Group: Milky Way Bows

Herb

Thanks for asking the question it was a subject I was going to add as a “How To”. It’s not hard But and there is a few But’s you need to think on first.

1/ Tripod the head had to be 100% graduated as you have to move 30 degrees each shot (horizontally) and you will need to take at least 10 shots to get the whole bow in one after the other from end to end of the bow. You need solid legs and a very good levelling system. You need the camera as close as possible to tripod head. Why I have no extendable centre part no movement no vibration. A good tripods & head should cost as much as a lens BUT you will have to only buy one not lots of cheap tripods’ that don’t cut it and buy a better one, get it right first time.

2/ Lens On a full frame Ultra Wide 14mm is best @ F2.8 on crop sensor a 10mm @ F2.8 but first up try with what you have got 18mm F3.5 but remember what the higher Fstop means less light and Higher focal length means cut down in time. Learn to use internal time or use a remote.

3/ you need to make sure you have vertical orientation so you capture as much of the sky as possible and get a better result when it comes to stitching. Horizontal you would think is best as there are less shot but not the height of the Bow.

4/ A modern DSLR Camera best to be able to handle ISO 3200, change lens and you can get on manual and run the camera yourself (there is no auto in night photography).
Best to think on taking during the New moon as no light to taint the sky or the Milky Way. The best program to find the Milky Way is as it shows you just where the Milky way can be found once you imput your home.

www.stellarium.org

FX 20 sec 14mm or Crop Sensor 20sec 10mm (Please note I have used Nikon but the same goes for Canon) Time 20Sec in camera timer in M
ISO 3200
WB 4000K
F2.8 by far the best the most amount of light that reaches the sensor. Not uless you are lucky to own a F1.4 14mm
High ISO noise reduction turned to normal or low.
Long exposure noise reduction turned on. Unless you are good to manually adjust in processing.
Shoot in Raw & Jpeg. Some program’s use either but most only use one or the other.
Vibration Control turned off
Auto focus turned off focus manually use live view to focus on bright star or if you are lucky use the lens in the day focus on infinity tape it there turn off auto focus and you are good to go first time.

The only other advice is practice makes perfect and the right stitch program. Don’t be afraid to get it all wrong but be willing to try again because the result is well worth the effort i sure got it wrong. Dont be afraid to ask questions of those who have got it right for you to learn.

Enjoy the Night.

Steve

Wow Steve, you have answered all my questions perfectly. I am really grateful for this extra knowledge and your generous tips here. You can be sure the next time that I am in a dark sky environment I shall try this technique. Of course now, I must re-examine my tripod and consider a better investment perhaps. You can be sure that my first bow attempts will appear here too (if they are good enough :) )
Cheers, Herb