This is a perfect time to post this: August is MilkyWay hunting season.
I’d add a couple of things:
You don’t just want a super sturdy tripod, you want one that lets you tilt the camera upwards — and you can still look through the viewfinder.
Practice with your setup in the backyard, to get a feel for the mechanics involved before you get yourself to a dark sky area.
Many cameras have a ‘shutter delay’ feature that works fine in place of a remote (give your camera at least five seconds to settle down). If you have a DSLR, your camera might also have a way to separate mirror and shutter actuation, so the shutter is the only thing introducing vibration.
You may not need an intervalometer. Pretty much all the Nikon DSLRs let you set the speed up to 15–30 seconds, which is plenty for this. I expect most other brands do too (BTW, best explanation of how this works on Nikon cams is in Thom Hogan’s guide for each model).
Yes, wide apertures are important for resolution BUT then focus becomes important. You can’t just crank your lens out to infinity, as most lenses go past infinity to accommodate the lens barrel getting longer or shorter with temperature changes. My hack is just a piece of blue painters’ tape. I focus on something far away while there’s still some light, switch the lens or camera into manual focus mode — and tape the focus ring in place.I’ve also got a camera-specific Bhatisnov mask filter (like astronomers use to dial in telescopes) — but the tape is easier
You’ll need your night vision. Take steps to preserve it. If you use flashlight or headlamp, get red versions (best headlamp I’ve found for this is the Streamlight Bandit (be sure to get the one that can shine red). I’ve got some static-cling red plastic I use to keep any menu diving from blinding me.
If you don’t have a star tracker, you need to decide whether you want pinpoint stars or star trails. I used to use a French website calculator for pinpoint, but it’s built into PhotoPills (more about which later).
Depending on your camera, you don’t need to use high ISO. For instance, on my D750, I’ll take a test shot or two at ISO 3200 or 6400 to double check aim and focus, then go back to 400-800 for actual shooting. Google your camera model and ‘isoless’. if it is ISOless, you can use a low-ish ISO for the night sky. If you have a camera with a dual-mode sensor (e.g. D850) you want your ISO high enough to trigger the more-sensitive mode on your sensor (800 for the D850).
Use raw mode. This should be a no-brainer for anyone shooting in challenging light conditions.
If you want to find a perfect date/time so the Milky way is right over a land feature or a lake in that dark sky area you’re heading to, go check out PhotoPills (Android/iOS). It’s not cheap as apps go, and there is a learning curve, but I’ve found it hella useful for not just that, but figuring the day/time the moon or sun will be right over a feature (ever wonder how they get those shots with the moon visible just above a steeple/tower?)
Once you have the shot, you may want to make the sky black in post (it’s actually not black, making it so is your artistic choice). The easiest way is to pick a should-be-black sky area and color correct to that. I know, duh, right?
It looks like I had more than ‘a couple of things’ to add. (thanks for sticking with me this far!). That’s about it, except I’ll mention that I’ve been lusting after the Laowa 12mm 1/2.8. Wider than Nikon’s 14–24 and half the weight.
