Capturing clear pictures of stars with a DSLR is not hard to do. you need a moonless night, clear skies, a DSLR, wide angle lens and a tripod. 

Setting exposure is also simple: use the most wide open aperture possible (smallest f/stop) and set the shutter speed for the maximum time allowed for your camera/lens.

To determine the correct shutter speed use the chart below. The 500 RULE is a formula for calculating the maximum shutter speed for your camera and lens. If you set a longer time you risk your stars looking more like little comets than stars! This is because the earth is rotating while you are shooting. Here is the chart:

Capturing the Milky Way – Setting Shutter Speed

Use the left hand column to find the focal length of your lens and then move right to find the correct shutter speed for your camera. If you don’t know the difference between a full-frame camera and a crop-frame camera, you can read about it here.

If you don’t know if your camera is a full-frame or crop-frame, go the manufacturers web site and look up your camera model to find out!

Canon and Nikon are the two most common brands, so I included them on the chart.

For example, if you have a 14mm lens and use a camera with a full-frame sensor (no matter what brand the camera) then your max shutter speed is 36 seconds.

If you have a 14mm lens and your camera is a Canon crop frame model, then you shutter speed is: 22 seconds

If you have a 14mm lens and your camera is a Nikon crop frame model, then you shutter speed is:24 seconds