Went out on a rare clear night to a wetlands near me to take some photos of the stars. As it was so dark, and the stars are so small, I had to rely on the focus peaking function of my camera to tell if the stars were in focus or not.
I’ve got home and started to process the photos, and I’ve found out that despite the camera telling me that they were in focus, they clearly weren’t.
Hey ho, what’s a wasted few hours in the freezing cold between friends…
Could you have zoomed into the live view? I found that it helps a lot. But the camera would be to support it
I could, but the last few times I’ve done astrophotography with this camera, the focus guide has worked well. I don’t know why it didn’t work this time, but I’ll definitely be double checking it next time 🙈
What camera do you currently shoot?
It’s a Sony a6000, using the kit lens last night at 16mm. The focus guide has been great in all sorts of situations lately, so I’ve got no idea why it went wrong last night.
I use it more in the dark because I struggle to focus on stars on a lit screen. I have astigmatism, and I find it difficult to go between the screen and the sky, especially when it’s cold.
You can zoom into the live view.
Set your focusing to manual focus then use the 100% button.
Could you practice before you go out? I think the bottom D pad or the FN button is the one that zooms in to 100%.
Yeah, I’ve given it a try, but haven’t had much luck yet. I’m fine with it in the light, but using it in the dark gives me the same problem. It is a bit easier, but not enough to make a difference. I’ll keep trying though.
You have just given me the idea to mention it to my optician though. I’ve got an appointment tomorrow, so I’ll see if he’s got any thoughts :)