help with milky way pics

[colorado matt]

picking this up on monday off of craigslist..... runs off of a 12 volt battery .... seller said can take up to twenty five minute pics..... have played with trying to get pics of the milky way when camping.... but as i am sure you are aware after thirty seconds you start getting trails ..... my camera is a nikon d3300 ..... i understand iso and f-stop and basic use of the camera ..... i do not have , or plan to get any post processing software..... what i am hoping for from the braintrust here is suggestions for settings for the camera to shoot wide angle veiws of the sky for multiple minutes to get me started playing with my new toy ..... thanks for any help or suggestions.... Matt

 

[colorado matt]

well i thought someone would have chimed in ... .... so for maybe someone else down the road , here is what is i have figured out .... using the kit lens 18-55 that came with the camera , i have to open it all the way and playing with the iso i have found that i like it between 100 and 400 best ..... any higher and ten plus minute exposures i am getting too much noise ..... mostly shooting Orion as it is an easy target where i am set up .. using mountains as a backdrop the landscape blur is hardly noticeable .... but the fence or a close tree you can see some blur but that is an effect that is pleasing to me for shorter 2 or 3 minute pics .. very happy with the new toy .... my dad has the same camera and has bought some extra lenses .... he is sending a wide angle faster lens for me to play with... excited for milky way to be in the sky this summer....Matt

 

[NoTraxx]

Well that is an interesting rig, what can you tell us about it? Does it track? Did you get some info on the set up and how to aim etc.....
A good resource is https://www.cloudynights.com/

 

[colorado matt]

i have wanted an equitorial mount for years .... price has always kept me from it .... this rig is a poor mans solution ..... yes it tracks ....and does it quite well .... set up is quite simple .... i think it is called a barn door mount ..... the tripod is an old Criterion telescope mount ..... the base has to be level... done with a little torpedo level when setting up .... the spotting scope looking thing is set up parallel with the hinge and after the base is level you find the north star in the cross hairs ... the guy that sold it to me said to point the cross hairs just barely east and a hair south of the star .... the control box houses electronics that turn a 1/4 inch 20 threads per inch screw at the rate of 1 revolution per minute .... and that is it .... mount the camera and point it where you want .... turn on the motor ...open the lens .... length of the screw currently on the rig lets me take up to 22 minute pics .... cant see a reason to change that .... a heavy weight hangs from the tripod to keep i very stable .... and the whole thing runs off of 12 volts and draws hardly anything so it will be a great addition to the camping trailer as we get out quite often to some very dark spots camping here in the mountains and bonus it was 75 bucks .... could not be more excited .... just need some experience with the camera ..... apparently the camera does something i am not sure why .... if i take a 5 minute picture the after the camera takes a 5 minute picture with the lens closed and compares them to generate some type of noise filter techno gizmo end result .... in my limited knowledge and practice i am enjoying 10 minute exposures the best .... but then it takes just as long for the camera to process the pic so i can only take 3 pics an hour ..... understand there is a way to turn the noise filter off but have yet to find that setting in my camera menu .... also need and extra battery or 2 for the camera so i can play longer .... Matt

 

[NoTraxx]

I currently have a alt-az mount for the telescope. Haven’t tried Astro photography yet, I do have a wedge coming that I had put off again and again until I finally ordered it and of course it was out of stock.
My plans are to post up in the Big Bend area for a week or so. It is supposed to be a excellent dark site.
Right now I just look through the scope at planets, moon and such.

 

[colorado matt]

i like this map for finding dark .... its amazing what even a half hour drive can do for finding a dark spot

Light pollution map

Interactive world light pollution map. The map uses NASA VIIRS, World Atlas 2015, Aurora prediction, observatories, clouds and SQM/SQC overlay contributed by users.

www.lightpollutionmap.info

 

[NoTraxx]

Yep, and “they have a app for that”
Where I live is a bortle 7 but I have property south of here in a class 4.