Hi John,
This is a hotly debated topic. I believe you are using a DSLR? When I used a DSLR, I found that after about 5mins of exposure time, there was so much noise, it wasn't even worth processing the images. What you said about the dark skies, however, is an interesting point. You would have less light pollution, therefore more desired light would enter your sensor. Therefore allowing for a better SNR in your image.
Lachlan
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