Chose a tracking mount over a wider telescope lens and it paid off fast

I was torn between buying a $600 star tracker for my camera or a wider aperture lens for deep sky shots. Picked the tracker and got crystal clear 2-minute exposures of the Orion Nebula on my first clear night in Bortle 5 skies. Anyone else find tracking gear beats glass upgrades for starting out?

2 comments

2 Comments

cameron_chen12d ago

Hard disagree on this one. A good lens stays with you forever, but a star tracker is just another gadget that can break or need constant polar alignment hassle. Most people starting out would get way more use out of a fast lens for things like Milky Way panoramas or even daytime photography, not just deep sky stuff. Two minutes of exposure on Orion is cool, but you could have gotten 90% of that result with stacking shorter exposures on a decent f/2.8 lens anyway. Plus, your tracker is useless the second clouds roll in or you want to shoot something that isn't a tiny galaxy.

joel_young12d ago

Idk, I feel like a tracker opens up way more creative options than just one fast lens can.