You'll absolutely want a tripod.
No matter what, even under the best conditions, the astro shots will be absolute **bleep** compared to even a budget entry level DSLR. But it does technically work.
I shared a few examples. First two images are attempts at capturing the Milky Way using a tripod on a clear night in a dark sky area. Third image is an example of a much more realistic scene, night shots with some lighting perform quite well for a cellphone.
The last image is from my D800E. There's simply no comparison.
For astro, you want a wide lens, as the wider the lens, the longer you can hold the lens open without inducing star trails from the earths movement. The wide angle on the S24U is too low quality to use for night shots. You really need to use the main sensor which cuts down drastically on how long you can hold the lens open.
While it's possible to use your camera for astro, it's just not good realistically. But if you're shooting night scenes with fairly low lighting, a tripod or monopod can produce pretty usable images.
If you want to actually get into astro, snag a used entry to mid level DSLR. My D800/E can be had for 500-800 bucks now a days.
If you want/must shoot astro with the s24U, try the time lapse feature. It produces the best usable clips, while you would need to let it run for many hours to get a few seconds of footage, and the footage will still be low quality it's at least more interesting to view and more usable than a grainy or blurry astro photo.
No matter what, even under the best conditions, the astro shots will be absolute **bleep** compared to even a budget entry level DSLR. But it does technically work.
I shared a few examples. First two images are attempts at capturing the Milky Way using a tripod on a clear night in a dark sky area. Third image is an example of a much more realistic scene, night shots with some lighting perform quite well for a cellphone.
The last image is from my D800E. There's simply no comparison.
For astro, you want a wide lens, as the wider the lens, the longer you can hold the lens open without inducing star trails from the earths movement. The wide angle on the S24U is too low quality to use for night shots. You really need to use the main sensor which cuts down drastically on how long you can hold the lens open.
While it's possible to use your camera for astro, it's just not good realistically. But if you're shooting night scenes with fairly low lighting, a tripod or monopod can produce pretty usable images.
If you want to actually get into astro, snag a used entry to mid level DSLR. My D800/E can be had for 500-800 bucks now a days.
If you want/must shoot astro with the s24U, try the time lapse feature. It produces the best usable clips, while you would need to let it run for many hours to get a few seconds of footage, and the footage will still be low quality it's at least more interesting to view and more usable than a grainy or blurry astro photo.
Here's a few more realistic scenes for the s24U at night.
First two are tripod shots last two are hand held.
As long as there is even a small amount of light in the scene, it does pretty well. But shooting purely the dark sky will almost always be a disappointment.
First two are tripod shots last two are hand held.
As long as there is even a small amount of light in the scene, it does pretty well. But shooting purely the dark sky will almost always be a disappointment.
