Astro Photography ~ Need Advice and Criticism

**Eric Seavey** · 11-25-2016, 09:07 PM - **1 Like**

That last image looks nice,and the first image seems to have not had a stable tripod. I use a pentax remote shutter that I bought on amazon, so that I do not touch the camera for releasing the shutter. Wind can actually wobble the camera too. I found the Pentax o-gps1 very useful for wide angle astro photography. The stars will be sharp at least, although in the corners there may be some distortion when using wider lenses. I attached my image of the milky way that was a 90 second exposure, 15mm pentax prime lens, ISO 1600. Sorry for the light pollution. Of course the static trees will be blurred due to any breeze and the tracking of the rotation of the earth.

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SKYGZR · 11-29-2016, 06:19 PM - **1 Like**

not bad..but try 3200 & 120-180s w/ the lens stopped down a stop or two

Marcel K · 02-22-2017, 05:55 PM - **1 Like**

Read this thread with interest. Apologies for hijacking, but any tips on focusing? I got as far as live view zoomed in on a bright star. Anything else? (I used Sigma 17-70mm on which the infinity mark is not all the way to the end).

**pixelsaurus** · 02-23-2017, 03:52 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Marcel K

Read this thread with interest. Apologies for hijacking, but any tips on focusing? I got as far as live view zoomed in on a bright star. Anything else? (I used Sigma 17-70mm on which the infinity mark is not all the way to the end).

You could try a Bahtinov Mask for focusing - The Bahtinov Mask

Bahtinov masks for wide angle DSLR lenses: Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum: Digital Photography Review

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/FOCUS/METHODS.HTM

Last edited by pixelsaurus; 02-23-2017 at 04:02 AM. Reason: additional link

Marcel K · 02-25-2017, 08:47 PM

Originally posted by pixelsaurus

You could try a Bahtinov Mask for focusing - The Bahtinov Mask

Bahtinov masks for wide angle DSLR lenses: Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum: Digital Photography Review

Focusing Methods

Thanks for the links. If I understand correctly the Bahtinov Mask is for longer focal lengths. Will give it a try when using my longer glass.

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11-29-2016, 06:19 PM - 1 Like	#17
SKYGZR Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Milky Way Galaxy, Planet Earth, Speeding towards the Virgo Supercluster Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 156	not bad..but try 3200 & 120-180s w/ the lens stopped down a stop or two

02-22-2017, 05:55 PM - 1 Like	#18
Marcel K Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 82	Read this thread with interest. Apologies for hijacking, but any tips on focusing? I got as far as live view zoomed in on a bright star. Anything else? (I used Sigma 17-70mm on which the infinity mark is not all the way to the end).

02-23-2017, 03:52 AM - 1 Like	#19
pixelsaurus Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Te Kuiti, NZ Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 986	Originally posted by Marcel K Read this thread with interest. Apologies for hijacking, but any tips on focusing? I got as far as live view zoomed in on a bright star. Anything else? (I used Sigma 17-70mm on which the infinity mark is not all the way to the end). You could try a Bahtinov Mask for focusing - The Bahtinov Mask Bahtinov masks for wide angle DSLR lenses: Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum: Digital Photography Review http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/FOCUS/METHODS.HTM Last edited by pixelsaurus; 02-23-2017 at 04:02 AM. Reason: additional link

02-25-2017, 08:47 PM	#20
Marcel K Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Photos: Albums Posts: 82	Originally posted by pixelsaurus You could try a Bahtinov Mask for focusing - The Bahtinov Mask Bahtinov masks for wide angle DSLR lenses: Astrophotography Talk Forum Forum: Digital Photography Review Focusing Methods Thanks for the links. If I understand correctly the Bahtinov Mask is for longer focal lengths. Will give it a try when using my longer glass.