CRISP night shots.

petruccelli

Hey all,

So I have been taking night shots for quite some time now. They are turning out relatively well, however, I have yet to get any super crisp shots. They look excellent on a screen but as soon as you zoom in they are blurry; nothing is crisp.

I'm wondering if it the lens? The results seem to be the same, not crisp, regardless of ISO, aperture, or shutter speed.

I'm using a T2i with a 15-85mm Canon lens. Shot on manual focus to infinity. Is there some trick I'm missing? Is there a way in post to clean it up if it's an ISO issue? This picture was shot at 3200 which is very high.

Anyone have any tips? I generally feel like none of my shots are super crisp because when I get one that is it is extremely noticeable. I use a tripod about 80% of the time (100% of the time on night shots). What am I doing wrong?


Here's a link to one example:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mx52mvo9x1i4htj/IMG_1931.JPG

PBked

Hi there
The problem you are highlighting would require several pages of scientific explanation. However, basically it boils down to the hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity of your camera's sensor.
The problem you describe is common to most consumer digital cameras because they have been designed to take pictures in daylight. You can look through many night shots posted on various forums which may look clear and crisp, but if you were able to zoom in on them you would find exactly the same symptom you mention.
Canon have tried to redress the balance by producing the 60Da, especially for astronomers, at an affordable price. You may like to check out it's specs if night photography is your main interest.
By the way, I thought your pic was very atmospheric and the 'noise' did not bother my appreciation of it.

wcsodennie

I was thinking the same thing as PBked. I really liked the picture even with a little noise.