NASA astronauts Don Petit Sure, he’s a prolific photographer The best thing ever to go to spaceIn a fun new video aboard the International Space Station, Petit shows how to change a camera lens in space, and photographers on Earth will definitely be jealous of Petit’s zero-gravity conditions.
One of the most difficult situations photographers face is changing their lenses, especially in the field. They need to find a safe place to keep the loose lens and make sure it doesn’t get dirty. In the gravity-less confines of the International Space Station, Petit avoids these problems by simply keeping his spare lens floating in front of him. Granted, he may still have to deal with dust, which is fair. Floats on the ISS and never settles down,
How to change camera lens…… pic.twitter.com/JUujYAYSiI
– Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) 18 January 2025
Nikon USA comments on Petit’s zero-gravity lens change video Instagram“Don’t try this at home.”
Another commenter joked, “So when coming back to Earth, how often do you accidentally drop your lens in hopes of floating away?”
As for the gear Petit uses on the ISS, he primarily shoots with a Nikon Z9 mirrorless camera on the ISS. Although NASA sent Nikon Z9 cameras And after taking Nikon Z-mount lenses to space about a year ago, Petit has no qualms about adopting Nikon F-mount DSLR lenses into its mirrorless cameras. In Petit’s lens changing video, one lens is a native Nikkor Z lens, while the other appears to be the famous Nikon 200mm f/2, presumably the company’s “new” 200mm f/2 G ED VR II lens. Close Back in 2020. Petit regularly uses the 200mm f/2 lens and last year captured a beautiful portrait of London late at night with it.
Petit, 69, who became the second-oldest astronaut in space when he returned to the ISS last year, has been capturing spectacular photography aboard the ISS. He recently captured the Milky Way, Starlink satellites and false dawn in one notable photoWho Astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy said “This will probably be the best photo ever taken from the ISS.”
Not only is Petit equipped with great camera gear and plenty of creativity and experience, but he also has a custom-built star tracker, which he used to capture the photo above. With the help of Petit created an amazing star tracker petapixel contributor and physicist Ted Kinsman, who is not only a very talented photographer But an associate professor in RIT’s School of Photographic Arts and Sciences. relative recently Expanded Star Tracker for petapixel,
Petit will surely capture many more amazing photos from the ISS before returning to Earth this spring, at which time he’ll need to change lenses like the rest of us.
Image Credit: Don Petit
