Milky Way at Three Focal Lengths

[GeorgeHudetz]

Here are three shots of the Milky Way at 14mm, 28mm, and 50mm, all using the S5.
These were captured at the top of Engineer Pass in Colorado in June 2023 (the 28mm shot was also posted in the July image thread).

The 14mm shot was captured using the Sigma 14-28 at F2.8, 220 seconds, ISO 640 for the sky (single tracked image, no stacking). Foreground was 150 seconds, F2.8, ISO I600. Note that the ISO values here are not all that important; I do significant processing in Capture One on the raw files.

The 28mm shot was captured using the Sigma 28mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens. Sky was a single (tracked) 60 second exposure, at F2. Foreground was 60 second, F1.4.

The 50mm shot was captured using the Panny 50mm F1.8. At this focal length, I was having a hard time avoiding star trails since my tracker wasn't perfectly aligned, so I stacked 16 shots at 15 seconds each, F1.8, for the sky. Foreground was 60 seconds, F1.8.

Hope folks enjoy these shots! It was the first time I was able to create a good 50mm astro shot, and the first time I was able to span such a wide range in one setting. Curious if anybody has a preference amongst the three!

14mm:


28mm:


50mm:

 

[MattGeo399]

Awesome work! 28 mm is my favorite

 

[dirk]

I like both, 28mm and 50mm. Tough to decide.

 

[Pete_W]

Great photos George!

My preference is the 14mm shot - I prefer the format of the photo as it provides a bigger expanse.

 

[CharlesH]

I like them all. It depends on what kind of scene you are trying to achieve. I've done the Milky Way at 20mm so I can have more of the sky than just the Milky Way, plus the local background, so in that sense I would use the 14mm shot. I would never say the Milky Way is boring, but to me it is better if it stands out from other things. I would guess you follow Dan Zafra who is the master of these kinds of shots, and most of his spectacular Milky Way photos are wide angle. I take a little different tact, and do a long sequence of shots, and string them together as time lapse video. I love to see the motion of the stars, and what motion might be happening here on earth. For this I can't use a tracker, and I use fairly short exposure and high ISO. If I get a chance I'll post one of these.

 

[GeorgeHudetz]

Thanks Charles.

I actually met Dan at the Nightscaper conference in Utah earlier this year. Super nice guy, and super talented, as you say. I commonly use his MW calendar.

Yes, UW is really necessary to capture most/all of the MW. I have yet to do a MW pano, but my buddy did one that night at Engineer Pass. He used a 12 mm lens in portrait mode - not sure how many shots - and got the MW arch end-to-end. The sky glow was insane in that image.

I was hoping to do a pano over Bryce Canyon at the end of the Nightscaper conference, but the conditions did not allow it. It's on my to-do list, for sure.

Having said all that, I also do like the "MW Portrait" shots of the core at 50mm. Love the detail.

And yes, time-lapse MW sequences are super cool. As are the star-trail shots, which are super easy with the S5 using Live View Composite.

 

[inspiredtimothy]

I like them all. It depends on what kind of scene you are trying to achieve. I've done the Milky Way at 20mm so I can have more of the sky than just the Milky Way, plus the local background, so in that sense I would use the 14mm shot. I would never say the Milky Way is boring, but to me it is better if it stands out from other things. I would guess you follow Dan Zafra who is the master of these kinds of shots, and most of his spectacular Milky Way photos are wide angle. I take a little different tact, and do a long sequence of shots, and string them together as time lapse video. I love to see the motion of the stars, and what motion might be happening here on earth. For this I can't use a tracker, and I use fairly short exposure and high ISO. If I get a chance I'll post one of these.

I would love to see these time lapses!

 

[robin0112358]

I don't have a distinct preference but I think most will favour the wider shot. I just think it's awesome that you can get these shots.