Pro tip: stacking 200 shots from a city park changed my whole process

I was at Griffith Park in LA last month trying to get the Milky Way. The light pollution was awful, just a washed out orange mess in every single frame. I almost packed up after an hour. Then I remembered reading about stacking tons of short exposures. I figured why not, and shot 200 frames at 8 seconds each. When I stacked them all back home, the noise just melted away. I could actually see dust lanes and color in the core, right from the middle of the city. It proved you don't need perfect dark skies, just patience and a lot of shots. Now I always plan for high volume from any location. Has anyone else tried pushing the number of frames that high from a bright spot?

3 comments

3 Comments

reed.ray2mo agoMost Upvoted

Ever think about how this changes the math on tracking errors? I used to fight so hard for perfect polar alignment for one long shot. But with 200 short frames, a little drift between shots just gets thrown out when you stack. It's like the method forgives small mistakes my old gear makes. Lets me use a basic tripod and ball head I already own instead of buying a perfect tracker. Feels like cheating but it works.

jordanr891mo agoTop Commenter

My last polar alignment was so bad I think my mount was aiming at a streetlight, not Polaris. But like @reed.ray said, stacking a few hundred short shots just sort of averages out the mess. It saved a shot where my star trails looked like spaghetti. I'm all for methods that forgive my lazy setup habits, it feels like finding money in an old coat.

anna_roberts2mo ago

Check out @reed.ray's point, but stacking that many still needs decent alignment or you'll lose the edges.