I did none of the sort, trying to observe and photograph the light show over and under light-polluted suburban skies. This is my budget go-to setup for simple astrophotography, from the top down:
1. Kit zoom lens;
2. Inexpensive DSLR camera;
3. Cheap, programmable shutter release controller;
4. Decent camera mount (detachable tripod head with detachable mounting plate) to adjust camera angle;
5. Compass for Vixen Polarie, to more accurately find true north;
6. Vixen Polarie star tracking mount, to follow the skies for longer exposures;
7. Cheap, yet relatively stable tripod, with non-detachable tripod head and detachable mounting plate.
For this astrophotography session, I used the following settings:
1. Lens: 18mm, f/3.5, trying to manually focus to "infinity" without an infinity marking;
2. Camera: RAW+JPEG files, ISO 800 (I try not to go over 800 due to inexpensive DSLR noise), exposure time at BULB (a 30-second shutter would work, too);
3. Shutter release: 30-second exposure time, with a 10-second delay between shots, set to the maximum number of automatic shots;
4. Camera mount: Pointed Northeast, at the "love triangle" among the constellations Cassiopeia, Perseus, and Andromeda (mostly the Andromeda Galaxy);
5. Compass: Set for my latitude, with Magnetic North being a few degrees off True North;
6. Vixen Polarie: Star tracking mode, with Polaris (the North Star) in view of the viewfinder;
7. Tripod: All legs extended, as level as possible, pointed at the North Star.
I shot as much as I could that night, as this was mostly a "set it and forget it" deal, using a few batteries in the process. Focusing to "infinity" on a kit lens has always been a challenge. There were several awesome fireball-like meteors that were outside the camera's range -- to the West, Southwest, and Southeast. My camera was able to photograph five Perseid meteors, one (or two) unrelated "shooting stars," and a handful of airplanes flying overhead. The photo above was from a "developed" RAW file, but here are the results from unmodified (albeit cropped) JPEG files:
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This is the same meteor as pictured above, the best one of the night. I could have called it a night after this one. |
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This faint Perseid is approaching the Andromeda Galaxy, so to speak. There is no way I could have seen this meteor as it happened. |
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The tripod and/or camera definitely vibrated during this shot, creating double images of stars. This meteor is pretty faint, and I did not see it with my own eyes at the time. |
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These two, parallel meteors are unrelated to the Perseids because their tails do not originate from the Double Cluster area of the sky, the radiant of the Perseid meteor shower. |
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