Astrophotography is hard. Make it easier by knowing your gear.
We’ve all done it, and if you’re just starting out, you may have a rude awakening. You get to your selected shoot location, you have your brand-new camera, a tripod, and it’s a beautiful night…now what?
We’ve compiled 5 tips every astrophotographer should know that we’ve learned over the years to make your astrophotography more successful and rewarding.
Pay attention, class!
Learn how to manipulate camera settings in the dark
Lights out!
How well do your eyes work in the dark? If you’re an owl, you’re good to go. But, you’re likely a human, and you’ll need a red headlamp or flashlight/torch/flamethrower/lighter/match/etc., and even that doesn’t do it sometimes! So — practice in the light, getting comfortable changing all the camera settings you’ll need when you’re in the field.
Learn your camera by feel — almost nothing is “set and forget”!
Why this is important
When you’re out in the field, you often don’t have a lot of time to mess around, or it’s really cold, or you forget one of those many important steps necessary to taking good astro photos. Being able to know where your camera buttons are without having to look at them is pretty handy in these conditions!
Nice tips! CentralDS modify DSLRs to add peltier cooling. It’s not the camera manufacturer themselves, but it’s just as good as if it were! My CentralDS 60D is AMAZING, gets the sensor to -25 degrees below the ambient temperature.
Wow!! That is a nice setup. I think the price is very reasonable considering it is cooled AND IR modified.
That’s incredible! Good stuff. 🙂
Cheers,
Cory
Great tips! I might add that the point where stars are in focus changes depending on the temperature of the lens, so make sure to properly check focus every time, even if you have it marked down
Hi Bob,
Very true! 5 tips isn’t really enough, is it!
Cheers,
Cory
Excellent website!!! I always enjoy reading each new article. These are great tips for budding astrophotographers. Don’t totally rule out in camera darks ;), I switched 4 years ago to letting the camera take the darks and have never went back. It’s, for me, the best way to get accurate temperature matched darks for a DSLR and solved many of the noise related problems I had been struggling with. I will concede that you lose precious clear sky time, but for me, it has been worth the extra time spent. Keep up the great work!!! It’s contributions, like this website, that has allowed this great hobby to blossom into what it is today.
Agreed, I wouldn’t completely rule out in-camera noise reduction, as sometimes it can be of a benefit!
Thanks for the comments!
Cheers,
Cory
Just wanted to say thank you enjoy reading and easy enough to understand