Thnks Foxy, I have one comment: I'm not sure what the poster means by
'lens efficiency'. It seems a bit counter-intuitive. To have a good
chance of getting a meteor, 2 things are important in a lens: speed and
angle of coverage. He's got the speed right, but using his calculation,
a 100/2 is 4 times better than a 24/2 ?? Well, maybe if you're
prescient enuf to point the 100 at the exact spot where the meteor will
streak by. Carrying his calculations further, the ultimate Zuiko for
meteors is the 250/2 @ 62.5. Somehow that doesn't work for me.
George
Terry and Tracey wrote:
>
> Here are some comments from list members recently about meteor photography.
>
> Foxy
>
> Good evening Greg and other Zuikoholics;
>
> Meteor photography is quite easy.
>
> a) select a normal or short fast lens
> b) select a moderately fast film, 400, fuji 800, kodak PMJ,
> c) tripod, cable release, warm jacket, hot beverage, light but warm gloves.
> d) select a dark site facing east with no sky glow from cities in that
> direction
> (the high desert of Wyoming is very dark and the largest city is less
> than
> 60,000 in population)
> e) a watch or timer that is visible in the dark is handy but not necessary
> f) try and be at your selected site about 1am if you are in the US or
> Canada.
> g) with the lens a maximum aperture, make timed exposures from 3-10 minutes.
> h) a CRF Olympus with a 40mmf/1.7 lens works great.
> I) to calculate effeciency of the lens- divide the focal length of the lens
> by
> square of the aperture-the higher the number the better it is for
> meteor
> photography. Example-40mm f2.8 vs. 40mm f/1.7--- 40/7.84=5.10 vs.
> 40/2.89=13.84.
>
> Here are lens efficiency # for various Zuiko lenses
> 24f/2=6
> 24f/2.8=3
> 28f/2=7
> 28f/2.8=3.5
> 35f/2=8.7
> 40f/1.7=13.8 Olympus 35 RD
> 40f/2=10
> 42f/1.7=14.5 Olympus 35SPn
> 50f/1.2=34.7
> 50f/1.4=25.5
> 50f/1.8=15.4
> 85f2=21.3
> 100f/2=25
>
> This is what I will be using--3 tripods with special platforms for 3-4
> cameras on each tripod; 2-Yashica Lynx 14E w/45mm f/1.4 lenses, 3-Canon
> QL17 GIII with 40mm f/1.7 lenses; Olympus 35-SPn w/42mm f/1.7 lens, Brooks
> Veriwide with 47mm f8 lens (with fuji RMS 100/1000 slide film
> cross-processed in C-41), Mamiya Press w/75f5.6 and same film, and maybe a
> Rollei 2.8E2 with Fuji NHG-II 800.
>
> I will have help tending the cable releases and film wind procedures, may
> not use all at same time (stagger exposures by 5 min.).
>
> Good luck and stay warm.
>
> Mike
>
> >From the Astro Photographers Mailing List (APML), ISO 800 film for 2-4
> minutes at f/2 is the leading favorite, closely followed by ISO 400 for
> around 5 minutes. A few guys have suggested using 1600 or even konica's
> 3200 film since a meteor streak is fast and fleeting. A normal to wide lens
> is preferred for both speed and angle of coverage. A very stout tripod is,
> of course, required. Hang a weight from the centerpost if need be - a very
> soft breeze can cause a lot of damage to an image when the shutter is open
> for a long time.
>
> Clear skies and good luck,
> John P
>
> Greg; (Some of this may be obvious, but I've included for completion)
>
> First and most important, either go somewhere where the night sky is
> dark and cloudless or arrange for cloudless dark skies at home<G>.
>
> OK, camera: Use 'B' and a tripod and a locking cable release. MLU
> optional. If possible, use several cameras and tripods and experiment,
> keeping notes.
>
> Lens: Normal to wide angle probably best. I would try as many different
> lenses as I could in the 50mm to 8 mm range (best 50 would be one of the
> macros - you could use these wide open, or the 50/1.8 - it's pretty good
> wide open
> too, but I'd go down at least a 1/2 stop). Faster lenses
> allow more latitude. IE, 28/2 preferred over 28/2.8. Stop down at
> least one stop from wide open to avoid coma or other distortions - IF
> there are very bright stars (or Jupiter) near the edges of frame. Coma
> probably not noticable on magnitude 2 or dimmer stars, so then wide open
> is OK.
> Could compose with only sky, or add an earthly component, trees, home,
> ...
> You could even light the earthly component with flash or flashlite etc
> if u want. Be sure you use proper lens hood if u do this sorta thing.
>
> Film: My preferred choices would be Ektachrome 200 (maybe pushed one
> stop) for slides, Kodak PPF (400 speed) for prints. You could try real
> fast film, but I doubt it would be better. Added grain would offset
> added sensitivity. Course on 200-400 speed, dimmer meteors probably
> won't register if you're stopped down to f/4 or f/5.6.
>
> Exposure: Depends of course. Stars will trail after about 15-20 seconds
> with a 50mm lens, 30 secs with a 35mm, ... (depending on how far they
> are from the Celestial Equator - longer trails close to equator, shorter
> near Polaris.) If you prefer no trails, keep exposures short and
> aperture around 1 stop down. If you want long star trails, close down
> to f/4 or even 5.6 and leave it open for 30 minutes to several hours
> (longest exposure time depends on how dark the sky is).
> Course, if you get a ton of meteors in the frame, that will affect
> whether you continue to leave open or start another exposure.
>
> Best bet? For me, EK200, 24/2 lens at F/2 and F/2.8 for 4 minutes.
>
> So, hope this helps, here's wishing you clear skies (unfortunately,
> clouds/rain are predicted where I am :>( and J O B prohibits me going
> anywhere else).
>
> George
>
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