Milkyway nightscapes

Nice Kb...I envy you southerners. Nice MW.

Thank you everybody for your kind replies.

So far I've been using my 10-22 and I think I am going to use it for a while, at least until I have a good idea of what it's able to do, what I want to shoot and really need.
As you mentioned I should take a good tripod, the one I've got was for a camera much smaller than my 70D.
Actually, for what my triala are worth, the 10-22 is pretty good for stars but I'n not an expert.
Were I live there's light pollution but as soon as I've shot some decent pictures perhpas I could pubilsh here to be judged and get some good advice.

Thanks again.
Fabrizio

When I had the 10-22 I always wished it had a faster aperture. Were I live it's not that great either (for dark skies). In the end I always converted my images to monochrome to combat noise from the higher ISO setting used. Even f/2.8 seemed slow when shooting on the outskirts of town.

It was a completely different story once I got into North country (4-5 hour drive). Then I got much better shots with my gear.

But a good tripod is highly recommended. Also get a remote trigger. Yongnuo makes a nice intervalometer. Runs in AAA batteries instead of the CR2032 style "watch" battery. It has a ton of modes (single shot, low/high speed continuous, manual bulb, and automatic bulb with repeat).

AbPho wrote in post #17417664
Nice Kb...I envy you southerners. Nice MW.

Thanks! I wish I was a southerner...I was just down there on vacation when I took the shot. I'm actually stuck in cold, wintery Indianapolis.

That's almost tropical. I'm in South Western Ontario. And I've had enough of winter.

You guys and gals are TOO cool for me! (Sunny, currently NOT, SoCal)

samsen wrote in post #17383761
I guess the take home lesion is to always try to check your images on a larger monitor where you have aid of processing software so that find out the potentials, when you can do something about it. I wish there was an easier way to connect the tablets to the camera directly without transfer of card or having a fancy camera.

All you need is an OTG cable to connect your camera and device and something like DslrDashboard on the tablet or phone.

Fabercula wrote in post #17417148
Hello everybody,

Just a suggestion please.

Which lens would you suggest for shooting stars?
Samyang 14 F/2.8 or 24 F/1.4, or is the latter worth the extra money?
I already own a Canon 10-22 USM and I am new to astrophotography but I want to have a go at it.
Thank you.
Fabrizio

The EF-S 10-22mm is a more than capable astro lens, I used to use mine all the time! The Samyang 14mm will not give you any benefit over the 10-22mm, you will not like the distortion of the 14mm and the focal length doesn't end up very wide, whereas the 10-22mm is effectively a 16-35mm lens, nice and wide! But also VERY little distortion to battle. The Samyang 14mm lens only really shines on a full frame camera.

Here's an older shot with the 10-22 on a 600d:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/kKwG​5x

T

NCHANT wrote in post #17420959
The EF-S 10-22mm is a more than capable astro lens, I used to use mine all the time! The Samyang 14mm will not give you any benefit over the 10-22mm, you will not like the distortion of the 14mm and the focal length doesn't end up very wide, whereas the 10-22mm is effectively a 16-35mm lens, nice and wide! But also VERY little distortion to battle. The Samyang 14mm lens only really shines on a full frame camera.

Here's an older shot with the 10-22 on a 600d:

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/kKwG​5x Dead Tree Milky Way by Mikey Mack, on Flickr

Thank you for replying.

I'll take your word and keep on shooting with my 10-22.
Actually I have only begun and I have 2 Big issues: focusing in dark light and finding a good piace with little light pollution.

Congratulations for your shots with both 10-22 and the Samyangs. I had a glance at them on Flickr.
Fabrizio

When I did mine I believe I set my focus to infinity... Pretty sure since many of those stars are light years away.

Fabercula wrote in post #17421367
T

Thank you for replying.

I'll take your word and keep on shooting with my 10-22.
Actually I have only begun and I have 2 Big issues: focusing in dark light and finding a good piace with little light pollution.

Congratulations for your shots with both 10-22 and the Samyangs. I had a glance at them on Flickr.
Fabrizio

CameraMan wrote in post #17421375
When I did mine I believe I set my focus to infinity... Pretty sure since many of those stars are light years away.

They are pretty far away, but I don't trust the infinity marking on any camera lens (well maybe apart from my fisheye, but that's because everything is in focus after about 1m). The best way to do it is find the brightest star in the sky, switch your camera to live view and magnify 10x. It'll allow you to focus accurately then.

danialsturge wrote in post #17421394
The best way to do it is find the brightest star in the sky, switch your camera to live view and magnify 10x. It'll allow you to focus accurately then.

I have done it that way before too.

My manual focus Fisheye I am sure I used infinity.

CameraMan wrote in post #17421397
I have done it that way before too.

My manual focus Fisheye I am sure I used infinity.

Fisheyes are nice like that, even wide open!

Fabercula wrote in post #17421367
I have only begun and I have 2 Big issues: focusing in dark light and finding a good [place] with little light pollution.

Manual focus can be difficult. Use liveview at 10x if you got it. The wider your lens the smaller the stars the harder to liveview focus. Don't trust the infinity mark. Infinity focus changes with temperature. It's best you get your gear climatized before shooting. I have tried using autofocus at a far away target, but it was always off when aiming at the stars.

I always preview the first few shots.

If you have a PC then there are a few different software packages that you can use tethered with your camera to check for a more accurate focus.