Andromeda

I'm really impressed by these so thought I would have a go last night in the back garden, not a dark sky location but a clear night after the street lights go off. The exposure of 30 secs at 2.8 worked ok but I struggled with focusing, in live view the screen at night had a load of white specks like radio interference and although I could see a couple of stars it was more like guesswork to get them sharp. Any ideas?

You should be able to point at a bright star and the AF will focus on it, keep very still and the camera will focus. On a tripod is a good way. Also you could pick a point in the distance that is far enough away to get infinity.
Also you don't need to go to a wide aperture or silly high ISO either. I tend to use f5.6 and never go above 800 ISO. You'll get plenty of detail because of the extended exposure time.
No faffing with stacking and dark frames.

Thanks Steve, I was struggling a bit in the dark and hoping the neighbours didn't think we had burglars as I fumbled with the torch, but it's obviously a good idea to practise a lot before driving miles to my nearest dark sky! Still don't understand the 'white noise' on the live view as I don't get it with the cap on to compare. Anyhow I got enough to see the potential, the camera picked up millions more stars than I could see even though they weren't keepers.

What camera are you using Rob?

It's a K-1. I should have tried tethering to an iPad for a better image, but Steve's suggestion of auto focus would probably be better.

Have you got focus peaking turned on Rob? Turn it off for night time If its on, it'll look just the same on an iPad.

Ah, right! Thanks.

Ah, yes, good point. Good luck Rob

Thanks Steve, just waiting for another clear night. I think I will set up one of the presets as my mental functions aren't too great in the middle of the night!