Use a Camera Lens for Astrophotography! (Solo Dark Sky Trip) 

I have a tip for those flies. Growing up on a farm I learned that they do not like to land underneath something. So a hat with a full brim like a cowboy hat is perfect for deterring them.

Thanks you! not that many people post on astrophotography with camera lens

When I finally got a dslr, I was surprised how much can be captured without tracking with just a stock 600d and a cheap 50mm f1.8 lens. A stack of about 200 frames of the North America nebula showed loads of detail and even the reds in the actual nebula were rich. Your tutorials on processing helped me a ton to bring out the hydrogen even more

I like this video because : a) it has great content b) you were carrying around the stuff outdoor. I think this makes it more honest in the sense that capturing these great pictures doesn't come for free, traveling around, setting stuff up, timing, all that could be something to bear in mind. But if you just show already setup optics that's good to go and then jump to the result at the end of the video it creats an illusion that this hobby is simple. Thanks Trevor

I captured my first DSO (Lagoon and Trifid Nebulae) with a T2i and 55-250mm kits lens on a Star Adventurer the other night. It isn't as nice as something through a decent telescope, but I'm still proud of it and my little setup.

I just wanted to say that you have motivated me to buy a Star Tracker... Also, your channel is super mellow and relaxing. Thank you for the quality content.

I'm under class 7 Bortle skies and have been playing around with unguided and stacked photos using an EOS R (not Ra) and a Canon 500mm f4 IS II L mounted on a Wimberley gimbal head and RRS tripod. I use a remote shutter release to take 1/2 sec exposures at ISO 3200. I try to get about 1,500 of them. Using the LCD screen, I'll set a small focus box and use it as a reference point over the star I want to manually "guide" with. I take 10 exposures and recompose the shot. 10 more exposures, recompose the shot. I do this for 1,500 star frames. Then I do 45-50 flat darks and vignette frames. 1,500 exposures only gets me about 12 minutes of total sky exposure but I can see some of the brighter or stronger nebulosity in the final stacked images. I've used this method on the Omega Nebula and Lagoon Nebula. Between the light dome, IR cut filter, mosquitoes, and heat (gulf south area), this is definitely an exercise in patience... or masochism. I tend to listen to what others say "can't be done" and then try to do it anyway. Anyway, I love the content and the channel. Thanks for taking us along on your journey and for providing the inspiration and guidance for us to begin our own.

I started at Stargazing just a couple of weeks go when I bought my self a Celestron Starsense Explorer DX 130AZ. Since then I have got so much addicted to this hobby that I want to get on to the next level. After that I searched a little bit more and came across your channel. I have been so much motivated through your videos that I m going to order a skywatcher staradventure and will be starting my Astrophotography. Thank you very much for spreading information and motivating people to begin Astrophotography.

Dude, the quality on these videos keeps going up and up! Love it, man! Super inspiring.

I never thought two words ("clear skies") would be so important to me. Thank you Trevor, for all the education and suggestions!

I love the Sammy 135! Those bugs made me itch from here though 😅

The two lenses mentioned in the video are solid choices for astrophotography. Some more of my favorites include the Rokinon 14mm F/2.8 (wide-angle Milky Way), and the Sigma 24mm F/1.4 (that I used to film most of this video!). I know you guys have some great astrophotography lenses I don't know about yet, so please let me know what they are!

Always excited when I get a notification from you :)

Watching this before it gets dark here for my first go on the new tracking mount! Favorite channel on youtube. Keep it up Trev!

I took a picture of this comet using my phone and I was very happy. I can imagine how nice is doing this with the right equipment

I find astrophotography absolutely fascinating❣️

Man, I love your video, keep them coming. Love your work. Keeps motivating me. Thank You so much.

I really liked how you edited and narrated this video! You're getting better and better. Great to see.

NICE shots of both comet and Cygnus... KEEP IT UP.

These videos keep getting better and better man! Keep it up!

Good to see you out and about with the portable set ups again. That Radian tripod looks so sturdy!! Love the final image!

Thanks Trevor! I took your inspiration from the last video, and went out and tried with my Canon 50D on the kit lense, with a tripod! I got NEOWISE! Something I will never forget!

That's how I started, too. Been at it for half a year now, maybe, and I love it. Just got my first used EQ-6-R pro and a nice 80mm telescope for it, so now I just need clear skys. Thanks for being an inspiration, Trevor.

Beautiful pics! Thank you! love your vids man

Already liked it while watching the advert

Already know it will be a great video.

Fantastic - great job.

I just bought a sky watcher star adverturer and did my first few shots from my back garden. I cannot see much from my back garden, but the Big Dipper and Polaris are there so the main aim was to test out polar alignment. Well thanks to what I have learnt from people like you and Peter Z, polar alignment was a breeze. Once I had figured out the Star to point at and use an app to place the offset I was aligned in 30 seconds. I switched the tracker on and took some 4 minute shots at f6.3 and ISO 100 (14mm full frame) . All stars were pin sharp and comparitvly speaking very little noise. Thanks for the advice from your videos, they helped a lot.

This video makes me feel blessed. My home is in a Bortle 4 Zone. That said I almost always take the 30 minutes to an hour to get to a good Bortle 3 Zone.

It was such a cool experience to see Neowise in my telescope, I feel so lucky considering that comet won't be coming back for another six thousand years.

I am receiving my star adventurer tomorrow. This is the perfect video to hype me up for all my future projects!

I really need to get myself an Ha sensitive camera... soooo much detail in that image! You’re the reason I got the 135mm f2 lens for my Sony A7riii

I photographed NEOWISE on the weekend while camping on Vancouver Island. What an amazing experience!

I love the Rokinon 135! The 85 is fantastic as well.

Great Video Trevor! 🙌🏽👌🏽

Absolutely fantastic channel, stay amazing dude.

Fantastic video!

Great vid. I just picked up a vixen polarie and want to keep my kit as light as possible. It’s great knowing you can get some good images out of a lens. Neowise came out great. Gonna have to try some of that deep sky imaging on my 70-180.

Trevor, I feel your frustration about the bugs...I live in Minnesota and they can absolutely ruin a beautiful clear night. I hate the bug spray and the other gadgets don't work so now when I set up in my backyard, I plug in a high-powered fan and point it at my set up (and me)...mosquitoes can't fly in any kind of breeze and the fan works perfectly. I haven't noticed any issues with my focus either due to the mini vibrations of the fan...you should try it! Keeps them pesky bugs at bay and you get to enjoy the night! Thanks again Trevor for another great video!

Great video Trevor! I just got the 135 mm f2 love it! Great job on your image!

Awesome Video & pic bro thank you for all the Videos..🙏🏻

Im from Oklahoma and my family goes up to our cabin in Colorado every summer, and this year I'm driving to avoid the airports. Luckily the trip lines up well with the lunar cycle and so I'm stopping halfway at Black Mesa State Park in the Oklahoma panhandle, and it's a Bortle 1! It's a 6 hour drive from home so I've never had a great reason to go but now that I do I'm so excited!

My godd🤩🤩You and your videos inspire me towards this unique hobby but unfortunately I live in a heavily light polluted city and with curfews due to coronavirus, I'm unable to capture this once in a lifetime comet that's rare and will never see it again. But keep up the good work! Your videos and pictures are 🔥 and your one of my role models in this community!

Haha!!! Bugs are treating DEET like seasoning nowadays. You touched on a really good point regarding not running the lens fully open. It’s a best practice to stop it down by about a full stop to diminish the impact of diffraction artefacts on the stars.

Proof that you can take advantage of even a not so perfect evening to pull great images.

That 135mm is amazing

Hey Trevor! Amazing image of Neo, with limited time and equipment! Loved the Rio image too. Great vid, really enjoyed watching my friend! Wes, Liverpool UK.

Cool pics, Trevor!

I like these kinds of DSLR camera vids. I am currently renting the Ra for a trip to our NC mountains for a couple of days.

I’m so glad I found this channel today. I was looking for resources to teach myself astrophotography and found the best one in your channel! All the best to you man, keep doing the great work! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

I photographed Hale-Bopp, driving about 160 km from Vancouver to get a good dark sky, used a Pentax 6 x 7, 165 mm 2.8, on a home-made Barn door tracker, turning the adjustment screw (on a ball bearing turning point) every 12 seconds, used a 9x rifle scope to line up on Polaris, about ⅓ of the field of view off, to adjust for true north, 1000 ISO film... I got a tiny bit of ellipse shape to some stars, but there wer a LOT of stary on the negative, and the 'secondary tail' was well visible... yep, one does remember these things!

I enjoy your videos so much. You do such a good job making me think you’re just talking to me. I’ve been playing more with deep space photography. Been chasing Neowise around for the last 8 days.

Thankyou. Been wondering how to shoot with my DSLR, and even though you only mentioned it fleetingly, I've just ordered the tracker. Looking forward to playing. Again, thankyou

Thank u for another nice video 😁

I really appreciate this video as I am just starting astrophotography. I just bought a Nikon Z 50 camera and have been using the kit lenses that came with it... a DX 16-50mm 3.5-6.3 and a DX 50-250mm 4.5-6.3 to take shots of the sky. I am getting mixed results with no light pollution filter or star tracker in Bortle scale 8 skies near Houston. I did get some good pictures of NEOWISE. :-) I am looking forward to when telescopes and star trackers finally get back into stock at the retailers.

Fun little video Trevor. That dang elusive Rokinon 135 is on my hitlist for sure. Prepping the HEQ5 Pro for sale and then I think I'll make the Rokiyang 135mm a permanent addition to my arsenal. Should fit right in with my new Skyguider Pro. Clear skies bud, congrats on getting another shot of Neowise.

I Watch your channel even though i'm a little bit futher ahead in the hobby and i think the reason why is purley a community thing and the hobby it'self , i have not much to learn from this channel as i'm a bit ahead but i enjoye you sharing good information to others.

Sweeeeeeeet once again !

I have viewed all of your episodes. Amazing. You got me into this crazy hobby. I have the exact set up you demonstrated in your Andromeda episode. Ives been out 5 times and I have taken some amazing images of the comet , Lagoon Nebula and Andromeda. Still need to improve on Andromeda So far I have not used the guide scope with PH2 Guiding. but my latest images tell me to do so. Next night out I will attempt to set up guide scope and PH2. Using an Astro modified Canon T3i. Impressed with what I have learned from you

Love mine, easy to work with and very responsive. Rokinon and Nikon D810

this actually helps me a lot because I use an Opteka 500mm to do deep sky and some of my pictures don't look as good as I want them to be

Hi Trevor for the last year ive been using this its perfect. Omegon Mount Mini Track LX2

I am eager to see the results of this 400mm f5.6 lens. I think it captures beautiful round stars and superb colors and sharpness. I was considering to buy this lens for wide field deep sky photography.

Hi Trevor! I just got a star adventurer pro and will definitely be making my parents drive out to the dark skies to image with it! Great video by the way!!!

I find that focusing on dimmer stars enable me to get good focus - when they are pin Sharp, you know that you have achieved focus. The brighter stars can bleed on Live View. If using a star tracker, also worth watching Peter Zelinka's video on how to balance Declination as well as Right Ascension.

Here in New Brunswick, I've been waiting for a clear night to see NEOWISE. No luck yet, but the next few nights are looking promising!

That number plate tho 👌😁

I love your license plate

Love my 400 5.6 lens and 70-200 2.8 but yeah, you need to stop down a little to get decent shaped stars! Not got a scope yet. Lenses work well with the ZWO 1600MM with the ZWO adapter. Great image by the way. Cygnus is one of my favourite regions. Just got down to my Dads 5 mins ago (Bortle3) and got out the car. Sat there for 10 mins looking up at the Milky Way 😮😮 Gets me every time 😍😍😋

Nice!

By the way, my biggest Wow-Factor was in 1997. I flew to London in the middle of March and made sure to sit next to a window that was away from the wings (reflection). That night was perfectly clear, my window was clean, and comet Hale-Bopp was shiny and glorious. What a sight and treat at 36k feet ! I didnt sleep at all. After that experience, I literally fight to get a good window , and never ever sleep on transatlantic or transpacific night flights. And bring a small defogger with me.

Going into those woods with out mosquito repellent is not a good thing. I am sorry to hear that. I think you got a good deal on the Comet! Clear Skies!

I had the chance to photograph the milky way last week. The place Wasserkuppe (Germany) is one of our starparks in Germany. A place you can see the milky way with your eyes. It was awesome. My kids did't say a word 😂, they have't seen a sky like this.

I am really enjoying my spacecat 51 with the zwo 183 pro. I wish I could show you my North America Nebula shot! I luckily live in an area with bortle class 4. Perks of living out in a rural area! Great video as always!

Great job I love your work and videos I. wish. I. Could have those sky conditions in Mexico City

You have answered a key question for me with this video. I always thought on the sense of buying a redcat 51 when I have a 200mm canon F4 lens. Not a sensible option o now believe:-)

Cool Video

Big fan Trev, your works speaks for itself, just wondering if you could maybe do a processing video on a hard nebula like the Iris? Captured some images but struggling to get a really good outcome in photoshop, keep it up, clear skies!

Just found your channel. Cool stuff. I'm just doing backyard stuff with a tracker crop camera and cheap lenses for now.

Head covering netting works great and we’d all understand.

I love how Canada has two seasons... Either you complain about the God DAMN mosquitos or you freeze in the cold! Love the video Trevor!

Deer flies are maddening. When you said dark sky I wasn't expect class 4, could you see it unaided? I've been struggling in class 5 but finally figured out either the horizon on my app is way off or Neowise isn't in the correct spot. I barely caught it with binoculars in a bright parking lot after numerous tries in different areas. Hoping for clear skies tonight to try a different location with a camera on an az gti. It will be first light, eq mode, camera jammed on, with a very inexperienced user.....What could go wrong😂👍 Always inspired by your work and videos, thank you!

I really enjoy your videos. A great resource for getting into astrophotography! I just recently picked up the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer to improve my night sky photography (for now on a Canon 70D mostly with a Rokinon 16mm f/2.0). Just wondering if you've tried incorporating a second ball head below the equatorial wedge? I have some minor frustration in leveling the tripod in the default setup as I'm often shooting in the backwoods or on shorelines where the ground is far from level. Maybe you had covered this in other videos, but wondering what your thoughts were on a trade-off between quickly leveling with a second ball head vs. introducing more potential for movement.

love your videos more when you go out for astrophotography. very nice video editing though

I'm new to this, do many people use their telescope and camera, with lens attached, afocal ? Is it a good way to start ?

Great vid - hope you didn't get bitten too much - got myself a mosquito net hood to protect myself from midges this summer, it definitely made things more comfortable

Thanks for the video Trevor, its exactly what I needed. Some examples of what a camera lens can do. I was out tonight for the first time trying to get some shots of the milky way and andromeda. Don't have a tracker yet so I will see what I can do with what I got. A question about darks. I got darks for my 8 second exposures, but forgot to take darks for the 15 second ones. Will there be too much difference to use the same darks for both?

I really appreciate your videos, have been watching them for a long time , Thank you for sharing I enjoy widefield milky way photography but would really like to do some deep sky stuff. I have just moved to Labrador area ( Wabush Labrador ) and am in a class 4 but am 40km away from a class 1. only been here for 10 days and am still in quarantine . Cant wait to get out in the night sky.I certainly know what you mean when you say that your at peace in the night sky, me to, watched your last video you made on your Anniversary . great your wife shares in your passion, and like you said, you will always rmember that, great stuff Bud. . I had been shooting with a Canon 7D but recently purchased a 5D mark 3. I have a Canon 17 to 40 F4 L lens but would like to use my 150 to 600 Tamron lens but it F5 to 6.3. Could this lens be used to photograph deep sky , and what tracker would you recommend? Star adventure. or ioptron sky guider pro ? thanks again. Keep up the great work. Norm

Hi Trevor. You were my first sub when it came to Astrophotography and I am addicted to your videos. I will state that I do not own any gear as of yet, but I have selected a few based on your recommendations. I hold your suggestion in high regard. I have a question for you from a new person to the hobby. I was wondering if you have a video that shows how to connect a camera to a telescope? I am definitely getting a ZWO ASI294MC PRO. In other words, What adapters and how to connect the filters would you suggest? I know I probably sound like a "newb" here to everyone, but I do not wanna screw this up. Many thanks from Texas and wishing you clear skies!

Hi Trevor, how do you adjust to a target on the skywatcher mount. Once aligned to polaris you can only rotate the camera left and right. Without a ballhead there it is really limited as to what you can get in front of the lense or am I missing something?

This is definitely the summer of Neowise. Even I, a rank amateur photographer, got some decent shots of the comet.🤣

I’m new here. I love your videos.

I’ve done some astrophotography. Never with a tracker or modified camera or with filters. I know canon has a lot of image noise with their cameras ( I use a 70d). I’m sure you get asked this a lot, but what are your thoughts on the Sony a7s? It has a really high native iso and can take long exposures with almost no noise at much higher iso than a canon can. Does this translate into making things easier or better such as less exposure time per shot or less overall images stacked to reduce noise? Or is it much cheaper (vs the cost of a a7s) just to buy telescope camera at that point? I’d like to dabble more especially with a star tracker and I have a 50 and a 100mm fast lens. But the last thing I want to do is modify my 70d. I don’t have a tight budget, but getting into this might be something I only do a few times to feel satisfied. Orion Nebula, Horse head, andromeda and maybe some other nebula, or clusters too is all I might try at first. Thanks for your time!

I normally use a Skywatcher Star Adventurer, a Nikon D810, an old Nikkor 400mm f/5.6 ED-IF, and a TC-301 2x teleconverter for 800mm. I’ve shot lunar and solar eclipses, and the Orion Nebula. I need some narrowband filters so I can get deep sky images in my bright location.

Man I love your work! Is there anywhere to see your photos without compression? I’m sure they look even more incredible without compression?

SO I do have to know what your thoughts are on the new 800mm from canon? Know its F11 so not that great but still

مجهود رائع قيم👏👏👏🌼🌼🌼🌼

Love your content and have learned a lot. I do have a Nikon D5600 with 18-400mm F3.5-6.3 lens and a 105mm F2.8 lens. Thinking of getting me the skywatcher star adventure 2i pro. That will help me a lot for more exposure time. Now I have seen your redcat 51 on a EQ mount. My question is could the star adventure also handle the redcat 51 with my dslr ? Or is the rokinon 135mm F2 a better option?

Love your videos. Looking to take the next step. Currently using a 450mm w a 2x teleconverter. Is there an advantage to moving to a telescope in that same range?

I want to say cool video, but it was hot and bugs were all over the place, LOL. Have been getting similar results in the Netherlands of Comet Neowise, we suffer from those same hazy clouds...great video.