Ooooh I like this topic (Hi everybody BTW - it's been a while between posts for me)


First of all, here's a pic I took of the Milky Way a couple of weeks back.


Canon 5D2, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 49secs, 24mm, ISO 3200, f/5.0


www.flickr.com/.../5807181371][img][View:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2340/5807181371_fd0aefece1_z.jpg][/img][/url]


www.flickr.com/.../5807181371]The Milky Way[/url] by www.flickr.com/.../ben_taylor_au]Ben__Taylor[/url], on Flickr


Now, the tips I have for you. If you want to create a static shot like this one you'll need a reasonably fast shot. So less than 30 secs is ok although you still might get a little movement (as you can see slightly above). To achieve this, though you'll need a high ISO. This is much easier with a full frame camera because the high ISO performance is much better than a crop sencor. Lightroom 3 handles noise very well for me as well so that helps.


If you want to get some good startrails you can either stack a bunch of shorter exposures or take one extended exposure like this one (approx 35 mins)



Milky Way Star Trails by Ben__Taylor, on Flickr


As Daniel said, a dark sky is a MUST. Too much ambient light will ruin the photo. Where I took this shot, there's nothing for a very long way. Basically the middle of nowhere.


Which lens, for a night sky the wider the better. I would love to have had a wider lens for this shot so I would say 24mm equivalent focal length (on FF) is as narrow as you'd like to go.


Tripod - check. No way around this one.


Also try to get somewhere with something interesting in the foreground - it gives the shot some perspective and makes things more interesting overall.


Hope this helps.


Ben