Rodney Campbell's Blog

Star City

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S @ 85 mm, 15 sec at f/1.8, ISO 64 x 784 Frames

Well call me “surprised”. I’m actually pretty stunned this worked. Given the astro unfriendly conditions I was shooting in

As mentioned in my previous post I’d decided to try shooting Star trails… From my bathroom window :). Pointing towards the Chatswood CBD city skyline

I setup my tripod at the window with a lens I’d never used for Astro before (the Nikkor Z 85/1.8). Shooting wide open at f/1.8

I was also shooting at the camera’s base ISO of 64. Normally I’d be shooting star trails at a ISO of somewhere in the 400 to 1600 range. However the light pollution was WAY to bright for that

This was the main reason why I was expecting this to end up being a fail. Having to shoot with such a low exposure (ISO)

I started shooting at 9:10PM (the end of astronomical twilight – Sunset was way back at 7:44PM). I just let the camera run till the battery let out and went to bed. This resulted in 1009 x 15 second frames shot. Finishing at 1:42M (four and a half hours later). Which I thought was actually surprisingly good for the mirrorless Z7 camera

I was only able to use the first 784 frames for the final star trails. Some clouds came through at various times (mostly just at the bottom as you can see here). After the 784 mark some very heavy cloud cover came through obscuring the entire sky

Purple Daze

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 85mm f/1.8 S @ 85 mm, 10 sec at f/1.8, ISO 64

This shot is just a (nice late twilight (8:30PM)) composition and exposure test for a shot I was planning

I’d been “pestering” Gerry about doing some astro. Even though it had been cloudy and raining quite a bit in Sydney lately; there appeared to be a short window of opportunity on the new moon. The “predictions” were for minimal to no cloud this evening

Milky Way action was out. The core doesn’t show during the night. At least not the sensible time of the night. Not for a few months from now

I decided to try startrails again… but this time from my bathroom window 🙂

It faces roughly east and has a good view of the Chatswood CBD skyline in the distance

A wide fast lens is out – like my 14/2.4 or 20/1.8. Everything is too far away and too much of my suburban street (and trees) would be cluttering the shot. I was thinking of using my 70-200/2.8. But then had a lightbulb moment and though I’d go the Nikkor Z 85/1.8

It’s a classic portrait monster so I have no idea if it’s a “good” astro lens but for trails…

Anyway we’re deep in metropolitan Sydney. Pointing towards a massive source of light pollution and insanely lit buildings. So my expectations are VERY low …

Queenstown Heights

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S @ 24 mm, 1/50 sec at f/8, ISO 64 x 10 Frames

The view over Queenstown from the viewing platform at the top of the Skyline Queenstown

The Skyline gondola runs from the edge of town to the top of the mountain which looks over the town

The lovely place we were staying is just down there …

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Earnslaw View

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S @ 120 mm, 1/125 sec at f/8, ISO 90 x 8 Frames

We left our motorhomes behind at Queenstown and switched accommodation there. We were staying in this very spacious stone house near the centre of Queenstown. It was a short walk to town but it was a VERY steep hill 🙂

We took a trip on the TSS Earnslaw along Lake Wakatipu. This a view from the ship – and eight frame heldheld panorama

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.

Bennetts Bluff Lookout

NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S @ 36 mm, 1/50 sec at f/9, ISO 64 x 8 Frames

This is the view of Lake Wakatipu from Bennetts Bluff Lookout on the drive back to Queenstown

A eight handheld frame stitched panorama

Note: These photographs (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger. To see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer click any of the images.