[rdharkins]

This is a 4-shot stack. Each exposure was 90 seconds (using the Astrotracer), ISO 800. The sequence was started at 11:52PM Sunday night (06-05-16). Hope you like it!

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[jatrax]

Nice!

[amber waters]

Very nice. Lens?

[sergysergy]

Very nice. Lens?

exif reads HD PENTAX-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

[amber waters]

exif reads HD PENTAX-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR

Bah! I'm on mobile (Tapatalk) and see no exif data. Many thanks!

[C_Jones]

Nice image.

[Happyman]

I don't have ANY pictures of the Milky Way that I shot myself, so who am I to judge, right?
A nice try, but... even at this small resolution my eyes are somehow attracted to the lower part of the picture, which is blurry. At first I thought it's just the stars movement, but even the bushes, which should be stationary, don't seem to be sharp. It could be the result of 4 shots being stacked together or something, I don't know. Wouldn't it be better to use one shorter exposure, and bump up the ISO? I'd say with the K-1, you can easily shoot at ISO 3200, probably even higher, and get a nice result. Here's an article I found after a quick search:
Tips for Photographing the Milky Way in Michigan | Pure Michigan Connect

For lazy readers, here's just a short excerpt:
A good all around manual setting I frequently use in Milky Way photography is iso 3200, f2.8, 25-30 second exposures. This captures the Milky Way nicely and also elements in the surrounding frame with enough light in one exposure.

[rdharkins]

I think the blurry leaves in this instance is the light breeze we had and four 90 second exposures. I took other exposures at 25 seconds, but what is the use of having an Astrotracer if you don't try it out, right? Would also like to have had an nice foreground element (abandoned barn or farmhouse) but I settled for a dark sky. lol

[loco]

Nice first try at the Milky Way! Well done!

The blurry foreground is the result of the Astrotracer moving the sensor to track the stars. The foreground is stationary, so it will blur when the sensor is moved.

[forest_bear59]

I can see double star points in the outer parts of the frame. Maybe the stack should be redone on your computer with special attention on this point. Having landscape and (astro-tracked) sky in one frame always leads to a blurry landscape. I would propose to take one additional exposure without astrotracer after the exposures for the stack. In the postprocessing you can achieve a sharp foreground AND sky by using layer masks.


All in all it is nevertheless an encouraging result. Wait to see more ...

[DeadJohn]

...4-shot stack...

Does the K-1 have a built-in stack feature? If not, what software did you use?

[rdharkins]

The K-1 does not have a 'Stack Mode'. I used Photoshop to stack the images.

[CelestialGazer]

I have a pentax k-3 and it has an internal composite mode, which has 3 different settings. You're telling me the K-1 does not have this software integrated into their new full frame line? That's awful.

[CelestialGazer]

I snapped this one with my Penatx K3 last year in September of 2015 on Kauai. Rokinon 16mm F2.0 ISO 6400 @ 20 seconds. This is a single image with lightroom 5 post processing.

---------- Post added 08-04-16 at 01:52 PM ----------

Here is a Milky Way shot from my Pentax K-3 back in September, 2015. Rokinon 16mm F2.0 ISO 6400 @ 20 seconds.

[jbinpg]

@CelestialGazer - Yes, the K-1 has the three stacking parameter modes of Average, Additive and Bright. You get to the function through the top button of the 4-way controller.