jade517•21d agoTop Commenter

Had to choose between a star tracker and a telephoto lens upgrade for night shots

I went with the star tracker over a Sigma 150-600mm because stacking multiple short exposures seemed smarter than one shaky long shot. First night out at Joshua Tree, the tracker paid off - I got a clean 4-minute exposure of the Andromeda Galaxy with my kit lens that would've been impossible handheld. Anyone else skip the lens upgrade and go for tracking gear first?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_diana21d ago

Yeah, Andromeda isn't actually visible for 4 minutes with a kit lens.

kimr7421d ago

Huh, I always thought you could get a decent shot of it with a longer exposure on a cheap lens. But looking at it again, you're totally right, it's barely a smudge. Guess I was kidding myself.

margareto2621d ago

Four minutes with a kit lens isn't nothing if you know what you're doing and have dark skies away from town... I've pulled out the core of Andromeda with a cheap 55-200mm on a basic tripod, and it was more than a smudge. Maybe the magic is in the stacking, not just the single exposure time.