Can you photograph stars with a phone or compact camera?
Asked 9/10/2018
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I’ve tried shooting the night sky with several small cameras and phones on a tripod, using wide angle, the widest aperture available, and different ISO and exposure settings. The results were mostly noise rather than visible stars. Is it realistically possible to capture stars or simple night-sky scenes with lower-end gear like phones and compact point-and-shoot cameras, and if so, what approach works best?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
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You can get surprisingly interesting photos with less noise by stacking a series of photos. Free software such as StarStaX, as well as Photoshop using Star Trail Action make this easier.
With low end cameras, you should still be able to get images of brighter objects, such as Jupiter and the Galilean satellites or the Pleiades cluster.
BTW, low-light location and cool temperatures are helpful.
Originally by user35542. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user35542
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—within limits. Phones and small compact cameras can struggle because their sensors are tiny, so single long exposures often look very noisy. But you can still get worthwhile night-sky images, especially of brighter targets.
A practical approach is to shoot a series of exposures on a tripod and stack them afterward. Stacking reduces random noise and can make stars show up much more clearly than in one frame. Software such as StarStaX or Photoshop actions can help with this, especially for star trails.
With this kind of gear, expect better results from brighter subjects rather than faint deep-sky objects. You may be able to capture bright stars, the Pleiades, or even Jupiter and its larger moons under good conditions.
Your shooting conditions matter a lot: use the darkest location you can find and, if possible, shoot in cooler temperatures, which can help reduce noise. So the answer is yes, but success depends on keeping expectations realistic and using stacking rather than relying on a single noisy exposure.
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