Pro tip on capturing the Milky Way with a cheap lens

I was out at Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania last summer trying to get the Milky Way with my old 50mm f/1.8 lens. The issue was I kept getting these weird star trails even after just 10 seconds of exposure. Turns out my tripod head had a tiny wobble I never noticed inside the city. Took me three nights and a $5 hex key to finally tighten it down and get crisp shots. Anyone else ever get fooled by a loose tripod?

2 comments

2 Comments

ward.piper14d ago

Loctite on those tripod screws saves a ton of headaches.

barbarahill14d ago

Did you check the ball head? Mine had the same sneaky wobble problem.