I analyzed every landscape astrophotography image shortlisted for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in the last 8 years to see what cameras were used:
- The most used models in the past 3 years are the: Sony A7R V, Sony A7 III and Canon EOS 6D
- Mirrorless overtook DSLR in 2022
- Canon used to be the most used camera brand, now it's Sony
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Did you know you can photograph Saturn and Jupiter with your phone? What about deep sky objects and the Milky Way? Check out how in this video: watch video on watch page
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I analyzed 400+ nightscape images shortlisted for Astronomy Photographer of the Year and found out:
1) The most used cameras in the past 8 years are the Canon EOS 6D and the Sony A7 III
2) In the last 3 years, it is the Sony A7R V and Sony A7 III
3) The most common focal length to shoot at is 14mm and the most used aperture is f/2.8
4) The most used Star Tracker is the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer
Watch the video for more detail:
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I analyzed 1000+ award-winning deep sky and planetary astrophotography images. I found out:
1) ZWO dominate for dedicated astronomy cameras
2) The top telescope brand is Takahashi, followed Sky-Watcher and Celestron
3) Sky-Watcher mounts are by far the most used, with the EQ6R-Pro model top
See what else I learned:
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Unistellar are offering 10% off all smart telescopes in celebration of their 10th anniversary this week.
Check out my review of the Odyssey Pro here:
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If you want to photograph the Milky Way then one of the most important things is getting the timing right.
The Milky Way core is only visible throughout certain months of the year.
Its location in the sky varies night-by-night.
And you need to factor in the phase of the moon so that you can be out under the darkest skies.
Previously this might have involved downloading a pdf calendar for your region or trawling through Stellarium and cross-referencing with a moon phase calendar
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But you can create your own bespoke plan for your location in under a minute that will be way better than any of these methods using free AI tools. Here's how:
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Star trackers are great devices for astrophotography.
They sit between your tripod and camera and move against the rotation of the earth, allowing you to take much longer single exposures.
This is great for nightscape photography where it can reduce the need for stacking software, and allows you to capture both the foreground and night sky in a single image, rather than taking them separately and put them together in processing.
They can also open up the potential for deep sky astrophotography using the same camera, lenses and tripod with no need for a telescope.
I reviewed the Astronomy Photographer of the Year and Milky Way Photographer of the Year competitions to see what the models the best astrophotographers in the world are using:
watch video on watch page
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Having an expensive camera is not required for astrophotography. You can get going with just an old DSLR or even your smartphone. The key is planning: watch video on watch page
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You may have heard people talk about using astro modified cameras. But what does this mean, do you need one, and if so, how do you get one?
Astro modified cameras are regular DSLR or mirrorless cameras where part of the infrared (IR) filter has been removed.
The primary advantage is the dramatic increase in the camera's ability to capture the faint red light from nebulae.
There are two main types of astro-modification:
1) H-Alpha Conversion (also referred to as Super UV IR Cut) - This is the most common type for astrophotography
2) Full Spectrum Conversion (also referred to as Full Range) - This is a more versatile conversation giving the camera the ability to do more than just astrophotography (for example, ultraviolet (UV) and near-infrared (IR). However, it requires external filters
There are some downsides to this:
With an H-Alpha Conversion, it will affect the white balance when using the camera in the daytime. However this can be fixed with a custom white balance setting or an external filter.
With a Full Spectrum conversion, you will need to use a different external filter for whatever it is you are doing, including astophotography. Therefore it is more versatile, but a more complicated setup.
There are three ways to get an astro-modified camera:
1. Buying a Pre-Modified Camera
Previously, Canon and Nikon sold the Canon EOS Ra and the Nikon D810a which were pre-modified cameras off the shelf. Unfortunately these are both discontinued. You can buy cameras that have been modified by professionals. Life Pixel in the US and Astroshop in Europe offer this.
2. Getting Your Camera Modified Professionally
You send your camera to them and it comes back modified.
3. Modify your own camera
There are online tutorials on how to do this. Obviously, there is a risk involved in taking your own camera apart and playing around with the insides and so be sure that it is what you want to do before starting the process!
Do you need an astro-modified camera?
Modifying a camera, or buying a pre-modded one, can be a great step for an experienced astrophotographer to push their imaging further, but if you are a beginner getting into astrophotography you definitely do not need to do this.
A regular DSLR or mirrorless camera can perform amazingly well for astrophotography.
Watch the video to learn more:
watch video on watch page
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Two quick tips for saving money buying lenses:
1) Go for prime lenses (fixed focal lengths): They are much cheaper than zoom lenses and if you had a zoom lens you would only be using it at the widest focal length for landscape astrophotography anyway.
2) You don’t need autofocus: Some lenses have manual and automatic variations, with the automatic more expensive. However you will always be focusing manually with astrophotography so you don’t need this.
For more about lenses and astrophotography, check out this video:
watch video on watch page
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I help people learn astrophotography and take photos of the night sky and objects in space.
Free guides and paid courses:
Joined 28 April 2018