What camera and conditions are needed to photograph the Milky Way like this?
Asked 2/7/2012
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I want to capture images like the example shown, where the background includes visible Milky Way dust clouds and a lit foreground. Is this mainly about the camera, the location, or both? What type of camera and lens setup can produce this kind of shot?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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I found this page while checking my stats on Flickr. (I'm the photographer that shot this photo) I thought I'd respond with details of how I created this image since I see multiple theories here.
First - this is not a stacked exposure. The entire image is a single exposure (30 secs). I used a Nikon D700 DSLR at ISO 3200 to capture this image (at ~20mm/f2.8).
Also, the background is indeed the Milky way as some of the answers mention. (This was shot when the moon was just rising - so the skies were still dark)
There is no 'digital trickery' involved at all (unless you count RAW processing as 'digital trickery'). As rfusca mentions, I merely light-painted the foreground with a flashlight for illumination.
The D700 is an example of a camera that has very low noise at high ISO - thus, the image works even at full-resolution (12.1 MP). There are ways to achieve even lower noise (downsampling, dark-frame subtraction etc..), but I didn't do any of that for this image.
The most important part of getting an image like this is to find an area with dark skies. (More images with Milky way can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bala_/tags/nightsky/)
If anyone has additional questions, I'm happy to answer them!
Originally by user8611. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user8611
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Shots like this are possible with a single exposure if you use the right conditions and gear. In the example discussed, the photographer used a Nikon D700 DSLR at about 20mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200, for a 30-second exposure, and light-painted the foreground with a flashlight. The background is the Milky Way, not a separate composite.
So it depends on both camera and location:
- Location/sky conditions: you need very dark skies, ideally with little or no moonlight.
- Camera: a camera with good high-ISO, low-noise performance helps a lot.
- Lens: a wide-angle, fast lens is important so you can gather more light in a short exposure.
Exposure time is limited because stars begin to trail as the Earth rotates. With wide-angle lenses, roughly 25–30 seconds is often the upper limit before trails become noticeable.
In short: you do not necessarily need a special “deep space” camera for this kind of Milky Way landscape photo. A DSLR or similar camera with good low-light performance, paired with a wide, bright lens and used under dark skies, can do it.
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