Intervalometer For Astrophotography

A quick look at using the built in Intervalometer on the Nikon Z50 to take multiple exposures in quick succession to make it easier to stack images in photo stacking software.

Using the Intervalometer has the advantage that you can take multiple images without risking accidental camera movement that could make it harder to align multiple exposures. It is also quicker than firing the camera for each individual exposure. This is important for Astro photography stacking for the following reasons.

We all know how we want to keep exposure time as low as possible to reduce star trailing. With multiple exposures the stars will have moved between exposures so anything that can be done to reduce this time is a huge advantage. This is especially important when including foreground elements which I always do.

I usually take 13 exposures the first I usually discard. That leaves me with 12 and I usually end up discarding a couple more because of aircraft passing through the exposure. I live near at least 5 international airports so it’s hard to avoid aircraft passing through exposures. This method still leaves me with enough exposures to gain a meaningful increase in noise reduction etc.

This doesn’t just apply to the Z50 but also to any of the other Z models but also to the latest Nikon dslr cameras.