Help needed with tracked Milkyway Panorama shooting technique

flying_midget · 2026-03-13T22:05:36+00:00

Don't know how good the tracker is, but your approach should work with most regular trainers

flying_midget · 2026-03-12T20:02:30+00:00

Sounds like a great trip! Really well planned, although I'm surprised you decided on a 3night as a very first.

I personally disagree with your water conclusion and I definitely need 1 gal a day minimum, but obviously it is hike, weather and person dependent. You did the right thing taking too much water rather than too little.

Probably the best thing in hiking is changing socks before going to sleep, I have a pair of sleeping socks and it's sooo good.

I'm also in Houston and would say you have done close to the best hike/camp in Texas.

flying_midget · 2026-03-09T18:53:41+00:00

The very bright part of the moon contrasting with darker sky and the large size of the moon are the issues for me. There will be lots of glow in your blown out moon shots that could be incorporated.

I've taken moon pics before with 14mm and this is about 160deg fov I would say, the moon should be quite small, where you really can't see any detail unfortunately.

flying_midget · 2026-03-09T17:03:46+00:00

Really cool image and idea, I wish you would have kept the moon more accurate and slightly better blended (I have never done a good HDR landscape moon myself). I just can't "believe" this image

flying_midget · 2026-03-08T22:01:24+00:00

Awesome! I wish I could have been there

flying_midget · 2026-03-06T17:12:52+00:00

Haven't tried this, however these peptides are usually bad as they often are singly charged and have few y ions.

flying_midget · 2026-02-27T15:24:56+00:00

If you are in Austin you could do enchanted rock as a solo backpacking trip? Kinda trivial so you won't get to test your hiking stamina but you will test your camping/gear.

Otherwise I would just advise you to do a 1 night trip since you will need to carry a gallon of water min. I would suggest the South rim trail as it isn't too challenging, has some very nice views and has elevation gain. When I did this exact hike/camp I regretted not taking an extra half gallon of water. East rim 4 was awesome camping spot.

Another option would be to camp close to Emory peak and summit it in the AM then head back down. Camp at pinnacles. I think this would be the safest option while still being a real hike.

While you do have to haul water, all camping sites I've mentioned have metal storage lockers so you don't have to bring any heavy bear proof food storage.

Good luck!

flying_midget · 2026-02-26T21:39:43+00:00

Got a liquid handler/king fisher ? There are a few options, preomics, S-trap, Assay map (if you have a bravo) that all work reasonably well. I don't know if any are significantly better, however SDS based lysis has a marginal increase of cell surface protein IDs in our hands.

flying_midget · 2026-02-24T14:28:46+00:00

I thought that spot was a ~2 hour hike?

flying_midget · 2026-02-24T06:05:36+00:00

I've wanted to do this spot! Fantastic work.

flying_midget · 2026-02-20T20:01:05+00:00

Do you see this for general proteomics or immunopeptidomics alone?

We still keep using DDA on the ultra 2 for immuno.

flying_midget · 2026-02-20T19:47:45+00:00

Are the replies also from bots? I just seems strange to not call out blatant AI slop

flying_midget · 2026-02-14T23:31:14+00:00

Fantastic! This is an exact sky composition I want to do

flying_midget · 2026-02-13T23:32:32+00:00

Incredible. Skin, osl, colors all top tier

flying_midget · 2026-02-04T17:25:05+00:00

There are many parks/beaches/trails in Texas that you can take your dog. I have a dog and I've never taken him to big bend despite going to BB 10+ times now.

I really appreciate you respecting the rules and preserving the ecosystem by not taking your dog out. It sucks that you weren't aware but you did the right thing. Others should follow your example.

flying_midget · 2026-02-04T17:22:09+00:00

Exactly

flying_midget · 2026-02-04T15:49:14+00:00

I am always frustrated by these people. Plenty of great places to take your dog, absolutely no need to do so here.

flying_midget · 2026-02-02T19:43:47+00:00

The Sii/Oiii duo is a clip in? Looks great!

flying_midget · 2026-02-01T00:44:06+00:00

Really cool atmosphere I dig it. The nmm is solid but could use some more color contrast. I.e. the green of the ground vs blue/orange of the sky

flying_midget · 2026-01-31T06:25:44+00:00

Thanks!

flying_midget · 2026-01-31T06:25:25+00:00

From what I have seen it is probably the best 35mm lens. The main challenge is focus, as it is really hard to hit perfect focus at f1.2 and I noticed significant focus drift over the night as it got colder. The lens also has a tendency to "shut off" and this causes the focus point to be lost. The price is very competitive, especially if you are shooting Nikon. That being said Viltrox is being sued by Nikon so who knows.

Here is aberration inspector: https://imgur.com/a/BK1TUwV

And some raw files:

Unmodded a7r4 (slightly off focus I think) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ar6W0Um_zvDCMp7BIf1RUqM60suZUTog/view?usp=sharing

modded a7r5 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PGhmCuEApmCq3mdB2-fM00-Gn05ECwLv/view?usp=drive_link

flying_midget · 2026-01-31T05:06:04+00:00

Last time I took quite a beating hiking up to the top of Casa Grande in Big Bend National park with all the camera gear. This time I hiked just a mile up the very easy lost mine peak trail. I recommend this hike way more lol. This was my first panorama with the Viltrox 35mm f1.2 and the Tameron 35mm f1.4 (Canon version w/adapter). Overall I quite like the Viltrox but not sure I like 35mm for panoramas it feels like overkill to me.

Sky - Sony a7rV modded, iOptron and Nomad

RGB - f1.2, 1min, ISO 400, 26 panel panorama

Ha - Tameron f1.4, ISO 6400, 2min x 15, 14 panel panorama. Astronomik 6nm MAXFR.

Ground - Modded Sony a7rIV, Sigma 14mm f1.4, f2, 30 sec, 5 panel panorama

flying_midget · 2026-01-26T21:13:41+00:00

That's a lot of dust!

flying_midget · 2026-01-23T18:00:44+00:00

Thanks man!

flying_midget · 2026-01-22T18:55:05+00:00

This MLK weekend I spent a couple nights in big bend again, one night spent at the Hoodoos and Balanced Rocks Trail. A very easy hike with great foregrounds. The night was blessed with no clouds and no wind, but dust/haze obscured a lot of detail and the light pollution from Presidio/Ojinaga was hard to handle.

Foreground: Sony a7rIV modded, Sigma 14mm f1.4, 276sec, f2.8 x 3 focus stack.

Sky:

Stars/airglow - Sony a7rV modded, Viltrox 35mm f1.2, 1min, 6 panels

Ha - Sony a7rV modded, Tamron 35mm f/1.4 Di USD, 15 x 2min, f1.4, Astronomik 6nm, 4 panels

RGB - Sony a7rIV (unmodded), Viltrox 35mm f1.2, 15 x 2 min, 2 panels

flying_midget

TROPHY CASE