Orion, again!

Inspired by my earlier attempts with the IXUS I decided to go back out after midnight and see how the 7D would handle some basic astrophotography.

The first thing I learned was that it was much harder with a heavy SLR than it was with a wee compact! Also almost impossible to see anything through the viewfinder and for some reason live-view was much less clear than it was on the IXUS.

The second thing I learned (but only after I got home) was that 15s is too long for shooting stars when on a tripod - the stars turned into little lines instead of dots! Luckily I had taken some at 8s which were more usable.

The benefits of using the 7D are definitely better quality - shooting RAW, manual focus and better lens - but there's still something about the earlier photo that I preferred. Maybe it's just the farmhouse and clouds that give it context that I like - not sure.

I also took some of the BP and the moon while I was there but decided to post this instead for comparison with my earlier photo.