Photography guide

Star photography

Check moon phase, clouds, light pollution and Milky Way direction before leaving.

Core principle

Check moon phase, clouds, light pollution and Milky Way direction before leaving.

Practical workflow

The 500/400/300 rules are approximations; high-resolution sensors often need shorter exposures.

1. Define the image goal and working conditions.
2. Choose baseline settings and make a test frame.
3. Check focus, histogram and critical image areas.
4. Record the settings that worked and why you changed them.

What to verify before finishing

Focus manually on a bright star, inspect at high magnification and consider stacking for higher quality.

Do not treat a single rule as a guarantee. Conditions, equipment design and output size change the requirements. Record settings and conclusions in the AparatTo planner.