D700, 24mm f/1.4G, and the milky way

[Sw1tchFX]

So I knew there was a reason why I got that new 24mm f/1.4!

Went up to Mt. Hood yesterday morning to catch some stars. Originally I was going to do some trails, but thought i'd give the D700 and the new 24mm f/1.4 a run for their money.

O..M..G..

The combination of the camera and lens was so bright, I was able to see stars and use live view to focus. That's pretty unbelievable.

Exposures hung around 15 seconds f/1.4 and ISO 6400, generally not going too far off from that.

When seen at 100% I think i messed up on the focus, or it could be the fact that these are at ISO 6400 and f/1.4 and i'm seeing coma, the details are not super tight like i thought they'd be or what I've seen when shooting in daylight with this lens. I'll have to work with it more to see what I did wrong.

nonetheless, here are the pictures:

I can already tell, this thing is going to be worth every stinking minimum wage penny, I couldn't do these shots a week ago!

 

[Mbnmac]

Wow, that's pretty awesome.

Will have to try that when I get my new camera, doubt it'll turn out as nice though!

 

[pbelarge]

AJ

Looks like someone had a lot of fun. Those are incredible shots. I was not expecting to see so many stars. I like these shots more than star trails.

What time of the night was this, you mention "early morning"?

Is there a better time of night for this, the reason you went in the early morning, or any time of full darkness will do?

I notice that Portland is fairly close. Did you face the camera to the east to avoid the light pollution from Portland?

Does the time of year affect these shot? Such as winter maybe is better due to less humidity.

 

[lamar328]

Amazing shots there!
Second is by far my favourite comp.
Focusing is also pretty good. Any recomendations on focusing at night? My camera doesn't have the greatest low-light metering.

 

[Arch]

Yup looks like the lens was worth the money for sure, these are real nice :thumbup:

 

[Derrel]

ISO 6,400. f/1.4. 15 seconds. It's like a fantasy that came to fruition.

ISO Six thousand four hundred...I can barely wrap my head around that!!

 

[Dao]

Amazing shots!!

 

[altitude604]

WOW!

 

[Art Photographers]

WOW! speachless.

 

[epp_b]

ISO 6,400. f/1.4. 15 seconds. It's like a fantasy that came to fruition.

ISO Six thousand four hundred...I can barely wrap my head around that!!

You'd better not even think about the D3s, or your head might explode.

 

[AlexL]

my wallet just exploded looking at this thread.

 

[icassell]

Gorgeous! How come the star reflections in the water are trails, whereas the stars in the sky are points of light?

 

[epp_b]

Gorgeous! How come the star reflections in the water are trails, whereas the stars in the sky are points of light?

You're going to want to delete that post when you the lightbulb flicks on and you realize just how silly a question that was

 

[kundalini]

*comes out of the dungeon*

Gorgeous!

Makes my 20mm f/2.8 suck hind tit. Well done.

 

[eric-holmes]

I'M SO JEALOUS!!!