Throughout my years of taking photos of the night sky, a common theme that I’ve always tried to emphasize has simply been “Don’t let your gear stand in the way of taking photos of the stars.”
One of the most common barriers that I hear people worry about is owning a camera with an APS-C or crop sensor. Not without merit, since shooting with a smaller sensor does present challenges when it comes to astro.
However, the truth with astrophotography is that there will always be limitations. For example, even with the most expensive camera and lens, our exposure time is still limited by the rotation of the Earth to keep the stars looking like stars, and not short dotted lines. Knowing that even top end camera gear has limits, the answer falls in knowing what those limitations might be and how to work to find the best quality results.
With that in mind, I put together a small travel kit with an APS-C mirrorless camera and a selection of SIGMA’s affordable DC DN crop format lenses, to see what I would be able to capture with moderately-priced gear.
Photographing Mt. St. Helens under the stars
I’d be starting things off using a Sony A6600 camera body (24MP, APS-C format) and pairing it with two different SIGMA prime lenses, the 16mm & 23mm lenses both with F1.4 apertures, and two SIGMA zoom lenses, the 10-18mm & 18-50mm lenses with an F2.8 aperture. I had a trip to the Pacific Northwest planned where I had hopes of shooting the Milky Way during the New Moon over Mount Saint Helens, and capturing a few other scenic images throughout the trip. It felt like a challenging, but perfect opportunity to test everything out.
Upon arrival, I found my compositions while deciding which lenses and techniques to utilize. To be honest, my approach wasn’t that different than if I had been standing there with the full-frame gear I typically use. I knew there would be an opportunity to capture an image with detail in the foreground and stars during late blue hour while there was still a bit more available light left in the sky. These situations are perfect for zoom lenses with the F2.8 aperture.
I ended up starting the night off by doing just that. Using the 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary, I captured my first images of the evening just as the last bit of sunset light was fading and the first stars were beginning to emerge. This is always one of my favorite times to shoot.
Before the skies were completely dark, I took a few more blue hour shots using the 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary. This one stood out to me thanks to the emerging stars and subtle glow on the horizon.
Then, as the last bit of light dipped out of view, it was time to try out a few different techniques for capturing the night sky and areas of foreground as well.
Method #1: Composite with two single exposures
Switching over to the 23mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary lens for this composition, I shot a longer exposure of 30 seconds specifically for the foreground. This allowed for a bit more light, but the stars in this image would be noticeably less star shaped due to the rotation of the Earth. As soon as the longer exposure was finished, I then took a shorter exposure to capture the stars as pinpoint sharp as possible. While the final image would be a blend of two shots, I always shoot my images within a few moments of each other so the end result is as authentic as possible.
Method #2: Image stacking
I decided that I would shoot my second fully dark sky image of the night using the very common astrophotography technique, image stacking. This technique consists of consecutively taking anywhere between 5 and more images using the same exact settings. These images are then taken and combined using your choice of software (there are plenty of options available). This method of shooting and post processing is done with the goal of reducing noise and creating a cleaner overall image.
Since the position of the Milky Way in my composition had shifted, I switched to the ultra-wide 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary in order to capture more of the sky. And because I planned to stack the images to reduce noise, the maximum aperture of F2.8 wouldn’t be an issue.
Method #3: Star tracker composite
My last Milky Way image of the night would require a bit of additional assistance from a star tracker. These devices sit on top of your tripod and are aligned with the pole star. Being that I’m set up in the Northern hemisphere, I’d be looking for Polaris. Once set up, the star tracker will slowly rotate to the left to help compensate for the rotation of the Earth and allow for long exposures while keeping the stars sharp. After the image of the stars has been taken an additional image for the foreground is required with the star tracked turned off.
Bonus aurora borealis!
Just when my first night of astro was about wrapped up, a glow appeared on the horizon opposite the direction I had been shooting all night. A beautiful night of photographing the Milky Way was capped off by the aurora lighting up the sky. It couldn’t have been planned any better.
The aurora was rather bright which meant the F2.8 aperture would be perfect, and the zoom range would allow me to quickly frame a composition in a direction I hadn’t planned on shooting. I raced to snap images as I watched red pillars of light dancing across the sky and couldn’t believe my luck. It’s pretty hard to end a night of astrophotography in a better way!
A misty morning meets a versatile zoom lens
Keeping in theme, what happened the next morning wasn’t something I anticipated. The early AM hours brought a classic Pacific Northwest layer of mist and fog. While I can say with 100% certainty it was of no significance to anyone local, I was excited by the chance to grab a few photos along my drive. Before heading out, I put the 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary on my camera and secured everything in the passenger seat. My hope was that focal range would be perfect for isolating some of the mist and fog as it dipped low enough to cover the trees.
The small form factor and versatility of this combo had me excited to head out to capture some of these scenes that I so often just didn’t have the desire to attempt. I found a few places to pull over and wander with just the single lens. I was surprised as I ended up shooting most of my images at the longer end of the focal range. Being able to isolate sections of the forest with the heavy mist allowed me to easily shoot images that had a very minimalist feel to them. A bit outside my typical style, but I really ended up enjoying it. This was also the first time I ended up using autofocus on the lens. While I wasn’t photographing anything moving very quickly, I was impressed with how well it was able to find accurate focus through the thick layer of mist in the air.
Available for Canon RF Mount, too!
Feeling inspired by brief departure from astrophotography, I was excited to head out with an early sample of the Canon RF Mount version of the 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary. Using the Canon EOS R7, I made my way out in Princeton, New Jersey. This lens is virtually identical to its E-mount counterpart – excellent in low light while maintaining a compact size. The F1.4 aperture of this lens made it one of my favorites that I used on the Sony A6600, so I was excited for round two on a new camera system.
Using it during the day, I found the autofocus to be both fast and accurate as I wandered without much of a destination in mind. With the wide focal length, I found myself drawn to the beautiful architecture in the area and the abundance of framing within. Photographing these intricate scenes, filling the frame from edge to edge, really let the lens shine in showing how sharp it is. It was really exciting to feel inspired by something I hadn’t shot in so long.
While reviewing the images, I decided to give a few of them a special black & white treatment during post processing. Something I used to do quite often, but lately, I just haven’t taken any images that felt appropriate. Admittedly, my B&W processing skills felt a little rusty, but I really enjoyed working on the images.
Back under the stars
Despite enjoying some time out under the Sun, the starlight was calling me. While so much of my astrophotography is planned for Moonless skies, using the Moon to help illuminate my foreground is one of my favorite ways to approach an interesting composition. The light from the Moon can help bring color and light into often difficult to photograph locations while casting shadows to add depth and interest to your image.
Not only does it help in an artistic sense, but it can also be an incredible tool to compensate for a camera that struggles with higher ISO performance. Thankfully, the Canon EOS R7 paired with the fast F1.4 aperture of the SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | C made for an incredible crop sensor low light combo. So, this moonlight venture was purely for artistic and illustrative purposes.
The East Point Lighthouse in Southern New Jersey is a location I’ve spent countless nights visiting under the stars. I’ve always loved the lighthouse itself, and it’s relatively isolated and in a darker area of the state. However, the surrounding trees and notorious wind can make it a difficult location to photograph. More often than not, images from this area have been riddled with blurry trees and bushes that surround the lighthouse as they sway in the wind during the long exposures.
On this visit, I took advantage of the Moonlight and fast aperture to take exposures that were in the 2.5 to 3.2 second range to capture everything as sharply as possible. Looking at the back of the camera, I was instantly excited by the color reproduction and sharpness in everything from the trees to the stars near the corner edges.
After capturing a few images of the lighthouse, I realized just how still everything was. There was barely any wind and the Moonlight allowed me to wander without a headlamp. I spent the rest of my time there exploring and taking advantage of this peaceful stillness. Staying within the same shorter exposure times, I was able to capture images I haven’t shot any previous trip. From the lone standing surrounding trees to a starry sky while still showing texture in the water, something so often absent from images taken at night.
Exceeding my expectations
When I received this kit of DC DN lenses, my expectation was that I would be creating examples of starry sky images to help encourage people to photograph the night sky. That I would head out and capture something as close as possible to what I normally would with the full-frame gear I typically have with me.
While I did end up feeling like I accomplished my original goal, what also happened was I found myself excited to explore a bit beyond my recent comfort zone. Something about being out with a small camera and these compact lenses allowed me to look at things a bit differently than I’ve become accustomed to. And whether it’s just a break from the norm, or a first step into the fascinating world of astrophotography, these lenses really hit the spot.
Try SIGMA DC DN lenses for your crop sensor mirrorless camera!
available for Sony E, L-Mount, Fujifilm X, Canon RF, and select lenses for Nikon Z and Micro Four Thirds
