Results: Astrophotography with the D800E

Jim,

I asked for the same thing in this thread :-

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1021&message=41960867

And had wonderful responses from the Astrophotography gurus (some are in this thread too).

For me personally, I ended up tracking everything - even 14mm at 1min although I probably didn't need to. Once setup, I thought I may as well just leave it. I also used ISO3200/F4 & 30sec/1min. Although it worked out fine, I wish I experimented more with the ISO and exposure. I also shot only RAW and I did enable long exposure noise reduction. So each subject, 1 min x 6 x NR = 12 mins if all goes well.

Lessons learnt for me :-
1) try different ISO & exposure combinations
2) use a sturdier tripod or hang a weight at the bottom to keep it steady

3) Use different power source for the Vixen Polarie. I chewed up 6xAA's in 5 hrs.
4) Learn my stars and Octans better and reduce time spent on polar alignment

Lessons still to learn :-

• post processing workflow. All my shots are in NEF. Do I just convert to JPG then use software to stack and fix contrast, etc in final? I'll need to order that D-SLR Astrophotography book.