I applaud your vision and execution. I also like the second version more with increased contrast. However ISO 25600 ISO is pretty crazy even for the 5DII which I also own.
Having experimented with night landscapes quite a bit I have a few recommendations which may help you and any others on your next shoot. As we know the darker the skies the brighter the stars. That being the case it also pushes the envelope of our modern digital sensor in terms of both noise and visible detail. This is especially evident as we push the ISO to extremes. One way to improve things is to perform a time lapse blend. Then use transitional moonlight or sunlight for the earth frame.
For example you shoot the milkyway at ISO 4000 ~ 1.5 hours before sunrise. Then you shoot the land ~ .5 hours before sunrise. This predawn light will then be enough to greatly improve visible detail and minimize noise at much lower ISOs. This technique can also be done very effectively with sunset or moonrise/moonset. Here is one example from a photog friend of mine Stan Rose at sunset... then later. Notice in particular the detail in the landscape which cannot be achieved with ultra high ISO: http://www.stanroseimages.com/photo/dunes-night-b/
Once you have all that level of visible detail in the earth frame you can fine tune exposure for the blend. This obviously requires greater patience when performing a time lapse vs. pulling out the camera, taking some shots then leaving. But I\'ve also found it worth the wait.
I applaud your vision and execution. I also like the second version more with increased contrast. However ISO 25600 ISO is pretty crazy even for the 5DII which I also own.
Having experimented with night landscapes quite a bit I have a few recommendations which may help you and any others on your next shoot. As we know the darker the skies the brighter the stars. That being the case it also pushes the envelope of our modern digital sensor in terms of both noise and visible detail. This is especially evident as we push the ISO to extremes. One way to improve things is to perform a time lapse blend. Then use transitional moonlight or sunlight for the earth frame.
For example you shoot the milkyway at ISO 4000 ~ 1.5 hours before sunrise. Then you shoot the land ~ .5 hours before sunrise. This predawn light will then be enough to greatly improve visible detail and minimize noise at much lower ISOs. This technique can also be done very effectively with sunset or moonrise/moonset. Here is one example from a photog friend of mine Stan Rose at sunset... then later. Notice in particular the detail in the landscape which cannot be achieved with ultra high ISO: http://www.stanroseimages.com/photo/dunes-night-b/
Once you have all that level of visible detail in the earth frame you can fine tune exposure for the blend.
Derek
Feb 13, 2012 at 12:35 AM
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