Pi camera at night?

[Hiro]

I have built a timelapse camera using a Pi 2 and Pi camera module. It works well during the day but i hope to use it at night soon to capture the stars. Will the standard camera module work for this or would the model with no IR filter work better at night?

I hope someone out there may already have tried this out, Cheers, Hiro.

[wh7qq]

For the lack of the IR filter, the NOIR camera may be slightly more sensitive but its color rendition by day is screwed up. In either case you are going to be into time exposures for night use and unless you are on a motorized mount, you will have star trails on the stars that are sufficiently bright to be recorded. Also, the duration of the timed exposure with the PiCam is limited. The NOIR camera is only better if a source of IR light is provided of sufficient brightness to illuminate the subject. Celestial objects do produce some IR.

[SIDF92]

And maybe play with the exposure time and a lower framerate during night ?

[Hiro]

Thanks for the advice. I have managed to acquire a Noir camera so i can now experiment with both types and see what will work best.
I have also been studying the camera documentation in reference to changing exposure time and think i have it figured out.

All i need now is a cloudless night to try it out.

Cheers, Hiro.