Nikon D100 Extended Exposure Tests

I decided to start playing with my D100 to see how well it performed under long exposure times with very low light. I set the camera on a tripod in my bedroom and adjusted the lighting from the next room to provide very scant illumination. The light meter showed a good exposure at ISO200 f2.8 and 1 minute.

I then took a series of exposures at descending f/stops, with and without noise compensation. Here is what I got.

Click on any thumbnail to view a higher-resolution image. The high-res images are 1600x1200, saved at JPEG level 75, so they are a little large.

ISO 200, No Noise Reduction

ISO 200, Noise Reduction

ISO 400, No Noise Reduction

ISO 400, Noise Reduction

f/2.8

1 Minute

30 Seconds

f/4

2 Minutes

1 Minute

f/5.6

4 Minutes

2 Minutes

f/8

8 Minutes

4 Minutes

f/11

16 Minutes

16 Minutes *

8 Minutes

f/16

32 Minutes

16 Minutes

ISO 800, No Noise Reduction

ISO 800, Noise Reduction

ISO 1600, No Noise Reduction

ISO 1600, Noise Reduction

f/2.8

15 Seconds

8 Seconds

f/4

30 Seconds

15 Seconds

f/5.6

1 Minute

30 Seconds

f/8

2 Minutes

1 Minute

f/11

4 Minutes

2 Minutes

f/16

8 Minutes

4 Minutes

Overall, if you want to shoot star trails, the D100 probably isn't your camera. However, I would expect all current digital cameras to share the same problem.

(*) During the exposure of this image, the cat walked on the bed, causing the sheet to move a little.

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