Milkyway nightscapes

MakisM1 wrote in post #17673379
Having done this and missed my wife's choir Xmas concert, I always carry a spare SD in my wallet.

davidfarina wrote in post #17673418
A spare SD card or two is a must for me anyways!

davidfarina wrote in post #17673418
A spare SD card or two is a must for me anyways!

What cameras are you guys using that takes SD cards and why SD over CF? I've been using CF cards forever and even though my 7D II has dual slots, I don't own any SD cards.

Aressem wrote in post #17673602
What cameras are you guys using that takes SD cards and why SD over CF? I've been using CF cards forever and even though my 7D II has dual slots, I don't own any SD cards.

Sony A7R and Sony A7S. The best cameras ive ever used!

davidfarina wrote in post #17673631
Sony A7R and Sony A7S. The best cameras ive ever used!

Very nice! Forgot they don't use CF. I got to play with the A7R II last week, Wednesday. My friend bought one from Sony (Korea) and brought it back with him. Mannnnn, does that thing ever chew through batteries though! He had four and almost used all four after an evening of shooting MW + meteor shower photos.

Aressem wrote in post #17673694
Very nice! Forgot they don't use CF. I got to play with the A7R II last week, Wednesday. My friend bought one from Sony (Korea) and brought it back with him. Mannnnn, does that thing ever chew through batteries though! He had four and almost used all four after an evening of shooting MW + meteor shower photos.

Welcome to mirrorless In all seriousness though the sony batteries allow about 350-400 shots per battery but they are cheap, small and lightweight so most of us have a few spares at all times.

Aressem wrote in post #17673602
What cameras are you guys using that takes SD cards and why SD over CF? I've been using CF cards forever and even though my 7D II has dual slots, I don't own any SD cards.

The 6D is SD only.

davidmtml wrote in post #17673835
The 6D is SD only.

That was my camera before so i never used CF cards

Another of mine from last night. I've been watching some video's on how to edit these to get the best out of them.
Practice, practice, practice......

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xeAF​VW

Aressem wrote in post #17673602
What cameras are you guys using that takes SD cards and why SD over CF? I've been using CF cards forever and even though my 7D II has dual slots, I don't own any SD cards.

A 5D3, a 60D and a SX700HS. They can all use SD cards.

I am not sure how long would a CF card survive in my wallet, in my back pocket...

davidmtml wrote in post #17673159
I think it was mostly a white balance issue. The headlamp I used to light the tent is an LED, and quite cool color-temperature wise. When editing, the quick white balance adjustment I did was to make the foreground look correct, but in the process I believe I made the MW way too warm. Here is an updated version, let me know if this looks better. Re-added the original below as well for comparisons sake.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wxRC​G6 20150815-224919-IMG_6237-3 by David Rabenberg, on Flickr

This MW looks better with a little color in it .

I am still trying to get used to editing the Milky Way but can't seem to get near the level of detail and colour that I am wanting.

Here are a couple shots from this month.

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/wAbf​KG

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xsHE​X9

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17674614
I am still trying to get used to editing the Milky Way but can't seem to get near the level of detail and colour that I am wanting.

The trick is to find truely dark skies. Then it doesn't take genius level Photoshop ability. Set WB to Tungsten and you're good. Now these guys posting great color in highly light polluted areas have real skilz.

Trying to embed this video

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17674614
I am still trying to get used to editing the Milky Way but can't seem to get near the level of detail and colour that I am wanting.

It looks like you're probably aiming your camera in the wrong direction. I assume by getting the level or detail/colour from the Milky Way you mean you want to capture the galactic core, in which case you need to aim south. I'd say you've been aiming more northerly judging from your photos.

danialsturge wrote in post #17674656
It looks like you're probably aiming your camera in the wrong direction. I assume by getting the level or detail/colour from the Milky Way you mean you want to capture the galactic core, in which case you need to aim south. I'd say you've been aiming more northerly judging from your photos.

The first photo was shot above the house towards the SW, so I missed the bottom half of the core that night.
The second photo is a panorama and the Milky Way in the left is looking towards the SW which is where I was expecting it to be (based on Stellarium). It was a relatively clear night with the aurora being very active.

Some photos I can edit it reasonably ok, but with others I struggle with, even when I am out of the light polluted areas. The area where I live has relatively lower light pollution based on maps so should be fine to get a semi-decent image. The difference can be seen in the images below, both taken with the same lens. The second image is a stacked vertical panorama with 3 horizontal shots.

Is it normal to struggle with finding a balance between noise and det

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xxmM​4t

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/xxnz​iT

WildernessTracker wrote in post #17674685
The first photo was shot above the house towards the SW, so I missed the bottom half of the core that night.
The second photo is a panorama and the Milky Way in the left is looking towards the SW which is where I was expecting it to be (based on Stellarium). It was a relatively clear night with the aurora being very active.

Some photos I can edit it reasonably ok, but with others I struggle with, even when I am out of the light polluted areas. The area where I live has relatively lower light pollution based on maps so should be fine to get a semi-decent image. The difference can be seen in the images below, both taken with the same lens. The second image is a stacked vertical panorama with 3 horizontal shots.

Is it normal to struggle with finding a balance between noise and det

Ah, my mistake. I would have thought if it's dark enough to capture the aurora that well, then the milky way would show up more clearly.

How many images if you stack in the second one? I guess it's probably just light pollution, even if you shoot from a low light polluted area, if the camera is aimed in a direction where there is some glow it can wash out some detail and colour. As for noise, I don't know how well the 70D handles it? I know my 60D is pretty bad at 1600 and pretty unusable at 3200. For astro I always use my Canon EOS M as it very usable at 1600 and not too bad at 3200.

Also, what time are you shooting at? Being up in Scotland you're probably only getting a couple of hours of truly dark hours during the summer. Even here in Sheffield it doesn't stay properly dark that long.