#Startrail make movie starstax how to#
#Startrail make movie starstax manual#
#Startrail make movie starstax iso#

As you repeat this for each layer, you will start to see more and more star trails appear. Starting from the bottom layer (make just this layer visible by clicking on the eye icon on each other layer) select Layer Blending Options and then Lighten. The photos will now load into one image with multiple layers. With the photographs still selected, click Tools > Photoshop > Load files into Photoshop layers. This will synchronize your editing across all the images. Then select all the images, right click, and select Develop Settings > Previous Conversion. Open your selected images in Camera Raw, select your first image, and edit it to your liking. It’s hard to beat Adobe Photoshop (opens in new tab), out of all the best photo editing apps (opens in new tab), for working with star trail images.

If you don't have Adobe Photoshop, you can use StarStaX to edit your astrophotography. (You can shoot with a normal remote release, but you’ll need to set up your timings etc. Once you’re ready to start shooting, make sure you’ve got a fresh battery in your camera, set up your intervalometer, and start taking photos. Hills, mountains, trees, buildings – anything that frames your sky and draws the viewer into the image is ideal.

You need a subject in your foreground to situate your star trails around. Make sure you take some test shots before you start and zoom in to check that your focus is sharp.Ĭomposition is key with star trail images.

#Startrail make movie starstax manual#

Set your lens to manual focus and either pre-focus it to infinity or shine a torch on something around 20 m away, focus using autofocus, and then switch back to manual.

#Startrail make movie starstax iso#

Use your wide-angle lens on its maximum aperture (ideally f2.8 – f4) and shoot at around ISO 800 to start with (you may need to increase your ISO if you’re not getting enough light into your camera).

#Startrail make movie starstax how to#

If this sounds too difficult, then start off by shooting around 10-20 exposures of around 3 minutes instead.Īlways shoot in RAW, so that you’ve got full options in post production, and make sure you turn off your in-camera noise reduction – if you leave it on you will end up with small gaps in your trails (you might find our tips on how to reduce noise in astrophotography (opens in new tab) helpful). For optimum results, you’ll want to shoot around 50-100 exposures of around 30 seconds each. So, it’s best to shoot lots of shorter exposure shots and stack them together afterwards in post production. The trouble with digital technology is that digital camera sensors can get very hot if left open for a long time. In the old days of film, we took star trail shots by simply leaving the shutter open for a long time. Stars wheeling about the North Celestial Pole (Image credit: Getty Images) Our guide on DSLR vs mirrorless camera for astrophotography (opens in new tab) will help you find a camera suitable for you. Olympus cameras have an amazing feature called ‘Live Composite’ which means you can create your star trail images in camera by building up the shot gradually – the E-M1 Mk III (opens in new tab) is a particular favorite. The Peak Design Tripod (opens in new tab) with built-in ball head is the neatest, smallest tripod on the market but you may find its lack of height a little limiting.įor the highest quality star trail images, a full frame camera is your friend, perhaps one of the best cameras for astrophotography (opens in new tab), but you’ll get good quality images with most mid-range APS-C and micro four thirds sensors. You can’t go wrong with a Manfrotto Tripod (opens in new tab) for sturdiness, although the aluminum versions are considerably heavier (but cheaper!) than the carbon fiber equivalents. You’re going to be shooting long exposures and you need a tripod to hold the weight of your camera/lens combo, as well as staying stable in windy conditions. What’s the single most important piece of equipment for star trail photography? The humble tripod! A good sturdy tripod is essential.