Killer Magazine!!!

Will definitely take the info and apply it! I will follow up with photos after the weekend...

V/r,

SW

many thanks ron!

Hey everybody. Just joined the site as I have been curious about Astrophotography and am ready to go beyond the single exposure MW shots and also into some "starter" DSO's, but definitely need some tribal knowledge on this topic.

I am excited as I will be in VA for the next 3 months for work as it will offer plenty of dark skies.

Other than that, I am going to post below my previous question I incorrectly left in a previous forum...

Cheers and have a great night!

SW-
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I am looking for recommendations for unguided/untracked tips if you have a moment to offer your advice?... My hope is to be able to get photos close to the quality of the two Orion Nebulas above (understanding I am looking at taking darn near a thousand photos or more to increase the SNR).

Specifically, I shoot with a Nikon D500 (all NR and internal settings off) and would like to shoot with my Nikon AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at about 150mm, framing Orions belt and the Nebula. SS about 1-1.3secs depending on star trails. My question is with the ISO, though. I have been reading a lot of the forums mentioning around 12,800 ISO and others, on the lower ISO team, stating shoot lower (400-1600) ISO. I am under the impression that the lower ISO will be for the tracked photos with longer exposures, but am open to any thoughts on the matter.

Additionally, I have a Tokina 11-16 mm and the Nikkor Kit lens that came with the camera (Nikon 16-80 mm F/2.8-4.0 DX) which also takes some killer MW photos if you believe either of those would be better for my intro-to-AP stacking lesson.

I know the equipment listed isn't ideal, but my goal is to get "brilliant at the basics" before purchasing mounts, scopes, etc...

Lastly, I recognize personal trial and error will be key, but was hoping to get some good lessons learned from someone shooting with similar equipment and getting the type of results I am seeking.

Thanks for any help and happy shooting.

SW-

Nikon D500, Kit lens, SS: 10 Sec, ISO: 3200, F2.8 - Single Exposure :(

I'll be shooting in VA generally. Staunton River State Park (VA) which is a Dark Sky Site and rates appx a Bortle scale value of 3-4. I will also be headed to Shenandoah National State Park as well to see how clear of skies I can get there. Maybe 2.5 or so on the west side of the park if I am extremely lucky. The rest will be near Charlottesville, VA., which gets around a 4 or so.

Correction to the Bortle ratings...I had them backwards (sorry)...all sites will be around 5-7.

7awol et al...great photos! However, I am looking for recommendations for unguided/untracked tips if you have a moment to offer your advice?... My hope is to be able to get photos close to the quality of the two Orion Nebulas above (understanding I am looking at taking darn near a thousand photos or more to increase the SNR).

Specifically, I shoot with a Nikon D500 (all NR and internal settings off) and would like to shoot with my Nikon AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at about 150mm, framing Orions belt and the Nebula. SS about 1-1.3secs depending on star trails. My question is with the ISO, though. I have been reading a lot of the forums mentioning around 12,800 ISO and others, on the lower ISO team, stating shoot lower (400-1600) ISO. I am under the impression that the lower ISO will be for the tracked photos with longer exposures, but am open to any thoughts on the matter.

Additionally, I have a Tokina 11-16 mm and the Nikkor Kit lens that came with the camera (Nikon 16-80 mm F/2.8-4.0 DX) which also takes some killer MW photos if you believe either of those would be better for my intro-to-AP stacking lesson.

I know the equipment listed isn't ideal, but my goal is to get "brilliant at the basics" before purchasing mounts, scopes, etc...

Lastly, I recognize personal trial and error will be key, but was hoping to get some good lessons learned from someone shooting with similar equipment and getting the type of results I am seeking.

Thanks for any help and happy shooting.

SW-