Amateur astronomer and photographer in combination, Andrew Simes He shared the secrets of the shooting of the heavenly bodies on the iPhone. He has produced incredible images that few people are indifferent. In his experience, the quality of the cameras is quite modern smartphones allows you to shoot the moon, and even the world, though not without the help of a telescope.
For lack of funds for expensive high-quality equipment, a smartphone can be a starting point for a beginner astrophotography as well as a useful aid for experienced astronomers, who need to take pictures with a minimum equipment in your pocket.
You will need:
- The adapter for a smartphone. The easiest way to take a picture - to bring a smartphone camera to the telescope and click. But the result of this procedure is not always able to please you. At a minimum, you will be very difficult to place the object in the center. Simple adapter allows you to easily attach to the telescope smartphone, then to stabilize the camera, align the subject on the screen and make the correct focus and exposure. Such adapters for the iPhone produced by many companies, including Orion. Among its products, and you will find universal adapterWho should come to most smart phones are on the market.
- Optical filters. iPhone camera has excellent resolution, but even with the current exposure control is unlikely to be able to display subtle planetary features. To capture all the details, you will need to use optical filters (eg, Moon filter) and / or color filters, that will reduce the brightness of the object. Great if you'll have a number of filters. With some you can withdraw the full moon, with the other - the moon at dusk. When photographing Jupiter, the optical filter will allow you to display all of its details. Without it, the planet will look bright even overexposed. With Moon filter, you can remove the brightness and add nice looking details. But when shooting Saturn, you can use a blue filter. It will give the world an unnatural bluish tint, but emphasize the rings, which are around the planet that will not be visible when using Moon filter.
- Program to process images. Sometimes it is not enough just to make a couple of shots to convey the true beauty of the planet. Sometimes, it is better to remove a short video, and then dock in a special program of his best shots in one picture. On the site Stargazers Lounge You can find a nice tutorial for novice photographers detailing the joining of shots. AutoStakkert, Registax and AviStack - popular tool for cutting such procedures. To obtain the same results, you can download the video in the program Keith's Image Stacker. In addition, good use and other special programs for the treatment, such as NightCap or Camera +.
- Practice. As in any job, in order to achieve the results you need practice. Do not be discouraged if your first attempts are far from the works of Andrew Simes. Experiment with the filters, programs, your success will depend on your vision. The same methods can give very different results depending on the day and your mood.
Andrew Simes great pictures you will be able to enjoy visiting his page at Flickr. If you use these tips, and make stunning images of celestial bodies - send them to us in the comments, we are happy to admire your creations!
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