is this filter good for long exposure shots at night, for pictures of the stars?
688684
In general, a neutral density filter is used to reduce the amount of light that passes through the lens without affecting the color, regardless of the brand. It is very useful for bright outdoor or indoor conditions, allowing for increased aperture without over exposure. When it comes to nigh time photography (this includes video) I would remove any filter that decreases the amount of light reaching the sensor (or film) as a neutral density filter would work against gathering enough light for a good exposure. Adjusting the aperture would be the way to control night time shots.
688685
Have not used it for that. However, I use it during the brightest parts of the day so I can shoot wide-open at times.
1117320
I used it to photograph the moon and it was great. I bought it for long shots at wildlife but the sky shots are great.
1540293
Yes! Remarkably well! Of course, pay attention to the "day" "night" "stars", etc settings. For most purposes, you'll want to keep the "low light" setting on.
1579277
IR and nightvison are two different things for most people. Which are you asking for? This is an IR (infrared)filter that blocks most of the visible light in order to use IR to make the exposure. So using this filter at night would be tough since in the dark you will lose all autofocusing. You would need an IR source to use it at all and it would need to be fairly strong and/or pretty close to the subject. Depending on the camera, you may or may not get decent false coloring. But no matter what you will need to process the image after shooting it to be either B/W or false color. It will be seriously red. You will give up some clarity so dont be surprised. I have a sample of this lens on a D700 on my G+ page. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/101688838116518955904/albums/5803489596685783889
1333593
This is primarily a Macro lens, for shooting tiny things. It would work for northern lights, but there are probably better choices out there, depending on your budget and camera type.
2116419
I have had pretty good luck with night shots, however it only works if there's a little light to work with. I have put my camera in an area where there's a lot of over growth and No moon light and my pictures are also dark.If the area is open and there's some light to work with its pretty good in my opinion.
1282539
No. You can take long exposures with it, but you're better off spending the cash on a DSLR body like a Canon T3i and a program like BackyardEOS if you want to image deep sky objects.
1620972
I just got it and did a test of the sun and using the quickest shutter speed and lowest iso (iso 100 and 1/4000) and what I found is that it is pretty dark but I don't know if it is dark enough. I do believe it can but the only one way to know for sure is to test it this week. *WARNING* taking photos of the direct sun can possible damage your camera and its sensor because, while the sun emits visible light, it also produces UV and IR frequencies which are damaging so I would suggest getting a UV filter as well to add in the protection and minimize chance for damage.
1329390
This lens would be a disaster for action at night. It's manual focus, the maximum aperture is f/8, there's no vibration reduction. As a matter of fact, it would barely be usable for action in full daylight. Sorry... if you want to shoot action at night, you're going to need a fast lens and a camera body that will do high ISO.
583514
If you are referring to long exposure for star trails, this camera does not have a bulb setting, so it is limited to the standard shutter settings of up to 60 seconds, not a very long trail. I did see where one guy combined shots to create the trails, but with the multiple shots, the trails were dashes. If you are referring to time lapse video, this camera does have an automated feature that allows one to take photos at user specified intervals and turn them into a video at user specified frame rates. I have had fun with this feature, but I haven't done it at night.
869030
Takes a standard 77mm UV filter. Not sure if it creeps into the image. I can check.
1414087
I haven't tried it but I know you need longer exposures and deeper depth of field for astrophotography. I wouldn't use it at it's widest aperture for that kind of photography. Instead I'd stop down and drop my ISO. I'd leave the shutter open as long as possible.
1100757
I threw mine away it was so bad. There is no way that I would recommend this filter to anyone. A very clear dark X banding was across the frame. Don't waste your money on it. The banding completely ruined shots that I used it for on some waterfalls (which is what I bought it for).
1398533
I always have a UV or skylight filter mounted on my Canon lenses, purely as protection for the lens from either dust or damage. The hood can be screwed directly onto the filter and it does not effect your pictures.
1324234
Hi Brian....I have used the SLY358C for both star trails as well as All Sky Photography, meteor showers, and the Lunar Eclipse. It works perfectly for these uses though I might go with longer focal length and smaller F ration next time I purchase a lens.
561302
Yes! Very much so. I use it for moonrises. I think it has a limit of 300 shots.
2078067
Absolutely. I often use this remote for star trail photos, where I set the camera to BULB, and the release manages the exposure. I can easily do >30 second exposure, and often have left the camera and remote set up shoot a series of 5-minute exposures for as many as I need to get the desired effect, up to the limit for the remote.