I still prefer single-shot astrophotography over stacking

Everyone goes on about stacking 50 frames and using fancy software to get those clean nebula shots, but I have more fun doing one long exposure of 30 seconds with my old Canon. Maybe I'm missing detail, but the raw single image feels more like what I actually see through the eyepiece. Any other folks here still shooting singles instead of stacking?

2 comments

2 Comments

kevin2183d ago

I was a single-shot guy for ten years with my old 5D Mark II. Then I tried stacking 12 frames of the Orion Nebula one winter night and the difference was night and day. Your 30 second single shot will show the bright core, sure, but all the faint nebulosity around it just gets lost in the noise floor. I still keep a few single exposures for certain things like star clusters and bright planets, but for deep sky objects you are leaving a lot of detail on the table. It is not about fancy software, it is about letting the math do what your eyes cannot.

the_julia3d ago

That moment when you first stack and it clicks is honestly unforgettable! I remember trying it with the Andromeda Galaxy and being mad at myself for not trying it sooner because my single frames just looked like a fuzzy cotton ball with a bright center.