Dale, tell us about your camera settings for the milky way shots......
And please post more Montana shots/videos.
I did an astro-photography workshop several years ago in Houston. I spent two days with the photographer one on one. He took me out about an hour from the city of Houston to the closest dark site- a field set up for telescope enthusiasts with amazing set ups and gear. We spent the better part of both nights filming the stars and Milky Way. I learned a lot from him.
Matt Dieterich
www.NightWorkshops.com
www.youtube.com/MattDieterich
So the settings and details are as follows:
1. A
quality wide angle Lens with large aperture is a must- I use the Nikon 14-24mm f/1.4
2. A sturdy tripod- I use the Really Right Stuff tripod and ball head
3.Take into consideration the cooling at night from hot to cool on your lens element- I used two
hand warmers and a rubber band to keep the lens warm.
4.
Focusing is the critical element. Find the brightest star, use Live View screen. center the cursor on the star. Start at 14mm to find the star, then zoom in on the star to 24 mm. Focus your focus ring back and forth, blur to sharp point to blur, and select what you think is the sharpest point. Take multiple test shots to ensure best focus. Then zoom all the way back out to 14mm. Once your focal length is determined, recompose your shot to encompass the Milky Way and allow for its trajectory throughout your frame from left to right.(Time-lapse).
5.
Light reading- avoid longer shutter speeds to avoid "tailing"of the stars. I start wide open (f/1.4), and of course use a
cable release. I take shots with shutter set at 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, etc. My camera will not go past 30 seconds and I never go that far anyway.
6. I settled on about 15 seconds for this shot.
7. I try to use the lowest ISO possible to avoid noise. I start at about ISO 1200 and do test shots. The image I submitted to the Drone Forum was 1600 ISO and it was still a bit noisy. Consider noise reduction software in post.
I did a time-lapse using my Nikon D750 with its own built in intervalometer. The interval was 20 seconds between shots. Be sure to allow the arc of the Milky Way to go from left to right across your screen.
At one frame every 20 seconds, you are taking 3 frames per minute, right? So 3 frames per minute equals 3x60=180 frames per hour. My timelapses are About 2 hours. (360 frames). The new moon was July 20 and the next new moon can be obtained on line, A new moon is NO moon so you get your darkest skies. The App "SOL" is very helpful to determine moon phases, moon set, etc.
Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to reply.
Dale
Miami
