Todays topics –
I celebrate the FANTASTIC MOMENTS and confess the MAJOR FLUBS from the live broadcast of the Eric Benedetti Star Tracker Workshop from over the weekend. In today’s Astro Primer, we learn it is a Full Moon week. That means it is even more crucial to learn what days are open for Milky Way Photography. Thus, I am reminded again why the Southern Hemisphere has a distinct advantage over the Northern Hemisphere for viewing the Milky Way Galactic Core year round!
Today’s Virtual Guest –
Follow Eric Benedetti at his website: https://www.ericbenedettiphotography.com/
Purchase Eric’s Star Tracker Workshop Online Course
Purchase the Replay and have Permanent access to Eric Benedetti’s Star Tracker Workshop Online Course plus future content updates – https://goo.gl/v5KPHq
Eric Benedetti Star Tracker Workshop Recap
There were some moments that were just magical! Everyone involved was so crazy grateful for Eric’s time, experience and knowledge. We learned so many great tips on how to not only become BETTER Milky Way Photographers but how to capably install and use a Star Tracker with our camera. We certainly got our money’s worth with Eric’s SIX hours of instruction that we got on Saturday. And there is more to come too!
Lastly, I go over three simple takeaways from the Workshop that highlight what we went over. They highlight what great and interesting lessons are in store for those of us who have access to the workshop.
- Shoot the foreground first. The Milky Way doesn’t even have to be up to do this. And it can save time. Then take your panorama moving from North to South. (Go South to North in the Southern Hemisphere.) Image stacking is not needed with a Star Tracker. Lower the ISO when star tracking and get less noisy images, thereby removing the need for stacking.
- Star Tracking does complicate post processing along the skyline. Especially if there are trees that need extensive masking. Eric covers the details of doing this in an extended segment of the Star Tracker Workshop.
- Buy the software that’s recommended by Eric to help with post-processing. Especially the Carboni Astro Tools. There are so many tools in there that will be very useful for astro in these packages.
Videos Included with this Online Course:
- Eric’s Recommended Gear for Star Tracker Photography
- Setting up your Star Tracker & Best Practices Out in the Field
- Post-Processing Techniques for Star Tracking Images
- RAW Replay Instant Access to RAW YouTube LIVE Replays from the April 21st LIVE Online Workshop
- Facebook Group Access to an exclusive Private Facebook Group with Eric Benedetti
- Polished Replay Polished & Edited Course Website that has the content broken up into segments
- Worksheet PDF Lesson Highlights, Gear info & recommendations put into a PDF Cheat sheet
- MORE Instruction! We are filming Eric do a more in-depth masking tutorial along with other popular topics that we want to go even deeper on. That content will be added to the workshop instruction at zero cost to you guys. So there is even MORE to come!
Software recommended by Eric Benedetti
Carboni’s Astro Tools: http://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/Astronomy_Tools_For_Full_Version.html
Annie’s Astro Actions: http://www.eprisephoto.com/astro-actions
Star Tracker vs. Single Image Milky Way Photography
Here are a few more reasons why you need a Sky Tracker Mount for your Milky Way Photography:
Star Tracker vs. Single Image | Why you need a Sky Tracker Mount for your Milky Way Photography
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Items Discussed in this Podcast
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Gear recommended for tracking:
SkyWatcher S20510 Star Adventurer Astro Package $329 – https://amzn.to/2m2tDCl
SkyWatcher S20530 Star Adventurer Latitude (EQ) Base – https://amzn.to/2ziIEJL
SkyWatcher S20540 Star Adventurer Counter Weight Kit – https://amzn.to/2KQVtiY
Cameras for the beginner:
Nikon D7200 DX-format DSLR Body – https://amzn.to/2KHTOwM
Canon EOS Rebel T5i Digital SLR Camera Body – https://amzn.to/2u5dmAQ
Lenses:
Rokinon 16M-C 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon EF Cameras – https://amzn.to/2KP9ugX
Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Lens for Canon (Black) – https://amzn.to/2KD5oct
Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART DG HSM Lens for Canon – https://amzn.to/2IZAG7T
Rokinon 16MAF-N 16mm f/2.0 Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Nikon (DX) Cameras – https://amzn.to/2KE2Qeq
Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Ultra Wide Angle Fixed Lens w/Built-in AE Chip for Nikon – https://amzn.to/2MWl73a
Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART DG HSM Lens for Nikon – https://amzn.to/2u11oZ4
Slighty less expensive Star Tracker:
iOptron SkyTracker Pro Camera Mount with Polar Scope, Mount Only – https://amzn.to/2KGdXmX
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