Vent: The guy who told me to skip a star tracker for my astro photos

Back in 2021, a guy on a forum told me I didn't need a star tracker for deep sky stuff, just a tripod and a fast lens. I listened to him and spent 6 months getting blurry, trailed shots of the Orion Nebula. Finally borrowed a friend's Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer and got a clear shot my first try. Anyone else get burned by bad advice from someone who sounded confident?

3 comments

3 Comments

troy_price1mo ago

Oh man, I wasted a whole summer trying to shoot the Milky Way with just a tripod and a kit lens because some guy swore it was "good enough." Ended up with a bunch of noisy, streaky messes and almost quit astro entirely.

daniel_gonzalez1mo ago

Dude seriously. That kit lens Milky Way hustle is the biggest scam in astro. I fell for it too, spent weeks stacking noisy frames and swearing at my histogram. A used Samyang 14mm f/2.8 changed everything in one night. Night and day difference. Worth every penny.

phoenix5731mo ago

Bought a cheap tripod mount for my phone once, thought I could get a moon shot... ended up with a blurry smudge that looked more like a potato. @troy_price you're not alone, that kit lens trap almost got me too back when I was starting out. Sometimes the confident-sounding advice just sets you back months, feels like a rite of passage in this hobby.