Does anyone have experience with the star light mode on the Z8? What advantages for night sky photography does it really provide over a camera that does not have that mode?
Z8 Star light mode
- Thread starter Matt N
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It makes composition at night much easier as it basically boosts the effective exposure to the viewfinder so you can see things in very low light conditions. So for instance when shooting something like a Milky Way shot over a landscape or buildings or the like it can be hard to compose shots through the viewfinder but this feature makes that a bit easier without impacting the actual captured exposure.
With DSLRs or with my Z6 II I'd sometimes jack the ISO sky high to compose a shot (using Live View with the DSLR) and once I locked down the tripod head I'd drop the ISO back to where I wanted to shoot and capture the image. The Starlight View mode makes this easier as you can leave the camera at your shooting ISO and basically jack up the brightness of the viewfinder image to help with composition.
Okay, that makes sense. So it changes how you see the scene through the viewfinder without changing the final image. I wasn't sure if it was a marketing thing will little value, but it sounds like it can be a big help to make the composition process easier. Thanks.