for you. Will do starry skies with ease.
so lots of choices take your pick
Some pointers.
Entry level mirroless are cheap. But for versatality, you will probably buy a 14-140 type of kit lens or two lens kits which will come to 500-600$ total
So 300-400$ budget is just for the 18-55 kit which is limited
Enthusiast compacts with 1/1.7" or larger sensors can be had for 250/300$ for the limited zooms (upto 200mm)
Fast lens cams like LX7 may not have so much zoom, but have good bright aperture, so you can do night shots at ISO 400 and still great clear stars and night landscapes.
If your budget is 300$ tops limit you will have to get something with a reasonably large sensor and slow lens.
But if you can stretch a bit the P7700/G15 canon for 350$ odd be the all in ones.
The G15 is faster in performance, while the P7700 has a longer zoom and 60s long exposure possible!! Great for Star trails too!
You also have to understand that camera companies often produce incremental improvements
Like P7800 follows the P7700. Due to P7800, the P7700 price is now 350$
But the actual IQ difference will be very very less.
So always get a camera from a previous generation which is almost as good, for a lot less price.
P7700 is amazing, but its a little lag heavy. It takes time to respond. Not good for action photography.
But then it has the 200mm zoom as opposed to the G15 150mm
But G15 has a brighter lens so you can get better long zoom shots.
from your budget needs I feel you are not going into lenses and stuff, and will use the camera for 3-4 years
So spend 350$ now, get an enthusiast compact with manual controls
G15 - good performance faster lens but limited zoom and 15s tops speed(not good for starry skies so much)
P7700 - Slow camera, but good zoom, and 60s exposure possible
