Only works when the phone is on a tripod or any other stable area.
With the phone in hand maximum is about 10 seconds...
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iPhone 13 Pro Max Milky Way photography
- Thread starter ToddH
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With the phone in hand maximum is about 10 seconds...
Wow! Those are beautiful! I was amazed at being able to capture actual stars in the NYC sky, unimaginable with my iPhone X.
![34171F78-5ECC-4F4E-BADA-725BA7BAAED5.jpeg]( "34171F78-5ECC-4F4E-BADA-725BA7BAAED5.jpeg")
I would also appreciate more details on your hardware setup. A quick search on bhp shows all kinds of Skywatcher Star Adventurer packages
I’m also fortunate to live in a dark area in the Rocky Mountains. Here’s a few (highly edited) shots from my iPhone 13 pro using a tripod and the apple watch camera remote.
![6F77383E-C161-47EA-87B3-5BE666AB7035.jpeg]( "6F77383E-C161-47EA-87B3-5BE666AB7035.jpeg")
![53F7794B-88AF-4CDF-A2B1-40BC35B6B734.jpeg]( "53F7794B-88AF-4CDF-A2B1-40BC35B6B734.jpeg")
![40248B00-AFB9-4AC9-AB7F-0A9B6DC63F47.jpeg]( "40248B00-AFB9-4AC9-AB7F-0A9B6DC63F47.jpeg")
Amazing shots! We’re these taken using ProRAW and what post editing softwar did you use?
Well actually you should be able to get 10 seconds hand held, but you have to have the phone on a tripod in order for it to know that it’s sitting still and not moving and then you move the exposure slider of night mode all the way to the left until it shows 30 seconds of exposure time. When the yellow oval circle at the top left corner is on showing night mode, you touch that and it reveals the slide bar at the bottom of the screen and you slide that all the way to the left to get your maximum exposure of 30 seconds. Same with handheld, you’ll get 10” that way. But the only way 30 seconds of exposure time will be achieved as when the phone is on a tripod or leaning up against something where it is sitting still.
Here is the tracker I use…
https://www.skywatcherusa.com/collections/star-adventurer
You can get it on Amazon and other places as well. As for stacking the 10 second exposures, the iPhone does that automatically after it finishes a 302nd exposure. It just takes three 10 second exposures and combined them after the photo has been taken. A tracking device is not required it just helps with image quality slightly. But it’s not required like I said. Just put your phone on a tripod and max out the night mode exposure time to 30 seconds and use Apple ProRAW because it looks better
Thank you. I know exactly what you mean by feeling small. The universe is infinite and we will never access all of it ever because it’s too big. Not sure why it was created that way, but it sure is beautiful
Thank you. I appreciate the kind compliment. I’ve taken many photos of the Milky Way using Nikon and Sony cameras. I’m happy knowing that the iPhone can do it as well especially when I can’t bring my expensive gear with me somewhere else. Lately I’ve been shooting more with my iPhone than anything else probably because it’s more fun and I don’t have any paid gig’s right now to use my Sony gear with.. So thanks again for the compliment
If you did that with an iPhone X, that’s pretty darn good considering that it doesn’t have night mode.
Thanks so much. Yes I was using ProRAW and I edited these in Lightroom mobile on my phone. I did create some presets after getting it the way I like it from either my front yard or a dark location like this and saving those presets to use the next time around. There’s still a considerable amount of noise mainly because it’s high ISO and only 30 seconds of exposure time. If we are able to expose for two or three minutes at low ISO, it would look much better. But this is all we have to work with her right now
He didn't use an X. Your pictures are outstanding! It's amazing those photos came from a cell phone..
Thanks so much! I wonder what type of shots are capable with using a 3rd party app that allows for shooting RAW with the manual ISO controls.
Wow!! I wish Apple had made improvements to Astrophotography, as think the 13 could have gotten better for that.
I don’t think there are any. So far there aren’t any apps on the App Store that utilize night mode. And I think 30 seconds is all you’re going to get with the iPhone.
Oh, I guess I miss read. Yeah I’m pretty darn happy that I’m able to get the Milky Way like that with an iPhone. I just wish I lived or could visit frequently Colorado or somewhere else with mountains to incorporate them with the night sky
Referring to the star tracker? If so, it’s the Skywatcher Star Adventurer which is a small tripod mountable tracker that is powered by 4 AA batteries. I have the pro pack which has the counter weight to balance my Sony camera gear. Here is a Amazon link to it.
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro Pack – Motorized Dslr Night Sky Tracker Equatorial Mount for Portable Nightscapes, Time-Lapse and Panoramas – Wi-Fi App Camera Control – Long Exposure Imaging https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NY44782/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_QSX3HMMF4SZK2ZQFVK28