The best astrophotography camera for you depends on the subjects you intend to capture with it. For example, a DSLR or Mirrorless camera is great for wide-angle nightscapes and Milky Way photography, while a dedicated astronomy camera is better suited for deep-sky imaging of galaxies and nebulae.
If you are interested in photographing planets, a dedicated astronomy camera that is capable of capturing high frame-rate videos is best. These cameras can be surprisingly affordable due to their smaller sensor size.
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The ZWO ASI585MM Pro is ZWO’s most affordable cooled monochrome astronomy camera, and after two months of backyard imaging with it, I’ve come away pretty impressed. This little camera offers a lot of versatility—ideal for both planetary imaging and deep-sky astrophotography—thanks to its high frame rate and cooling capability. But like any gear, it has…
If you want to start taking incredible photos of the night sky, I highly recommend investing in a small star tracker. You can attach your existing camera and lens to a star tracker to take amazing photos of large nebulae and galaxies. Over the years, I have used many different star trackers, but the Sky-Watcher…
I recently assembled a budget astrophotography rig to capture deep-sky objects in my backyard. While I knew this system would be very capable, I was astonished by the quality of the pictures I took with it. Astrophotography (and photography in general) can be an expensive hobby with high-end equipment often costing thousands of dollars. While…
This article was last updated on February 25, 2025. The ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono is the much-anticipated monochrome version of ZWO’s popular ZWO ASI2600MC Pro dedicated astronomy camera. It houses a 26-megapixel Sony IMX571 back-illuminated sensor and some seriously impressive specs. This camera uses a highly sensitive, cooled, monochrome CMOS sensor in the APS-C format. Its…
If you have ever tried to hold your phone up to the night sky to take pictures of stars, the Milky Way, or even a full moon, you’ll know that astrophotography with a smartphone has its challenges. While modern smartphones are capable of impressive photos of the stars (the Google Pixel even has an ‘astrophotography…
Key Takeaways The ASI2600MC Air is a 3-in-1′ smart camera’ that combines a dedicated astronomy camera with a guide camera and a WiFi controller that runs on the ASIAIR mobile app. The design dramatically reduces the amount of cables and accessories needed to run a complete deep-sky astrophotography imaging session. Critiques dislike that this ‘niche…
Here are the exact camera settings I use to take pictures of stars with a DSLR camera and lens. The following steps will help ensure that your photos are clear and sharp and include plenty of stars in the night sky. Mount your DSLR to a tripod to avoid camera shake Set the aperture (f-stop)…
There’s a new camera in town, and it’s one of the most affordable cooled astronomy cameras ever made. The ZWO ASI585MC Pro may have a tiny sensor, but that doesn’t mean it can’t do what the big boys can. If you’re currently shooting with a DSLR camera, a dedicated astronomy camera may be on your wish…
A full-frame camera has a larger image sensor, which means you can capture a wider field of view through your telescope or lens. This can help you create larger astrophotos, (in terms of both image resolution in pixels, and file size). While it might seem like upgrading from a crop-sensor camera to a full-frame model…
Astrophotography is about more than just the pictures you take, it’s about an overall positive experience along the way. I don’t like seeing people quit because they’re frustrated and confused. It doesn’t have to be that way. When starting out, I think it’s important to choose a setup that is easy to use, and not…
Taking impressive deep-sky astrophotography images is not reserved for those using an astronomical telescope. A budget camera lens can be used to take images of some of the best deep-sky objects in the night sky. A telephoto zoom lens can provide enough magnification to pull distant objects in space in for a closer look, but…
On this website, I do my best to share information and astrophotography tips that provide value. I could pat myself on the back about all of the great astrophotography images I took this year, but it is of little interest to anyone if I don’t explain how I took the shot. In this article, I’ll…