Hello everyone. A bit of background first on my experience level. I have not looked into or done any kind of photography before. My interest was peaked with some of the amazing deep space photos i have been seeing with some rigs. I was looking on YouTube about astrophotography and saw a lot of begginer rigs but all were over 1000. I was wondering if there was a good setup for 800 or less. Which would have to include a camera, lens, mount and whatever else you think a begginer may need, I am starting out with nothing. I live in the United States.
Complete Begginer, need help.
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Yes, but you probably won't be making photos like the ones you've seen with a low-cost setup.
Try youtubing star tracker and have a look at what can be accomplished with a tripod, a star tracker and a DSLR. Quite a lot actually!
And It's a fine way to start and learn… But if you continue, be warned this hobby is a real money drain.
Try youtubing star tracker and have a look at what can be accomplished with a tripod, a star tracker and a DSLR. Quite a lot actually!
And It's a fine way to start and learn… But if you continue, be warned this hobby is a real money drain.
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Hi @CaptainBroski ...In my opinion the best way to start with astrophotography is with a simple dslr camera and a stock short focal lens. With this simple setup you can take pictures of the milky way and star fields with exposures up to 25-30 seconds without noticeable star trails. If you buy second hand you can probably get a decent canon/nikon DSLR + 18-55mm lens for less than 300 dollars. With this setup you can start learning the basics of image processing, which will be useful even for the future. If you then decide to step up your game you can buy a tracking mount for longer exposures. At this stage you will probably have a better idea of what type of subjects you like better (planets, nebulae, galaxies) and this will guide you in purchasing a telescope. I guess that this is the approach I like because it is the one I followed when I first approached astrophotography... others might have different suggestions! I like it because is relatively future proof and it gives nice results from the beginning!
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Ty @Michele Vonci. I didnt even know you could get the milky way with that bare bones setup. I guess image processing would be an important skill to pair with it as well, I have basic photoshop knowledge, I will have to look up some Tutorials. Thank you for your help
@CaptainBroski, check out Astrobiscuit on youtube (some of his work is on here too), he does some demonstrations of cheap rigs with used equipment and moded DSLR cameras. We're talking cheap consumer entry level refractors and used ebay alt az goto mounts. Getting Andromeda with nothing but cellphone camera and binoculars… The point being there are viable alternatives to expensive rigs for beginners to learn on while they save up for better gear.
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Thank you @Brandon Runyon, I have checked out a couple of his videos but had no idea he took it cheap, all I saw was his expensive setups.
@DarnitsCloudy, yeah I realize it is a very expensive happy so I'm trading my PC building Hobby for this one which is almost as expensive if you get into some high end items. The beginning of this year I dropped about 2.5 grand on a single PC build. But I see the costs for this hobby as more frequent purchases. I am definatly looking into a tracker for sure. Thanks!
@DarnitsCloudy, yeah I realize it is a very expensive happy so I'm trading my PC building Hobby for this one which is almost as expensive if you get into some high end items. The beginning of this year I dropped about 2.5 grand on a single PC build. But I see the costs for this hobby as more frequent purchases. I am definatly looking into a tracker for sure. Thanks!
I would also check out Nebula Photos on youtube. This is where you really should start. He does extensive videos covering all aspects of a cheaper DSLR/lens set up including post processing that you might be interested in. He is also here on astrobin as well as Nico Carver.
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Ditto Michael's suggestion - Nico's video series is super. Very practical and fun to watch!
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Oh, and definitely go with a crop-factor DSLR! It's easier when you buy a telescope and want to attach it, as the telescope won't need to paint as big an image circle - Only the more high-end ones can.
Canon is more used than Nikon, so there's generally more support for these. The rebel T6i or T7i would be good choices… Even a T3i can be had for very little on Ebay and can produce excellent results.
Canon is more used than Nikon, so there's generally more support for these. The rebel T6i or T7i would be good choices… Even a T3i can be had for very little on Ebay and can produce excellent results.
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I started the hobby in January. I planned to start cheap and work my way up over time, but I kind of dove in head first after the first few nights shooting, so that plan went out the window.
That said, I'd plug the suggestion for Nebula Photos from Nico Carver on YouTube as well. The video Andromeda Galaxy with only a Camera, Lens, & Tripod was very helpful for me and shows what you can do with a DSLR on a tripod. It is also nice as it covers everything from picking a location, shooting, stacking, and processing.
That said, I'd plug the suggestion for Nebula Photos from Nico Carver on YouTube as well. The video Andromeda Galaxy with only a Camera, Lens, & Tripod was very helpful for me and shows what you can do with a DSLR on a tripod. It is also nice as it covers everything from picking a location, shooting, stacking, and processing.
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first setup for astrophotography
Hi everyone I would like to buy my first setup for astrophotography, favoring the choice of a small apochromatic. I not having a fixed location and i need a light instrumentation what do you think is the most suitable for my needs?
Complete beginner seeking equipment advice for astrophotography setup.