First session with D850

This image was lightly edited in Lightroom to reduce noise and enhance the colors of the galactic center.

Milky Way
D850 6 sec f/1.8 20mm ISO 4000 - Hopkinton, NH @ 10pm July 25, 2022

For my first time using the D850 for astrophotography, I opted to not use my star tracker due to the time it would take to set up and this mostly being a test for the camera’s functions and capabilities. I didn’t take this session too seriously because there is too much light pollution in Hopkinton, NH and it was still too soon after sunset so I knew my pictures wouldn’t meet my standards.

I took multiple pictures ranging from ISO 800 to 6400 to explore how this camera handles noise at higher levels. I was pleasantly surprised by how little noise was in my pictures in comparison to what my D3300 would have.

Overall I’m pleased with the photos I was able to get and I’m looking forward to using this camera in the future with my star tracker in a more suitable location.