[day_hike_mike]

Good info here. Using 500 instead of 600 will allow me 18.5 seconds. Figure I'll try 15 seconds at 3,200 iso, wide open at 3.5 as a starting point. Probably won't be awesome, but it should be something anyway. Most likely I'll be wanting for a wider angle and faster lens. Still cloudy. Bummer. I did use my Canon S110 and got results last year, subpar results, but results. It was limited to 15 seconds at 80 iso. Then camera was just sitting on a rocks, signposts, whatever I could find. It was a great night hike out to Second Burroughs though. Maybe Sunrise Point this year? Those shots with the headlamp beams of climbers going up Rainier always look pretty cool.

[Bedivere]

I'm looking forward to trying out my new D7200 this weekend during the Perseids. The D7200 is fantastic for low noise at high ISO. It's at least one stop better than the D7000 I used to have. I'm amazed at how clean the images I've shot indoors at ISO6400 with no flash are. I'm hoping the Tokina 11-16 is worth the weight to carry. One way to greatly reduce noise in the final image is to put the lens cap on and take a second exposure at the same settings/time as the first one where you captured the stars. You can then use Photoshop to remove the noise in the "dark frame" from the actual picture.

[gb]

[Kenji]

I have had a TOKINA 11-16mm zoom for nikon50, a very good lens though I didn't shoot stars with it. I'm sure it'll work great. For the past 4 years, I've been shooting stars w/ Fuji-X cameras: xp-1 and xt-1. They both use the same APS-C 16MP sensors, which seems good enough for what I do in both the resolution and the high ISO. [wide angle lenses - all single exposure]

xf10-24, 10mm, f4.0, iso6400, 30sec: bit noisy, stacking would help here

samyang12mm, f2.0, iso2500, 30sec: not bad

xf14mm, f2.8, iso3200, 30sec: sharp lens

xf18mm, f2.0, iso3200, 10sec: good lens

I've been trying longer focal length shots for more intimate details. It's more difficult to get enough exposures because the lenses tend to be slower and stars move faster. Stacking or tracking will help though it's gets harder to capture stationary foreground. [longer focal length - single exposure]

xf35mm, f1.8, iso1600, 15sec: a lot of details, stars trailing

xf35mm, f1.8, iso3200, 15sec: crisp stars

xf35mm, f1.8, iso3200, 15sec: crisp stars

Stacking helps for reducing noise which allows higher ISO also for capturing more details. I use Enfuse, which is a photo merging LR plugin. It doesn't give you many options, but allows simple merging for star trails or aligns stars for more details. Here is more info: photographers-toolbox.com [stacking - typically 4~8 exposures]

xf10-24, 24mm, f4.0, iso6400, 10sec, x4: still a bit noisy, but a lot of details

xf50-200, 100mm, f4, iso6400, 5sec, x7: pretty good

samyang12mm, f2.0, iso6400, 20sec: nice details

Finally follow stars with a tracking devise, I use Vixen Polarie. There are now several options, including one Jim mentioned. Tracking allows much longer exposure, 1~3 min without careful polar axis alignment. This allows lower ISO, much less noise, a lot of details. One catch is you lose sharp foreground unless you merge a separate foreground shot; I haven't interested in that option yet. I haven't done this tracking option for a while, partially because it'd add 3lb more! [tracking]

xf14mm, f2.8, iso2500, 125sec: crisp!

xf18mm, f2.8, iso200, 240sec: stars!

xf18-55, 39mm, f3.6, iso1600, 75sec: Orion belt!

Sorry it's a bit mess, there are a lot of options to balance out. I'm still trying to figure out what works for what.

[NacMacFeegle]

A good tutorial on image stacking:

[Jim Dockery]

The issue no one has brought up that is one of the toughest is planning and composing a striking image. Straight pictures of stars are pretty mundane (at least our feeble attempts compared to NASA). Some earthly elements need to be included to give context (like the Rainier shot Will shared, or Kenji's 1st one). Of course it is best to preplan and set-up before dark, esp. if you are blessed with a dark moonless night. Getting the Milky Way, esp. the galactic center, where you want it requires timing, and of course shooting in the right direction. I've found PhotoPils on my iPhone to be a great aid in choosing a destination and then composing for the MY.

[Anne Elk]

Bumping up this thread so the star photo crowd doesn't miss the Saloon post about the new comet visible this month: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1257970#1257970

[Gil]

Some of the Usuals went on a rafting trip on the Tieton River this week and camped out the night before on the banks. I looked up just as I was going to bed and saw this. I didn't have the ideal astro kit -- my D5500 and the kit 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 AF-P lens, but I think it turned out alright. Processed on my phone in Snapseed.