I think the obsession with perfect gear for astro photos is overblown

Last month at a dark sky site in Joshua Tree, my main camera battery died right as the Milky Way core rose. All I had was my old phone and a cheap tripod. I took a 30 second exposure anyway, and the result had more character than my usual super clean shots. It made me wonder if chasing perfect gear makes us miss the point. Has anyone else gotten a good shot with less than ideal stuff?

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the_piper6mo ago

So what did you do with that shot?

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hannah4226mo ago

Honestly that's such a good question from @the_piper! It really makes you stop and think about the whole process after you get the photo. Did you end up editing it a ton or keeping it pretty close to how it came out of the camera? I always get stuck trying to decide if I've gone too far with the edits.

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skyler_thomas6mo ago

Totally disagree with you @hannah422. If you paid for the fancy camera you should USE it. I edit until the photo looks like the memory in my head, not what the sensor caught.

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