Finally decided between a new lens and a star tracker

I've been saving for months and had to pick one. Went with the tracker, and last night I got a 30-second exposure of Orion's Belt from my backyard that's actually sharp. Anyone have tips for polar alignment without a clear view of Polaris?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.pat16d ago

Wait, you got a sharp 30-second shot from your backyard? That's wild. My backyard shots are always a blurry mess from streetlights and neighbors' porch lights. What's your light pollution like?

olivia_allen16d ago

Honestly got lucky with a new moon and a power outage down the street last week lol. But yeah, my usual bortle class is like a 5, so it's not perfect. Are you using any kind of light pollution filter on your lens, or just trying to fight it with settings?

jenny_coleman10d ago

Totally get what black.pat is saying about the blurry mess. I fight the same battle with a streetlight right at the edge of my yard. Even with a decent filter, I have to keep my exposures super short or everything gets washed out in this gross orange glow. It's so frustrating when you just want a clean shot of the stars. What kind of filter are you using right now, or are you just working with the raw camera settings?