Phil's Checklist for Shooting the Milky Way
Phil says "I am trying to improve my Milky Way image photography. I’ve been staying in Chatham, MA, going out every night the weather works best for MW images. I work best with a defined checklist of dos and don’ts. The following is my current Milky Way checklist."
Gear
- Tripod
- Cable release
- 2 batteries for camera and flashlights
- 2 flashlights
- In camera level or level mounted on camera
Settings
- Southeasterly direction to MW.
- level camera
- Sharpness- tack sharp a star
- ISO 3200 in dark hours
- White balance 4000k
- f/stop 2.8
- 500 rule to approximate exposure time. (In my case , 20secs. with crop camera)
- Set cable release to 20 secs.