That guy at the star party changed my mind about image stacking

I always said stacking multiple photos was cheating. Real astrophotography should be one single exposure, right? Then this older dude at the Mt. Laguna star party last weekend showed me his raw single frame compared to the stacked result from the same night. The stacked one had way more nebula detail and way less noise, it wasn't even close. He said it's just like using a longer shutter speed without the tracking errors. Has anyone else been stubborn about this and finally caved?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan_nelson1mo ago

Respect stacking but I still think a single good frame feels more honest.

nathan5451mo ago

Bought a cheap used DSLR and tried stacking some Orion shots myself. Saw the difference in detail and noise and never looked back, it's just a better way to capture what's actually there.