4-hour nikon test-EIGHT-hour update

FOUR HOUR EXPOSURE, ISO 200, no noise reduction in camera or post, temp of 35 degrees. This is a practical limit I think for an exposure with the Nikon D3s as far as battery life goes. I am a bit surprised that it would last this long (16% juice left), and also that no dark-frame exposure was needed - the file is very clean and noise-free. My next test will be an eight-hour exposure and we'll see how the sensor handles it...

JAN 3 UPDATE - see my note farther down about an 8-hour test exposure...

That does look pretty good for 4 HOURS! There are no HOT PIXELS? Eight hours should look just fine... I'm curious where the darkest place is in this area.

I am very surprised at the total lack of hot pixels. Not needing a dark frame will be very nice. I'm looking forward to seeing the 8-hour exposure.

I was kind of stunned with the lack of hot pixels. This is a 100% crop, 14mm, f4. The image was way overexposed and required a -3 stop exposure swing in ACR which might have helped the noise, but any hot pixels would still be there. I'm getting an external battery that should allow an 8-hour exposure, but won't have the setup until the next dark-moon cycle to test. There is no question that Nikon has mixed up some very special stuff with this sensor - can't wait for the 32mp version of it, although that may be a couple of years off yet.

So far I have not found any place in Arkansas free of light pollution, but I'll keep looking. It could be that we have moved past completely dark skies along the horizon in this area.

On an unrelated note, I have received at least one e-mail from a photographer at Buzzard Roost this morning - he/they will be rewarded with CLEAR skies for the now famous sunrise under the arch photo that only happens a few times each year - yippie!

Tim,

I have a D700. I think the sensor is very similar or identical. I know it is for the D3.

Can I expect this with the D700???

Very informative. Lack of hot pixels is an individual phenomenon of characteristic of the D3s sensor specifically??

Do sensors warm up to any dangerous extent with long expousures? Probably not to much at below 40 degrees but what about at summer temps??

the fisch

That's pretty amazing! I guess you'll need to use about a three stop density filter next time.

I wanted to make the journey to BR this morning, but have too many chores to get caught up on...maybe tomorrow. It is an unforgettable sight to experience for sure!

I also thought about the arch over in Hurricane Creek, but judging from the topo map, there does not appear to be a good valley view conducive to an early sunrise shot - another ridge to the southeast would block the early rise.

Fisch - it is a completely different and brand new sensor. The D3 and D700 share the same sensor, but not the S. Your D700 batt won't last as long and it will develop a lot more noise (although much better than most other dSLRs, but this technology is already two years old now). The new S has changed the game. One thing you can do with the d700 is add the grip with batteries - during a long exposure the power will switch from the grip to the in-camera battery when the grip batts die, giving you a longer exposure, but the noise will build up and so it may not be worth it.

Bill - the Hurricane Creek arch is very difficult to shoot since it is so far up at the top of the bluff and there is no way to get a clear shot from underneath. The Nat'l Geo. photographer did get an amazing shot from up there and that is on my list for later this winter, but will require being roped up. Lots of trees in the way though still.

The best arch in the state for this sort of thing would be the Arlberg Arch, however it has grown up with thick trees all along it many years ago. It actually comes directly out of the ground and there is no bluff around it - a very unique spot that is on private property.

I actually think the overexposure was good in this case, although I'll probably stop down to 5.6 or 8 the next time. Amazing what you can recover in ACR...

Excellent Tim. Very interesting.

you are making me want to get a battery grip and see how long I can go, unfortunately I can't turn the dark slide off on my camera so this would take 8 hours.

That is a great leap forawrd in technology for a 4 hour image. One of my biggest complaints, ok-my oinly, with the 50D is once the camera starts to warm up forget long exposures. I get banding at iso 400 and 10 minutes :-(

I look forward to when that technology works its way down the price scale some.

Tim,

What was the ISO? -3 ACR, right? Aperture?

I think the D3 and D700 utilized the CMOS sensor.

What type of sensor is in the D3s????

Pixel pitch, etc.????

I can't find data for comparisons. The nearest website I'm familiar with has not yet tested the D3s.

I do have a battery base for my D300 and D700 and would like to see what the D700 would do. Thanks for the info.

thanks, the fisch

I actually don't know what type of sensor it is, or what the pixel pitch is - I just look at results and don't spend any time with all the other stuff. This image was ISO 200, f4. I probably should have shot at f8 but then would have missed a lot of the fainter stars. It worked fine to adjust the exposure in ACR, which is a correct "shoot to the right" technique anyway. Next dark-moon phase in January I'll see if it can handle an eight-hour exposure - I sort of doubt it, but it is worth trying.

You might check Lloyd Chamber's site for some good testing info on various camera systems and other info - http://www.diglloyd.com/diglloyd/index.html

8-HOUR UPDATE. I just completed an 8-hour exposure, ISO 200 - zero noise, zero hot pixels. I don't know what the heck is going on, but it looks like the last remaining reason to ever shoot film has vanished - this digital camera is every bit as good as film for very long exposures, at least in cold weather.

For anyone interested, here is a 100% pixel crop from the image -