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Went from rolling my eyes at star tracker photos to buying one after one night at Mt. Rainier
I always thought those star tracker rigs were just for people with too much money and time. Last summer I camped up at Reflection Lakes near Mt. Rainier and a guy let me look through his setup. He showed me a 4 minute exposure of the Milky Way that looked like a Hubble shot. Then I tried a 30 second shot on my tripod and it was just a blurry mess. The difference was so obvious I ordered a used Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer the next week. Has anyone else had that moment where you realized gear actually matters more than you thought?
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bettyfox4mo ago
Agree with @lisaf38 on the needle comment, they really do look sharp and tiny when you zoom in. The first night I used mine I just sat there watching the tracker do its thing, it felt like cheating almost. It's crazy how much a simple piece of gear changes everything you thought you knew about astro.
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grant_allen853mo ago
That "felt like cheating" line hits hard, I had the exact same sensation my first clear night with a tracker. You spend so long fighting against the rotation of the earth, pushing iso and shutter speed to the limit, and then suddenly you just... let the motor do the work. It really does make you rethink everything you thought you knew about astrophotography, in the best possible way.
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