As many say, Trevor is a legend within this hobby. It's because of his videos that I've got into astrophotography. He's assisted me with choosing equipment, best methods to take images, process them, and most importantly, enjoy the hobby. Thank you Trevor ;)
This will become a classic. You not only gave a great overview of how it’s done but you also put everything in perspective. All beginners should watch it. Great job!
This was an incredible video mate, you've raised the bar again! - I can't imagine how much effort went into this :-) Side note: Imagine my surprise when the OG who got me into all this in the first place gave my channel a mention too, haha!! What a surreal feeling, thank you so much mate!! 🙏 Clear skies! ❤
Watching this video is like living another life one more time and here you go, you realize you current position in Astronomy field. 💥 It is hard to realize when you are already flowing on the go that but when you take time and look back you see everything you have done and how far you have came and last but not the least is how beautiful the journey was along with all the Ups and down. We are really grateful that you let us be a part of this beautiful journey with you. Cheers Trevor Jones 🍻🥂 Cheers to AstroBackyard 🎉
What fabulous information! You are so good at putting astro technical information into simple easy to understand words. I am an astro newby - a blue sky photographer who loves the star/planet movement, night sky patterns, and far away objects. I already have great photography gear to get started. This was the perfect intro to my next step to go deeper. I will eagerly be back to learn more. The journey begins .... thank you!
Your experience with getting the fuzzy out of focus picture of orion was exactly my experience too. Just breathtaking knowing that such wonders were just just barely out of sight and that I could capture them with enough patience and expertise.
Since I have been following you for a few years, I have learned a lot, and I still do. And so I wanted to say thank you. I started with an SCT 9.25 "hard start" with my Canon 550D. Then I went the route of a small APO, the Meade 70/350 (6000) with an Asi 294 MC. ED127 and a Rasa were then added.. You are a real inspiration for our hobby.........
This is amazing, I'm currently working for astronomical research institute, and I learned things about astrophotography for researches. All components are amazing and basically well-engineered specially for this field.
Fantastic summary. Similarly, I started with a DSLR and telephoto lens on a tripod to capture the Orion Nebula. I also did Eta Carina and managed to get an image of the Sombrero before getting any dedicated astro gear. My next investment was an EQ mount and an intervalometer, which allowed longer exposures and opened up a lot of the sky. My first and only telescope so far is an 8" SCT, which I picked up for a very good price pre-owned (it was bought but never used). From this I have done smaller planetary nebulae and the moon and planets - first with a DSLR and then with an ASI224MC planetary camera. The planetary camera introduced me to using a laptop to control my rig, so now I capture and track with a laptop. I am now looking at getting a heavier payload mount for my SCT and using the current one for a lighter wide-field setup. For the lighter setup I am thinking of going for an APO, but not quite sure what to go with yet. Budget is a big thing in astrophotography - my wife tells me we need to buy food and pay bills apparently....
Having delivered a presentation to my students on Astrophotography, I am excited about how much my presentation was in parallel with this video.. It reminded me of how far I have come in Astrophotography watching and learning from Trevor on Astrobackyard. The video and its quality is another benchmark for me to improve my content to continue inspiring my students to get into the amazing world of Astrophotography.
Thank u so much for getting me in this hobby trevor, i bought a used celestron 5se and heq5 and saw saturn for the first time tonight and im absolutely thrilled.
Great video - of course, you're the guy 🤩! I got started even "lower" with my still beloved pocket camera Canon 7X on a tripod. It's not cheap, but boy is this a versatile little beast! And as it happened to you I was hooked after taking a beautiful picture of the ISS passing in front Cassiopeia over Lake Constance 😍. My first upgrade camera-wise was what I still use today: A good Canon DSLR (90D) that I use daytime as well - and still love five years later. Mount / telescope wise I did what probably too many do: Save a 1000 Swiss franks, go online into an online store and choose the scope that was on sale at that moment 🫣🤣 ... but it wasn't a bad choice, Celestron 6SE, a bit too long of a focal length, an alt-az-mount, but I wouldn't miss any minute I spent with it outside! But it was a battle between me and the mount at the beginning! At the moment I took a step back camera / lense-wise using mostly my camera with different lenses, on the other hand I took it a notch up with the Star Adventurer GTi. And I just can't stop being amazed of what is possible with this simple setup! As you say, stacking is key! I will never forget when I installed Siril on my little MacBook and stacked 10 poor images, I still think it's magic! My dream-setup would be everything you mentioned: AM3-mount, a ZWO color-camera, redcat 51 and ASIAir pro. But all this ads up ... maybe when I grow up ... (I'll turn 55 shortly ☺). Thx!
What a great video. I have just retired and have done some semi pro photography over the years……..now I want the deep sky images you have shown here. I already have a pro level DSLR, but no know.edge of all the other items required. Your detailed video covers everything and I will start doing my research now, looking at the products you recommend! Thank you!!
Excellent video with great recommendations. Your video production quality has grown at least as much as your astrophotography. I have to say your success is due in great part to your sharing your enthusiasm and joy doing this hobby. Don't ever lose that!
I think the thing that got me started into astrophotography was literally that fact that I just wanted to show my friends what I was seeing, because I just thought it was so cool that I wanted to share it, and then it occurred to me that I could start sharing the photos online for even more people to see and it just went from there
A good refresher video to get me back into thinking about astrophotography in time for me to get my gear out the garage and set up ready for the longer nights coming up
Yeah I wouldn't call the AM5 a "starter" mount, but something like the Sky-Watcher AZ GTi WiFi Alt-Az is much more affordable, computer controlled mount for the beginner.
I had great success with the skywatcher EQM 35 and holds a decent amount of weight at 26 pounds max load I use both a refractor and have a 8 inch reflector both work really well with it
Hello. I attended your beginner talk at Starfest 2024 and just wanted to say how much I appreciated the advice you gave on how to take great astrophotos. I've been dabbling for quite a while. I've been a mostly visual observer for more then 35 years, but you and others like you have inspired me to take the next step to get deeper into this hobby. I've stacked my first photos in the last few years and found with your tutorials and various software tips I could create some beautiful shots. My question however is who can print the photos in high quality. Can you tell me how you got yours printed. What company do you use if any. I understand you have a graphic artist background so you must have some good insight about this. The photos by the way were done with the Rokinon 135 f 2.0. which you recommended piggybacked on my LX-90. So no super guiding required. I love this lens !! Keep up the great work !!😀😀
Thank you for all the great videos over the years. It’s a beautiful hobby and you have helped people like me evolve our skills. I bought a Redcat because of one of your videos to try wider field imaging and absolutely love that little scope. I also started narrow band imaging from another one of your videos and it has taken my imaging to another level. Now I’m all in with an observatory and in the continuous pursuit of my next best picture. It’s an addiction folks. LOL! Thanks again Trevor.
I'm a newbie and after a lengthy introduction/education I went with Seestar. Six months and over 100 images later. I'm an old guy with mobility issues and needed a hobby. I don't travel, I setup on my deck. I knew full moon was coming in a couple days but bad weather was forcast. So last night I captured a 97% blue moon in less than 10 minutes. The night before I got galaxy M74. 32M ly away. Having too much fun. Isn't that what hobbies are supposed to be about? I say, embrace the technology.
@@johndaley9188 me too. i love the simpicity of the seestar. only thing i regret is, you see the quality difference between 500$ and 4000$ :) within the Pictures
Always great tutorials Trevor. Your passion transcends and gives us the fever and perseverance we need. Very refreshing! Thanks buddy Clear skies to you man Carl
I photographed my first aurora borealis this week. I was hooked even though they didn't look as cool as those iphone photos. The process of tinkering settings of dslr was the best. Few days later I captured Arcturus. While it was 5-10 seconds long streak I was hooked more. This video truly explains all a super newbie needs. I won't buy star tracker yet but will try wide angle and stacking. For all my 2 photos has been single photos. Thank you for great summary
I wish I saw this video 2 years ago when I started to delve deeper into the hobby. Awesome video, very well explained even the smallest details for beginners!
I'm super green, like seedling green lol. Bought my first ever telescope, a Celestron travel scope 70 and have been out every other night learning how to set it up and use my phone to take pics of the moon. I'm truly excited to have stumbled onto this channel and to break down the dense amount of info in this video alone. What a great video and presentation, thank you!
Thank you so much Trevor for that video. Sometimes I get lost in the technical details of your videos but I'll keep this one in my favorites for reference. I've bought the SkyAdventurer, I have a good camera, but I still struggle to polar align and since I'm smack in Montreal, the light pollution is intense.
My first telescope is my grandpa's SCT. I am still learning how handle the thing. It is quite difficult to find objects when you dont have a go-to mount. It does have a tracking mount tho, so that is nice.
Another nice video Trevor! Two comments if I may… You didn’t mention the new category of Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EEA) with portable telescopes like Dwarf II (my favorite) and Seestar. Also you should mention the PC requirements for processing/stacking the huge amount of photos (and gigabytes) involved. There also storage considerations and backup options ;-) Keep up the good work!
I'm from Brazil and I feel a mix of joy and deep sadness when watching your videos since even in the USA this equipment is expensive, here for us, it's extremely expensive. I have a Celestron 130 EQ and I think that astrophotography will be a retirement hobby for me. 😂
I watch your channel for the entertainment, but each video makes me want to take the next step and invest some money to do it myself. This one in particular 👏
Really enjoy your videos and realize that are geared towards beginners and/or getting people interested in our hobby. Have you ever considered producing some content on intermediate and advanced topics such as pixinsight workflows and advanced hardware / filters reviews?
Great vid !! Can you please do one for the other 2 categories you mentioned, landscaping and planetary.. i appreciate all the effort, time and info you have provided. Big thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you for your video and great inspiration to start with astro photography! I have ordered a Move Shoot Move Nomad tracker to start with my Sony a7iv body.
This presentation provides a much more accurate definition of 'amateur' than popular perception permits. If only people were more aware of original (i.e. accurate) meanings than currently used we would avoid many of today's problems in general.
Dark matter is dilated mass. Mass that is dilated is smeared through spacetime relative to an outside observer. It's the phenomenon our high school teachers were talking about when they said "mass becomes infinite at the speed of light". A graph illustrates its squared nature, dilation increases at an exponential rate the closer you get to the speed of light. A time dilation graph illustrates the same phenomenon, it's not just time that gets dilated. Dilation will occur wherever there is an astronomical quantity of mass because high mass means high momentum. It has been accepted for a long time that it is occurring in the centers of very high mass stars and the overwhelming majority of galaxy centers. The mass at the center of our own galaxy is dilated. This means that there is no valid XYZ coordinate we can attribute to it, you can't point your finger at something that is smeared through spacetime. In other words that mass is all around us. Dilation does not occur in galaxies with low mass centers because they do not have enough mass to achieve relativistic velocities. It has been confirmed in 6 very low mass galaxies including NGC 1052-DF2 and DF4 to have no dark matter, in other words they have normal rotation rates. All binary stars have normal rotation rates for the same reason.
Great informative video. One thing I rarely see mentioned, however, is the availability of secondhand equipment on sites such as cloudy nights classifieds and others of the sort. Yes, it is an expensive hobby, but some of the sticker shock may be eased if more people are made aware of good used equipment, sometimes even complete setups, at a fraction of the price of new more often than not. The most important thing a beginner can do is shop around before just dishing out cash. Still, that's not at all meant to insult this video. It's still great work, as always!
0:40 i have just had this exact experience. Totally by accident I caught the ring nebula whilst trying to look at caldwell 20 (i missed by quite an angle) and I'm absolutely over the moon with it. It does however prove to me i need a go-to mount 😅
Your right its definitely a humbling experience 😆 ive been having a few different telescopes for years, but just got into trying and learning astrophotography. Pretty much every pic I've taken is tradh 😆
I've just gotten my first setup, first hobby I am fully invested since I started watching your channel. You have truly have an amazing channel Trevor ❤️ I am just waiting for Tsuchin-Atlas Comet in September. Any tips for tracking comets through Star Adventure 2i Pro?
Great video, gave me a lot to think about. Which is standard for me all I ever seem to do is think about astrophotography never get started. I have photographed a few eclipses with my camera. I've also done visual astronomy for years, I have a Meade ACF. I've been thinking about the William Optics ZenithStar 61 II APO to do some deep space astrophotography. Then I start wondering if I should save up and get a triplet telescope inset of a doublet. I suspect I just have to stop doing research, pick something, and get started. After all you don't get any pictures if you never start taking them.
Agreed fello astro nerd! Lol Keep up the awesome work! You have definitely helped me greatly in my astro journey! Thank you for your time and efforts in making these videos!
Had the exact same feelings after my first shots of the Milky Way core, Magellanic clouds and even more so with my first Newtonian telescope (cheapest used I could get) - Orion nebula
Hey Trevor, I hope this is something fresh and exciting for you! Could you try out this 3D-printed OnStep GoTo system designed by Mr. Deep Addicted (Ken) from Printables? He's made remarkable strides in developing 3D-printed telescope GoTos. In this expanding hobby, it would be great to see if 3D-printed GoTos can make a difference for beginner astrophotographers. It opens up the possibility for anyone to build their own at home.
@astrobackyard Just wanted to let you know that the links for the Guide Camera & Controller are the same, so the Guide Camera link is incorrect. Great video and very informative. I'm looking to get started myself, but finances are definitely holding me back in this hobby. I do have a Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera, but saving up to get the Startracker mount to get started. I tried doing the point and shoot tripod and it just wasn't efficient for me. Thanks for all the great videos!
Its the cost of the mounts that gets me ! plus the fact that when i point my dslr (nikon d3200) at the sky you can't see anything so your guessing a bit !
my first telescope is cheap "hobby killer" mount which is 3 inch Newtonian, I do both visual and photography, it's worth for Lunar photography. and now I have 8 inch dobsonian and I got all planets in solar System
Nice, Trevor! I'd love to see how you did your Stellarium custom horizon. I especially would like to know how to do it without any Apple technology, since we have none, just Windows, Linux, and Android. I know lots of people talk about the Theodolite app, but they seem to be averse to developing apps for non-Apple users.
Great video! I shoot astro with a Nikon Z8 and a 70-200mm 2.8 or 400m 4.5 lens. I mostly get great results with this combo (plus skywatcher gti), but I'm wondering how much improvement I would expect to get if I went for a dedicated astro camera and telescope?
The product links are identical for Option 2 Guide Camera and Option 2 Controller. And for Option 3 Guide Camera and Controller -- all the same link. I'm hoping for a camera recommendation in both options.
Agreed everything is pricey. I could afford to buy a camera, lenses etc but they mount up to serious money if you find its not for you. I have a fairly basic telescope so decided to buy a smart telescope eg Dwarflab. Yeah its still a lot of cash but by my reckoning cheaper than camera’s, lenses, etc etc or goto telescopes plus a camera. If it doesnt work out its still a lot to ‘write off’ but less than even what appears to be the cheaper gear. Maybe its an option to consider.
There is always the used market. Personally got into the hobby with a T3i, a Star Adventurer mount, and a cheap tripod all bought used on Facebook marketplace for a fraction of the price of new.
