The astrophotography equipment category is a useful resource for beginners that want a better understanding of the gear needed for astrophotography.
The type of astrophotography equipment needed for each area of interest can change dramatically, but in general, a tracking mount, a camera, and a telescope/camera lens are the bare minimum.
For those that like to remain portable, and take nightscapes from dark sky locations, a star tracker is recommended. They allow you to maximize the amount of light collected through your camera and lens, and present new creative opportunities.
If you are hoping to collect detailed pictures of nebulae, galaxies, and star clusters, a more robust tracking mount and a telescope are better options.
My primary interest lies in deep-sky astrophotography of galaxies and nebulae, using a refractor telescope on a tracking equatorial telescope mount. If you’re looking for a fantastic astrophotography telescope to get started with, you can’t go wrong with the William Optics RedCat 51.
I typically use wide-field instruments to capture large nebulae in the night sky using specialized filters, but you may be interested in other types of astrophotography including being able to photograph a planet up close.
For this type of imaging (planetary astrophotography) the equipment profile changes quite dramatically from a wide-field nebula setup. A telescope with much more focal length is recommended (2000mm) and a dedicated astronomy camera with a high frame rate.
A popular camera for solar system photography is the ZWO ASI290mm Mini, thanks to its 2.1 MP monochrome sensor. This is the camera I used to photograph Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.
Useful Equipment Links
The iOptron CEM60 is a center-balanced equatorial telescope mount that provides an excellent platform for visual astronomy and astrophotography. What makes the iOptron CEM60 computerized telescope mount so special is its impressive weight-to-payload capacity ratio and the now famous “Z-shape” design. The design keeps the center of gravity directly over the center of the tripod…
The William Optics Zenithstar 61 is a doublet apochromatic refractor telescope that excels in deep-sky DSLR astrophotography. The Z61 is the most portable telescope ever made by William Optics, a company with a reputation for building beautiful astrophotography refractors. In this review, I’ll tell you why I think the William Optics Zenithstar 61 is a…
The iOptron SkyGuider Pro is a portable EQ mount that offers a reliable solution for astrophotography on the go. The SkyGuider Pro makes shooting long exposure nightscapes without star-trailing possible. On a stationary tripod mount, star trailing begins to show in exposures longer than 25 seconds. Depending on your camera’s focal length, the stars could…
Thanks to my friends at Ontario Telescope and Accessories, a brand new Altair Hypercam 183C arrived at my door last week. The striking purple exterior color of this one-shot color CMOS camera makes a bold statement, but it’s the deep sky imaging capabilities of the cooled sensor that have captured my attention. There are many…
I have recently installed the Astro Photography Tool camera control software on my dedicated astrophotography laptop. From my very first imaging sequence, I knew I was going to like this application. There is no better way to learn a new imaging application than to put it to use for a night of deep-sky imaging. With…
Update (2018): I now use a ZWO ASI290MM Mini guide camera with a 60mm Starfield guide scope for autoguiding. This camera has a slender, lightweight profile and an impressive SONY IMX290 Mono sensor. It is also compatible with the ASIair WiFi camera control device. My friends over at Ontario Telescope & Accessories have sent me…
A Bahtinov mask is a clever tool for precisely focusing an astronomical telescope. The distinctive pattern of the Bahtinov design was created by Russian amateur astrophotographer Pavel Bahtinov in 2005. To use the mask, you simply need to cover the telescope’s objective and point the telescope at a bright star. The mask creates a pattern…
This is one summer that I will never forget. The addition of my new telescope, the growth of AstroBackyard and the explosion of my YouTube channel has given me an astronomical boost in motivation and passion for astrophotography. This has not come without hard work, it has been extremely busy in terms of both astrophotography…
I am thrilled to announce the purchase of a brand new telescope for astrophotography, and one that I’ve had my eye on for some time. Those of you looking to dive into the hobby of deep-sky astrophotography for the first time should see my post a choosing a telescope for astrophotography. I break down my top…
This post talks about upgrading the equatorial telescope mount I use for deep-sky astrophotography. This allows me to take long-exposure tracked images of deep-sky objects in the night sky. I was able to find a Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro SynScan GoTo mount on an astronomy classifieds website (Canada-Wide Astronomy Buy & Sell). I have found a…
Problems with Celestron CG-5 Mount Up until this point, my Celestron CG-5 mount has been very good to me. Despite what I have heard, it has been a quality mount, capable of 5+ minute exposures, no problem (with autoguiding). Recently though, the power has been cutting in and out. Last Friday night, under clear, dark,…
M81 and M82 Update: I’ve learned a great deal about autoguiding with PHDGuiding (Now PHD2 Guiding) since this post was first published. For an updated perspective, please read: Autoguiding a Telescope for Deep-Sky Imaging (PHD2 Guiding) I had a heck of a night this Friday at my Astronomy Clubs observatory. The skies were clear for…