Hi all.
I know It is a bit dark and noisy but that is probably the maximum I can get from my camera (and that is the main reason why I am looking for a new one).

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

it's not that grainy. what is the max. shutter time on that camera, and how low can you drop the aperture setting? Setting ISO at 640 should still get you useable shots if you can find a sweet spot for shutter/aperture while minimizing the noise. You certainly did better at capturing the stars than I ever did with my lumix pre-pentax. Definitely not trying to discourage you from getting a new camera, as it can make a world of difference, but your sony seems to be doing just fine for its specifications... you've just exceeded it's capabilities. As it is, your shot is very nice for an astroscape. You have the silhouetted trees with visible constellations that are recognizeable. Orion stands out just fine. I don't know if the orange glow is light pollution or sunset, but it does add to the image, especially for the silhouette backdrop. Congratulations on a job well done.

[Paulas]

Thanks for your reply.
I am really glad that you find my photo somehow nice. That orange glow is a light pollution from city. And talking about specs, tha aperture can be dropped down to F2.4 but I dont feel like getting the higher ISO because I think it will be very noisy but maybe someday will try out. And the shutter speed is at its maximum, 30sec.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Sounds about the same as my lumix lz-8. I moved up to a dslr in sept. due to hitting the limitations of the camera. Great for daytime, but I hit the sensor limit for night photography (though the lumix is capable of 60 sec. exposures). Light pollution itself can be used for a semi-sunset appearance with extended exposure shots. I took some last night at the lake and I can upload one to give an example if you'd like. It is rather difficult to find areas that don't have much in the way of light pollution these days. If it helps there's a website for finding dark skies, I think it's http://www.darksitefinder.net .

[Paulas]

Actually I would like to see some of them. And thanks for that site, I think it will be helpful for me and for other people too.

[Auzzie-Phoenix]

Both of these shots were taken with my Pentax K-50. I have the white balance setting set to tungsten (which i've modified a bit), both images are extra long exposure in bulb mode (requires a remote) of over 6 minutes each at ISO 100 using my SMC Pentax-M 28mm f/2.8 lens at its widest aperture setting. You can see how the light pollution works almost like the last rays of the setting sun for background illumination. You can also see stars and clouds trailing in the sky. Unfortunately it also seems as though I'm going to have to run hot-pixel mapping on my sensor the next time I do a UL exposure (heat 'em up and THEN map). I could probably have gotten similar results at ISO 800 with the lens set to f/4.0 on a 30 second exposure time, but with more grain.. but fewer hot pixels. Please excuse the blur on the dock in image #2, it was very windy so the water was churning, making the dock move quite a bit.