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Well the title keeps hardly anything for you to imagine.

I'll be going to the Mountains in a few months and love to click when I feel like. So, was wondering, is it possible to capture the Night sky (milky way) with a point and shoot I have? If so, any tips/tricks/ways/pointers to do so?

BTW, I have the Sony Cybershot DSC H100.

Thank you in advance!

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  • \$\begingroup\$ What is the highest ISO setting it allows. What is the longest exposure time your camera allows at the highest ISO? \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael C
    Jun 9, 2017 at 7:57
  • \$\begingroup\$ ISO 3200, F/3.1, 30 seconds \$\endgroup\$ Jun 9, 2017 at 8:31
  • \$\begingroup\$ Don't forget a sturdy tripod and use the timer release. Have fun! \$\endgroup\$
    – chili555
    Jun 9, 2017 at 21:07
  • \$\begingroup\$ thank you for the response! I have bought a dslr recently; hope to try it out for milky way soon. didn't get to view the milky way in my first trek. \$\endgroup\$ Oct 17, 2017 at 4:22

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You should probably read this article on taking shots of the Milky Way.

Just to pick out one specific example, they show a shot taken with a Canon T2i ("a much older model" DSLR) and the Canon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 (basic kit lens). I set it to 18mm and f/3.5, shot a 30 second exposure at ISO 6400.

Now note this is a DSLR (larger sensor).

The exposure required a long exposure (30 seconds is typically the longest you can do without a Bulb mode on your camera) and very high ISO (ISO 6400). I'd consider that the high ISO seriously compromises what you could do with a P&S, which have small sensors and hence extremely high noise at high ISO.

To lower ISO you need to use a wider aperture (again, not an option for a P&S) and/or use a longer exposure (not really an option for a P&S even with bulb mode, as it increase noise more).

If you really want to do that, consider buying (or borrowing) a used older model DSLR and a basic kit lens (like an 18-55) and read that article to see how to proceed from that.

Now you can try and use the P&S to take the shot, but I'd not expect much and I'd suggest you try a night time shot of the sky in a park or similar before taking you trip to get a feel for what's going to happen.

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