please C&C night landscape.

[Fleacz]

hey guys, i finally had a chance to take a shot at the milky way. however it didnt come out the way i expected it too.
ISO 800, shutter speed 50 seconds, f/3.5

this is another one a took but of a lightning storm on the horizon. how does one focus onto clouds at night if you cant see them through the view finder? (mine is LCD)

please help me.

 

[edouble]

Photo #1When shooting stars you either want a fast properly exposed image or a slow properly exposed image. An in between just doesnt work. A 50 sec shutter speed is too fast for good star trails yet too slow for tack sharp stars. What you end up with is a fuzzy looking image. Photo #2Underexposed and the image is tilted. I would have metered off the water as a start. The horizon needs to be horizontal. Rarely do I see a landscape scene with a tilted horizon that looks good. If you are shooting in the dark either pre focus @ infinity or carry a flashlight.The image quality is poor at best on both photos. ISO 800 should not be a problem. What equipment do you have?

 

[Fleacz]

Photo #1When shooting stars you either want a fast properly exposed image or a slow properly exposed image. An in between just doesnt work. A 50 sec shutter speed is too fast for good star trails yet too slow for tack sharp stars. What you end up with is a fuzzy looking image. Photo #2Underexposed and the image is tilted. I would have metered off the water as a start. The horizon needs to be horizontal. Rarely do I see a landscape scene with a tilted horizon that looks good. If you are shooting in the dark either pre focus @ infinity or carry a flashlight.The image quality is poor at best on both photos. ISO 800 should not be a problem. What equipment do you have?

I have a Panasonic DMC-G10. i used a standard lens, 14-45mm f/3.5-22. i have another zoom lens 45-200mm f/4.5-22. i have a standard tripod, nothing to brag about. how am i suppose to get star trails if my camera only goes to 60 seconds or bulb? also, how long should i have it exposed for tack sharp stars? i read somewhere that ISO 1600 and shutter open for 30 seconds should do the trick, but im a little skeptical about having such high ISO. i tried focusing on clouds on the horizon at sunset and noted down where the mark should be for manual focusing. but the stars still came out a bit fuzzy and the clouds too.