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My uncle told me to just point my camera at the sky and hold it still for 30 seconds

Honestly, I thought he was crazy because I didn't have a tripod, just my old Nikon D3500. I tried it anyway, resting it on my car roof in a dark spot outside Tucson, and the photo of the Milky Way core actually came out clear. What's the longest exposure you can get away with before star trails really mess things up?
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4 Comments
the_emma
the_emma1mo ago
My old D3100 could only do about 20 seconds before the stars smeared. It's funny how the best photo advice always sounds like a weird hack at first.
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matthewwilson
Your uncle was right, that's a solid car roof tripod lol.
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thea602
thea6025d ago
My buddy down in Phoenix tried 30 seconds on his Canon T7 once and got nothing but blur, so your uncle’s advice was really solid. @matthewwilson calling car roofs a tripod is spot on, it’s all about finding a steady surface in the dark. The rule I’ve heard is the 500 rule for your lens, but I’ve seen a lot of people just stop at 20 seconds to be safe.
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wendy32
wendy321mo ago
My old D3300 got me 25 seconds before trails, and @matthewwilson is right about car roofs.
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