juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Also check your aperture. The uploaded image was f8, you should open that as much as your lens allow.

I suggest that you first make some single shot tests until you are sure everything is right as you want it. Then configure and fire the intervalometer.

Fstop12 Loc: Kentucky

If you are using Photoshop to load your images into a stack, Select all of your images and then change the BLEND MODE to Lighten. You will then see what your star trail looks like.

beeyul69

The sensor at a fairly high ISO, open for 10-15 seconds, sees much more than your eye.
I could see where the Milky Way was located when taking this shot but it didn’t look nearly this detailed to the naked eye. Proper post processing is an important element also.
Have fun with it.

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larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Once you get into a dark environment with good seeing, you will have no trouble finding the Milky Way or the core. Those of us who are urban dwellers just have to reacquaint ourselves with the night sky. The core for you will be probably about a third of the way up from the southern horizon. I've never been to South Africa, but would estimate that the core as seen from there will be somewhere in the center or even the high part of the northern end of the arch. I'm guessing that the atmosphere there will be favorable. If you are going soon, it will be late winter or early spring. Too much later, though, and it might be past the end of the visible season.

Have fun on your trip.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I'll add just a few thoughts.
I use a Canon 6Dand Sigma Art 14mm 2.8.
I find stars are elongated after 20 seconds - not much - but enough when I print at 24x36 or larger.
I use ISO 5,000 - 10,000, take many shots of stars (10-20) and stack for noise reduction in post.
Sometimes I just use one shot depending on the foreground and how it's lit.
Be sure to have something of interest in the foreground - otherwise it's just a MW photo.
With 14mm you'll have to get close to foreground item.
Make sure foreground item is large enough in image.
Watch focus - stars and foreground may be different and require stacking in post.
Forget the red light - use a dim little flash or LED light sparingly. You'll forget its on and ruin photos.
Know how to use your camera in the dark by touch BEFORE you leave home.
Focus manually in Live View on bright star - maybe Jupiter its big and bright - you can even use a jewelers loupe to really fine focus.
Be sure to turn Live View OFF!!!!!!!!!
Check your histogram - the screen can be totally misleading - set its brightness to lower end so as not to be misled by what you see.
Learn how to use LLL properly. Use of LED's, cocktail lights, and other little led lights. Be sure light color is what you want.
Be sure to set camera White balance for the sky color you want - even though you can adjust in post. I use 4200 as I want the sky a bit blue rather than black.
And of course - SHOOT IN RAW!!!! (and JPEG)
You can do a long exposure at low ISO for foreground if you want depending on what you are shooting and the lighting.
MW core is almost due west this time of year.
Use remote or 2 or 10 second delay when releasing shutter to avoid shake.
There was something else but it escapes me now.
Good luck - please post what you get.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I took this in one shot with LED lighting on the right and left. Was one of my first efforts.
Canon 77D and Rokinon 16mm. I should have been closer to the tubas but I wanted to keep Jupiter in the shot.

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JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

If you shoot RAW, then white balance setting is not critical. However, many folks will set a custom white balance of around 3200 K when doing astrophotography. Par4fore gave you all the other good starting points.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

If you shoot RAW, then white balance setting is not critical. However, many folks will set a custom white balance of around 3200 K when doing astrophotography. Par4fore gave you all the other good starting points.

big-guy Loc: Peterborough Ontario Canada

It's good to practice first but the intervalometer is not night dependent, leave the lens cap on and practice in the day. To save the batteries switch your parameters to a 5 second exposure every 35 seconds. As for the star trails, how about we just try for a single good quality shot of the stars first and then expand our horizons.

You used f/8 when you should have been using f/2.8 or the widest aperture your lens allows. Use the 500 rule to acquire sharp stars. 500 divided by the focal length of the lens which in your case is 500/14=35.714 or 36 seconds if using a full frame camera and if using a APS-C first multiply the focal length, in your case a Canon, by 1.6 so 14*1.6=22.4 then the 500 rule 500/22.4=22.321 or 22 seconds.

Try setting your ISO to 1600 at 22 seconds and if the sky comes out too light then shift it back to 800 at 22 seconds which is simply a 1 stop difference and see what that looks like. You want to find a nice balance between dark sky and light stars to save time and effort in post.

All that said, if you truly want star trails then you can leave the shutter open for as long as your batteries and sensor hold out. But, to save your sensor from over heating use shorter times such as 1-2 minutes, f/2.8 and either 200 or 400 ISO, depending on what you think looks good, (note: increasing the shutter speed means lowering the ISO to get equivalent results, decreasing ISO means less noise to deal with) and then stack the results.

Assuming you like the results from 22 seconds at 1600 ISO then;
44 seconds requires 800 ISO
88 seconds (1 min, 28 sec) requires 400 ISO
176 seconds (2 min, 56 sec) requires 200 ISO
At longer times a few seconds over or under will not show any real difference.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

ISO 1250 way too low. Try 4000 - 6000. Do a series of 100 30 second exposures 2 seconds apart. That's only 50 minutes and 200 exposures (I'm rounding). That would be about 13 degrees of movement of the stars (15deg / hr). Then combine in a software that creates star trails. You can also combine to do a time lapse video. They can be neat esp if there are some clouds passing by.

A single image at 30 seconds will have slightly elongated stars.

Also suggest you have something interesting in the foreground and I know this is just a test.

Hope this helps...

CaptainPhoto

Definitely get very familiar with PhotoPills. It is your best friend when it comes to Astro-Photogaphy, be it the sun, moon, Milk Way. When - where, how. It will be the best $10.00 you ever spent. They have tons of on line support, guides, tutorials. You can even get it all right on your smart phone in the APP itself.

Kevin Adams does a Night Photogrpahy - Milky Way workshop every year at Cape Hatteras. Worth looking into.
Post processing your Milky Way shots is a big part of it. Again, Tons of stuff on it - in YouTube.
Enjoy - have fun.

Dr.Nikon Loc: Honolulu Hawaii

You were on the right track ...,just needed to leave the shutter open a while longer ..your SOCC didn’t capture any stars without editing .. so just experiment with 1 minute .., all the way to ;....

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uhaas2009

https://www.lightstalking.com/how-to-photograph-the-milky-way/

You are looking for the 500er rule

MauiMoto Loc: Hawaii

And bring a dimmable headlamp, preferably red.
But don't forget to turn it off.

Cmbtvet Loc: Elmira, NY

beautiful shot MauiMoto