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Seeing Stars with the XP1... this can't be real.

Using the X-Pro1 with the 500mm Minolta Mirror Lens & the 135mm
I bought the 500mm Minolta lens a year or so ago to use on my Micro Four Thirds cameras but have not really used it all that much. Tonight (August 1, 2012) there was a clear sky and a beautiful full moon and despite it being way past my bedtime I took this shot.



Here is the Mystery Shot taken with the Minolta 135mm

I can't explain what you will see in the shot below. :wtf: It was taken with another Minolta legacy lens, the MC Tele Rokkor X PF 135mm. This is very strange. Are those really stars? Of course not.. but I have no idea why this shot (and all other shots with this lens) came out with what appears to be stars in the photo. Very weird.... They appeared when I was adjusting clarity in Lightroom 4. The more clarity, the more "stars" appeared. I know they can't be real stars but what are they? I did not add them.. they just appeared as I pumped up the clarity in Lightroom.



If you know what is causing this.. please let me know. No way those are real stars.
 
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pophoto

New member
At night time you're pretty much recording the intensity of light, especially pointed up at the sky. I see no reason why they are not stars. Perhaps try a long exposure next time to see if you see streaks on a tripod, that will probably confirm them as stars!
 
At night time you're pretty much recording the intensity of light, especially pointed up at the sky. I see no reason why they are not stars. Perhaps try a long exposure next time to see if you see streaks on a tripod, that will probably confirm them as stars!
No stars were visible to my eye due to the bright, full moon. Shutter speeds were very fast, not long enough for any faint stars to make their presence known and as you can see from the photo it almost looks like a star field.. not just a single bright star.

I am beginning to think it has something to do with the 135mm lens as the 500mm did not exhibit this at all. Dust? or something else? Who knows.. I ams sure this is not a case of hot pixels.
 

aleksanderpolo

New member
If the exposure of the first and second shot are similar, dust illuminated by the moonlight? What is the aperture used for the second shot?
 

Shashin

Well-known member
Sensor artifacts like noise. To have also really pumped the contrast on the moon image which is making it easier to get these artifacts. You are near full moon which makes the moon a very low contrast target.
 

pophoto

New member
No stars were visible to my eye due to the bright, full moon. Shutter speeds were very fast, not long enough for any faint stars to make their presence known and as you can see from the photo it almost looks like a star field.. not just a single bright star.

I am beginning to think it has something to do with the 135mm lens as the 500mm did not exhibit this at all. Dust? or something else? Who knows.. I ams sure this is not a case of hot pixels.
Well I can't rule out dust completely, but if your camera meters a big bright ball like the moon, you will still get a quick shutter for exposure, and lightly picking up stars, but like you said if you could NOT* see the star.....yes, there's a possibility that the dust is being illuminated! However there seems to be a real cluster of stars/dust that surrounds the moon!
 
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I know what caused this now....

I revisited all the shots and have determined that the "stars" are, in fact, the result of being to heavy handed with the clarity adjustment.

I used spot metering on the moon itself and had some -EV dialed in. This resullted in under exposure and when I made the compensation in Lightroom this brought out some sensor noise and the clarity adjustment amplified this creating what appeared to be stars. Lesson learned... check the -EV before you shoot the moon.

So, it's not dust, it's not hot pixels... it is operator error and over-processing in Lightroom (which I am new to) and still learning.

Having said all that, the stars did look kinda cool... but I will know what not to do in the future.
 
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