NEBULA Photography with a Cheap DSLR & Lens
Вставка
- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- The Star Tracker I Use: bit.ly/3OUOy8U
Rokinon 135mm Lens: amzn.to/2SIStqA
In this video, I’ll prove that you don’t need an expensive camera to take incredible astrophotography images. The camera used in this video is an old Canon EOS T3i, which is actually a great little astrophotography camera.
To be honest, knowing HOW to capture great data, and image processing skills are much more important than the camera you use. I hope you enjoyed this video, and subscribe if you haven’t already!
Affiliate Links:
Some of the links in my video descriptions are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase.
Don’t get me wrong, I love watching your videos but to say it’s not bad for a “$200” camera is a bit misleading when you have a $400 tracker, $500 lens, $150 light pollution filter, and various other expenses like tripod, dew heater, and remote. Easily in the $1500 range if you pick a cheap tripod... a budget rig when compared to using dedicated imaging equipment for sure but still misleading to say a cheap DSLR did this when the real magic happens with a steady tripod, tracker, and modded camera with a filter... all I’m saying is $200 and eBay is t getting you there. And yes, it’s still expensive. However, still love to see your videos, keep them coming.
Is it more expensive than nature, landscape, wildlife, wedding, architectural photography? If you haven't noticed, photography itself can be expensive. And remember the old adage; you get what you pay for. In other words, this is an inexpensive SOLUTION to the expenses associated with higher end astro-photography or maybe, just maybe, astro-photography isn't for you.
Patrick Guilfoyle what the heck are you talking about... I simply said that saying a $200 camera from eBay will not get you those results alone. You COULD say for under $1500 including a self modded camera from eBay, you can do this... also, don’t presume to know what is and isn’t for me... I have several William Optics, Orion, Celestron, ES, and Meade scopes along with a few iOptron and Celestron mounts, ZWO cameras, etc... I know EXACTLY how expensive this is and can be. Although $1500 is an INEXPENSIVE entry into this hobby many will consider it expensive because it is an expensive hobby.
@@patrickguilfoyle8884 Agree that photography is an expensive hobby. But the point here is that, it requires a of investment just to get started in deep sky astro photography (tracker, filters, heater, good tripod, dedicated lens etc.)! Any other type of photography can be started with a cheap camera, kit lens and cheap tripod at best.
Anyway, great video as always. :)
@@gojaimo well then Trevor was just stating that instead of buying a more expensive telescope, you can get great shots with an old camera. HELLO!
Maybe you just move on....
Patrick Guilfoyle um no, don’t be like that... he clearly said you can take great deep space photos with a cheap Camera... I love his videos and his style and although Trevor doesn’t know me personally, he has inspired my newest light weight rig.... That said, I don’t have to agree with EVERYTHING he says... How about you move on and stop putting words in his mouth.
Cheap dslr but once it’s been modified it is no longer a cheap dslr. And the filter is worth more than the camera!
Mod yourself for free. I did
@@AstroBackyard Where do you get the CLS-CCD for free :o
@@AstroBackyard He's also referring to the filter. That's an extra ~$160.
@@Rad_Travels And the lens which is almost 500 dollars
Heck even the tracker is more then the camera even the cheaper ones.
Plot twist. It's the filters and star tracker and the sky quality that matters.
Isn't that a given? Water is wet...
Perhaps not so obvious to newcomers of the hobby.
@@SuperTurbo9001 yes im quite new and i havent bought myself a tracker yet. i should get a filter too. i live in a class 9 sky
And those are not cheap 😁
@@hzubovi1 true, the lens is the next most expensive item. But there are less expensive alternatives. There's currently quite a few old Nikon 135 f2 or f2.8 AI lenses on ebay less than £100, and the mount I mentioned is roughly half the price of the mount he uses. It might not be as advanced, but it's a start.
"Cheap rig"
Bruh
exactly! EOS and cheap, choose one
*conveniently forgets the expensive filter and star tracker*
@@killer120070507 What about $500 lens? This can probably be done with tamron/sigma 70-300mm and some cheap ass filters if you want to go on budget but tracker will be by far most expensive still. Cant see this happening under $500 all in to be honest. His setup is like $1500... LOL
@@beating2 That was Orange's point.
@@killer120070507 And the $499.00 lens.
The lens is literally 3 times the price of the dslr 😂
Usually but plenty of vintage stuff is great
Well but...it´s still cheap compared to what some telescopes cost
love it! What about if i tape my gopro to an egg timer?
eggtimer: $9
gopro: already have it
tape: $1
string: $1 (to tie up the cat so it doesnt knock it out of alt azimuth.
Haha, good luck polar aligning the egg timer though 😂
@@GalacticHunter 😄 but seriously. I really enjoyed this video. great result! 🕊✌
@@GalacticHunter Easily done using a polarmylometer. Only $24,000 from Amazon. Suggest you buy the $15 egg timer for better results though.
Don't forget the astro-pan stacker for pancake image stacking!
Give it go! It may take a little while to find polar alignment, but that's the same with telescopes on a equatorial mount(especially South of the equator!). Not sure how the egg timer will handle a heavier camera and lens though....
Check out the Barn Door mount as a better option for a heavier camera/lens combination. They can be made cheaply as a DIY project. You can free plans on the internet and likely videos right here on yt.
Modified camera, filter and star tracker... Things that you missed in your clickbate title....
it's just a title and technically it's not incorrect. Astrophotography is not a cheap hobby. You can still take some pretty nice pictures under 100$ with a smartphone(that most already have) and a pair of binoculars
@@dot6102 who has binoculars?
*clickbait
I think he explained it pretty well. And everyone who wants to take deep sky pictures needs a star tracker. That is a given. No clickbate at all.
Did you watch? You can modify the camera yourself and the filter he used, you don't necessarily need. You don't need a star tracker either, only patience and the willingness to move the camera manually. It will mean shorter exposures and possibly a higher iso. It can be done, however!
Cheap DSLR < Expansive Tracker. Nice video, but not useful for beginners.
Very informative and well presented video.
In the early 90's I built a barn door tracker with a curved rod driven by an old turntable motor. Balanced everything as best I could, pointed the hinge at Polaris and used an old film camera to photograph the Constellation Orion. I managed to get a few passable photos out of 2-3 rolls before the motor burned up. Most were over or under exposed or smeared due to tracking error. I considered it a success but nowhere near what is possible today with limited means. If you are here watching and interested in astrophotography I would definitely advise considering the Sky Watcher.
I'd love to see a video showing how you post-processed these shots! Really inspirational stuff, man.
There are several videos on how to post process the shots and that part is not expensive with free software like Sequator, Deep Sky Stacker, and GIMP.
@@markbishop1258 Man, I love GIMP. Linux and Windows both.
Was excited about this then I saw the price of the filter. 😂😂😂
Cheap dslr: $150+tax; lens: $499+tax; star tracker: $419+tax; tripod: $85+tax; TOTAL: clickbait!
"with this cheap $200 DSLR plus $2000 worth of accesories you can get pics like these lol so cheap anyone can do it"
this guy tho 😂😂😂
Pretty expensive setup.
Every time you upload I feel as giddy as a kid on Christmas. I've always loved Astronomy and never thought it was possible to take photos of these objects like you do without some crazy huge scientific telescope. After watching your videos though a large chunk of my tax returns will be going into Astrophotography! Keep doing the amazing work that you are doing not just for Astrophotography but for science in general. It's the people like yourself that will truly influence the world of science.
Here's the video I watched to modify my Canon XSi: ua-cam.com/video/-IIN0-q2WLY/v-deo.html
Please stop calling my T3i an "older cheap" camera. I love that thing. It's served me well and still serves me well!
I know! I use mine practically every day. Mine has been in the rain on bike trips, in the snow, out on 100° days, and on 10° nights, and unfortunately it's hit the ground a few times. I honestly don't know how many times it's hit the 9999 counter mark and started over again, but it's been a few. It's been a workhorse.
Remember, it's all about perspective. To this guy, it is an "older, cheap camera". To those of us still with our T3i/600D's.. it's the best camera we have. They have held their value well though, they(the T3i/600D) were $650 in Australia for the body, when new.
Doesn’t mean it’s not older. “Cheap” is relative, but it is cheapER.
No, its older and cheaper. Its not old and cheap, just older and cheaper.
it is an older cheap camera but it doesn’t mean that it’s trash
The real magic Happens with the filter, lens and star tracker and good post processing everything which is not "cheap"
Money aside, it took knowledge, dedication and passion to get this photos yourselve. Impressive!
It's as easy as looking up the weather.
“In the city” lol
IKR! ahaha he lives like in the middle of the woods
Stay away antifa 😀
@@unbroken1010 😄
i really recommend you guys watching astrobiscuit, he did it under 100, tripod binocular and a phone
Wow, what a great result for such a narrow time consuming setup. Besides, you don't end up freezing to death during setup and especially when it comes to wrap everything up and get the whole kit back inside. I think the mod is critical to get that sharp nebulosity in an hour exposure around NGC2024 and IC434. Two thumbs up. Cheers from Chile
Who's getting fed up with all these UA-camrs pulling ridiculous faces on their thumbnails?
This guy doesn't care about science, he just want to be famous... If it was just the thumbnail.
So excited!!! I ordered this lens with a canon rebel xsi, and the adventurer gti. Can't wait to continue my journey
WOOOW man incredible
plz music @ 9:42 plz help
I use shazam to find out. Suite Gothique in C minor: IV toccata.
@@kanedafx1 it not the same :((
Love the outro man.
All these people hating on the fact that he uses other equipment that is more expensive than the camera. I think the main point was that you can shoot Astro with a cheap DSLR. You don't need an $1800+ camera BODY to do the job. Ofc there's still other equipment you need to buy, photography itself isn't cheap.
What the hell am I supposed to do with the cheap camera if I don't have the rest of the gear?
@@josemendezfr Astrophotography itself is expensive, but you can cut a but of costs by using a cheaper DSLR. The point is that cheap dslrs are still an adequate base for most rigs
I'm intersting to start astrography (DSO) without spending thousands of $ to start...(already got a Celetron Nexstart 6se) getting a Canon Rebel T3i and modify it looks very interesting. BUT do you think the new low cost ZWO ASI585mc is a game changer? would you still recommand to use a cheap DSLR vs ZWO ASI585mc to start astrography at a low cost? Actually I wonder if the Canon T3 would still be more perfomant than the ZWO ASI585mc. thanks
The edit at 9:42 is pretty cool. Very cinematic with the music chosen. I like your video editing
style overall. Are you using Premiere Pro? That's what I use. Cheers from Kitchener, Ontario - a fellow astrophotographer!
Trev, how you doing mate? It's due to you I've got myself into astrophotography. Indeed, watching a few other @astro people on UA-cam they too have also contributed, but you've been the one single constant. Why? I've gone back and forth with a sh*t load of other UA-camrs and I keep going back to you (possibly analytics?). Either way, those little nuggets of information hidden in your videos, like this one, really does illuminate/highlight certain requirements for individuals like myself starting out (albeit at a very late age). I note the last entry in the comments section is 3 years ago, yet I'm looking/replying at this now. Seriously, it's people like YOU with a passion that rubs off on people like me starting out. As I type, I am personally considering the Askar FMA230 or a RedCat 51 with SW 2I pro mount to start off.Unsure which one I'll get but happy to grab a recommendation off you (assuming you read this?). Regardless, a huge thank you from me to you. Please do keep on with your passion. It is appreciated all the way over here in Oz. Cheers mate. Dann
Eye opening and exactly the video I needed to see! Been dreaming of getting into deep sky photography and your videos have been a great guide. Just saving my pennies now for a Star tracker!
Great video! Ppl still do not understand photography as a hobby or a job, is expensive to start and maintain, no matter what. It just has a "relatively cheap" way, or "expensive" way of starting the photography journey. No way around it. By photography, I mean the one using the dedicated camera, not the iPhone photography sector (not saying cellphone photography is bad, actually, the camera in your phone is very good). No matter is Astrophotography, landscape, wildlife, or even street photography (yeah, this one can be a bit cheaper).
When I was in middle school, I used a Nikon D80 with a kit lens to take astrophotos. Luckily I was grouped on a field trip by my hobby class teacher; Biology was my hobby at that time btw, not Astro. ( The hobby class is popular in my country, China, kids always join after-school hobby classes in the Children's Palace and often have amazing field trips along the course). We traveled to observe the Perseids meteor shower, but unfortunately, there was none of them :(. That trip was my first time both taking astrophotography and using a "professional" Goto star tracker that can hold two DSLRs at the same time. Our teacher was brave enough to let two kids fully control this machine🤣. I was a nube but the other kid seemed to have some knowledge to use it. We ended up spending a whole night playing with this tracker and tasks lots of photos. The photo quality wasn't good because of the knowledge I had at that time, but anyhow, it was a great experience for me getting into this hobby.
To be honest, in most cases, just bring your kit lens, or get a cheap wide-angle manual focus lens like a Samyang 14 f2.8. With a great clear sky, you can shoot beautiful milky ways already. Indeed, the deep sky looks fascinating, but you not only need more $$$$ to buy the lens, tracker, stable tripods, extra ball head, or even modify your camera. But also, you need tons of time waiting for the camera to be exposed. Those fascinating shots on Instagram or UA-cam often took 2 hours, 3 hours; some took a few days of total exposing time, and many hours of Photoshops later on. Unless you are retired or still a college student, there is not a lot of time to spend on to both: find a clear night +Spend an entire night + Hours of Photoshop later on. 🤐
Great video Trevor! Feels like a return to your older stuff. One thing, you might get slightly better performance if you drop your tripod down a bit, less leg extension, less opportunity for flex especially in a breeze. So cool to be reminded what can be done with a simple rig.
Yeah.. its NOT the camera its the $400 lens which is NOT cheap. Take the cheap camera and use the cheap 75-300 lens and get back to us. All of us can do this. NO you can't do this by your self. Go look into it....yeah MOST can not will not do that
“Take amazing images with a camera under $200”
*uses $400 dslr star tracker*
We'll be doing this handheld with an iPhone soon. LOL
Shop around $400 IS cheap for a computerized mount. You only said the camera was cheap anyway. I'm wondering if people try to drill holes in the camera for cooling tubes or the like?
Step 1: Have Camera with internet connection
Step 2: Google Horsehead Nebula Image search
*??????*
Horsehead Nebula is on your camera now
Man its been cloudy for about 2 months where i live, to bad i cant use my telescope.
Same for me. About 3 good days this month in the NE of the USA by me and I had work early each morning. Only a couple of hours all month that I have had anything but binocular viewing.
We have the same. Have'nt seen the stars for 2-3 months.
Torbjørn Gustafson It really stinks, I recently just invested in a quite large telescope amd i havent been able to use it any more than 5 times
Astrophotography with a cheap camera!
A camera for just $200!
...a lens for $500...
...a star tracker for $400...
...a filter for $150...
Cheap rig, right?
And to think it's all free for the Hubble space telescope images that are light years better and more detailed than any terrestrial based space photography ever.
Hey, I have an old rebel XT in the vault and am interested in modifying it manually. Would you be able to link some UA-cam videos or tutorials on how to do it?
Just search UA-cam for "modify canon dslr for astrophotography". I used AstroMod Canada to do mine....I'd have a pile of leftover parts if I tried it myself :)
not for the feint hearted but doable if you proceed carefully. It will also pay to research deeper into such mods as not all are equal. where you live may also play a part. Trevor has that ice bucket called Canada to cool his cameras and he chose a relatively large and bright target. you will not get comparable results in hot climates and dimmer smaller targets.
When you have -17°C in Ontario, here in central Quebec, I usually have -30°C during clear nights. Quite difficult...
2 seconds in and I can see already that tripod/tracker right there plus everything you are mentioning is a good few thousand $$$
300€ Samyang, 150€ Cam, 100€ filter, 60€ clear glass, 300€ Tracker, 100€ rest. 1k and youre good to go.
@@M-Mir what's the filter and what is the "clear glass" you said?
How do you take these 60 seconds exposure pictures??
When I tried to take 30 seconds exposure with my redcat 51 and a dslr the whole picture was white …
B R I L L I A N T, thank you for sharing the “HOW TO” even though it works out to cost a little more I think it’s worth it considering my Panasonic GH5 cost me $2,300 AUD. I have a canon 200 SL2 that is a start. I am keen to take photos of the Milky-Way & stars and looking into what I need - Your video has helped point me in the right direction 👍🏻 I really like how you edited this video together. New subscriber here. Cheers from Outback country Wild Western Australia 📸👍🏻
Cheap camera body but not cheap everything else..... solid misleading title their bud. Keep up the solid misleading work.
Also,youtube tutorials on removing the IR cut filter typically show a replacement film being inserted (to maintain focus distance). Is this film only for autofocus? For a modified body dedicated to astro, is a replacement film required? HELP
Depends on your lens; On some lenses, you won't be able to reach infinite focus without a replacement, beacause a piece of glass like a filter will alter the length of the optical path by ~1/3 of its thickness. This is of course vital if you want to do astrophotography; I modified my Nikon d3200 without replacement, on my Samyang 24mm I can't reach infinite focus anymore, but on my Sigma 50-150 I can, it all depends on where the lens manufacturer puts the stop for focusing. On an astronomical telescope this usually isn't an Issue because you tend to have loads of focuser travel.
its like ... ey guys you can take cool pics with a cheap camera ...buuut you gotta buy other equipment for like 1500 :I
My first DSLR was a T3i. I gave it to my daughter and I bought an 80D. Then I sold my 80D for a 90D
90D is a absolute beast. I brought it recently too
Schardt Cinematic Productions I’d love to see how it does Milkyway photography
@@83jbbentley I've never actually had the chance to do milky way or a starry night sky with any of my DSLRs but someday I hope too. I also own a 5D mark III full frame as well.
@@83jbbentley I actually did with my old 750D and it managed some sick shots so my best guess is 90D definitely gonna be better
Great! And what would the picture look like if the camera were not modified?
Anyone else here want to be an astronomer when they're older? I know I do
loser
Define 'older'.
I'm only 46 years old. I wont be getting older for another 10 years or so. I think I want to start right away
I am older
Lol
Astronomy is great fun just dont ever expect to get paid for it.
UFO@10:19 or what is that?
"The key to being able to take awesome photos with a cheap camera is to pay excessively for everything else" oO
If you're looking for a cheap hobby astrophotography isn't it. The set up he is using is still cheap in regards to other astrophotography options. He has telescopes that cost more than this entire rig
@@lw3609 I've taken half decent photos on my phone. You just need to go to the right place and have patience.
@@bskdopeboy and your photos will be significantly worse quality that what this rig which is a beginner rig could produce. theres mounts that cost more than the entire set up in this video hence why i said it isnt a cheap hobby
@@lw3609 The point is this video is meant to be teaching you how to take decent photos on a CHEAP DSLR AND LENS. Fuck me...
@@bskdopeboy which you can do with the camera he shows you don't need to get a dedicated astronomy camera or a astro DSLR. However if you want to take pictures of DSO the rig he showed is a beginner rig
All in all a 1000+ dollar set up 😩
I just go to the hubble website and right click on their images that can then be saved on a memory card. Cost to me = $0.00.
What’s cheap about that? That trip pod cost more than the camera and the lens combined probably.
I would like to see how you do your post processing on an image like this.
Lol I second that, plus I’m pretty sure the reddish color is rendered
Wow if that's cheap, can you buy me that gear? cause I sure cant afford any of that, that's over 1k+...and I work for a living
This scene doesn't even want you anywhere near them if you can't randomly throw thousands of dollars around. I sure like astrophotography, but I sure as hell don't like astrophotographers. That setup will pay my rent 3 times over, and they say it's cheap.
Fantastic results with the t3i, still one of the best affordable cameras for beginners!
I don't consider $750 cheap but I guess it's all about perspective.
That is awesome. I can't wait to do this someday. I just gotta learn the whole processing steps from your videos and have confidence to doing it.
Yeah nowadays you can learn anything on internet. Cool time to be alive
Misleading. Cheap camera but not a cheap set up. I won't be subscribing.
Nothing like the good old days of hyper-sensitizing the film to ASA 3200. Much easier, Great info and vid.
I don’t get how you got such a clear image. 120mm wouldn’t the nebula just be a speck on the frame? Wouldn’t you need like 1000mm to see it that close.
Finally, a clear night in South western Ontario!
You can own a Rolls Royce. They are in eBay for a thousand dollars...lol
"ordinary backyard" "city", and that shows up! :O
my canon t6i was 1200 bucks, i dont think that’s cheap
_AstroBackyard_ : 1:05 I gonna prove to you that from an ordinary backyard in a city you can get astonishing results
_Light pollution_ : *I'm about to end this man's whole career*
Simple = thousands of dollars
What's the music at 9:42 please ? Cool video also :)
Sorry but this equipment is too far from cheap
when you use a t2i as your primary camera...
Trevor, What did you do go into my room and take MY setup, I'm watching your video and I have the same exact setup CanonT6, Siru tripod, 135mm Samyang, the same Sky green and white Watcher motor drive, plus a light pollution DSLR filter. I seriously feel like I'm looking at my own rig, also I took a photo of the flame and horse head nebula. I was shocked at the high quality images brought in with this simple setup. When I get time I want to send you some images. Lastly I use a WiFi from the camera to my Amazon Notepad or Android phone, I don't use a cable.
Any chance you can do a setup tutorial on the "Star tracker" Adenturer from beginning to end?
there are hundreds of them online. search "star tracker polar align" or more specifically to that model, "star adventurer polar align". You'll find many of them out there.
Have you ever tried to do a DIY way? with a barn door tracker?
Just so you can show people how cheap you can get while still getting decent results.
I was going to build myself one, but was having issues with the gears and such. Plus it has to be adjusted through out the night. It maybe cheap but there is some math and such involved. I finally gave up and just saved up
Great video, love how encouraging this option for entry level Astrophotographers.
Did you slow the time line down for the camera settings portion of the video? I noticed your voice got deeper :D A modded DLSR can be all you need if you live in very cold climates, and it's a good sense of achievement modding them your self :)
Award winning? Maybe not a Hubble or Webb-level image, but you can easily see M42, M43, The Horsehead and Lynds 1630, IC 434, NGC 2023, and NGC 2024. What else do you want from a single astrophotograph?
I have a t5i that I just bought. I want to modify it. However I see people replacing the filter with clear glass. Is this what you did? If I do not replace it, do I need to have some sort of filter when shooting under dark skies?
This is extremely misleading, so much emphasis on this "cheap $200 camera" but you don't mention at all how you're using well over $1000 in other hardware just to make that camera perform that well, kind of an extremely unrealistic assessment here. You also don't mention at all the cost of everything, not even in the description. I get what you're trying to do here, but you just clickbaited the hell out of everyone by saying a "cheap DSLR" and your even showing the camera as handheld in the thumbnail, but in reality you're using a $1000-2000 setup easily. The sad part is that you're going to get some starters out there to go on eBay and buy up some cheap cameras when in reality, if you're dropping $1000-2000 on this entire setup, what's another $500-1000 to get a much better camera?
The TL;DR here is you intentionally didn't mention any costs to make it seem cheap to the uneducated for photography gear, you kept saying how cheap everything was, cheapcheapcheap, nothing about this setup was cheap and it's just a very dishonest video because of this.
Where are the Nikon folks? Thinking about it. I have 2 cameras because it was faster than changing lens on a race track. Why don't I remove the IR filter from my old D90 (for no cost)? I never wanted to sell it but I rarely use it. I'll always prefer taking the D7100 for regular shooting anyway. Will hear your thoughts...
A nice video that's very informative and well done. I'm not sure why there's so many reader-commenters here arguing about a few hundred dollars for lenses or mounts or tracking devices. As a serious amateur and sometimes professional astronomer for over a half-century, I started out with buying an inexpensive refractor telescope when I was 13 years of age in 1967. I believe this is the better route to start instead of so many here arguing about photography equipment. As I wonder how many commenters here are bickering over the money, but have never spent any time out observing the actual sky with a telescope. Many modest telescopes today come with built-in equatorial motor drives. So Astronomers have been using these instruments for many decades, [as we don't refer to them as star trackers.] Of course I set these telescopes up in large public places to allow the public to observe through them, so I've spent thousands of hours providing sidewalk astronomy Across the US Nation, into Eastern Canada and overseas in the South Pacific when I was given a Celestron 5-inch Cassegrain with equatorial drive to teach astronomy. So the so-called "star tracker" here I received for free as a complete telescope, simply because I expressed that I wanted to go visit the Fiji islands were my second wife was deported back to. Apparently my sympathetic story interested the Celestron telescope lead salesman to forward a brand new $1,200 telescope to my public educational cause.
My story of course spans over a lifetime, since purchasing my first telescope for $79.95 at age 13, with my own earned berry picking money. I then borrowed my parents Kodak box camera and strapped it to the top of the telescope. Then manually following on one of Orion's Belt stars in the telescope eyepiece, for a 5-minute time exposure on high-speed tri-x Kodak film.
Of course I did not produce a photograph as beautiful and detailed as this gentleman did in the video above, but this was the beginning of my astrophotography.
By age 18 I bought a brand-new 35 mm Mamiya/Sekor 1000 DTL SLR. I was just graduated from high school and went to take arts and photography courses at the local Community College.
Of course I used the new 35 millimeter camera with high-speed negative films, and high-speed transparency films to photograph the night sky with a sturdy tripod.
As you can see the story is already training to an ancient history of photography.
but when many people today or seen arguing in UA-cam sites about a few hundred dollars that they would probably otherwise waste on other bad habits, you can start learning this process, and I would recommend that you do this with a telescope in observing first and then the photography will come later, with the equipment today that is relatively quite affordable.
A larger telescope eventually came in to my process in about 1987, when I purchased a 10 inch Newtonian reflector for $369 new. That telescope is really only used for observations and not photography. Yet you can prop the camera on a tripod over the eyepiece, not a tracking telescope, yet it will take beautiful close-ups of the Moon and bright planets such as Mars Jupiter and Saturn. These probably won't win any awards today compared with the expensive equipment other astrophotographers are using, but it's just fun to learn to do this, through a large telescope without tracking.
I didn't purchase a good digital camera until about 2003 when I had to travel to the South Pacific to visit my wife there. I only bought a Sony pocket camera at that time, but had also already purchased a solar research grade telescope, affordably as used from another local astronomy club member, with h-alpha solar filtration. Just holding the Sony pocket camera over the solar telescope eyepiece would record huge solar flares at the edge of the sun's disk in the eyepiece of the telescope. Today I use to Sony mirrorless cameras that have a larger aps-c sensor inside than the Canon T Rebel. Yet I still use my antique Mamiya 55mm f/1.4 lens from 1972, adapted to my newer Sony mirrorless camera, to capture large panoramic photo-stitched images of the Milky Way sky, that can be printed up to 10 ft wide with no loss of resolution in this is due to making the photos into multiple large photo-stitched panorama's. You're welcomed to see all this in my Facebook albums, or The Digital Photography review gallery.
*so of course the titl of this video could be titled to more than just nebula photograhy.
So in conclusion, you can see that there has been a long process of attrition in my lifetime to acquiring modestly priced equipment, yet it still all ads up today to spending very little when compared to today's dollars that can purchase modest used equipment as the video shows here.
I would just like to hear other reader-commenters here mentioned that they've gone out to observe the sky through telescopes for free, at large star parties were there are huge optical instrument setup for the public to view through. This is usually provided by many astronomy clubs for free, and you can even borrow the equipment for free from the club. So in closing I would say you can buy this very inexpensive camera the gentleman uses in the video, then go borrow all of the other equipment from your local astronomy club for free. So there is another perspective you might not have thought of, in all of these arguments above.
Hi Trevor i live in india is ebay is secure to buy camera
Any recommendations for getting shots like this using an EOSR? Going to be grabbing a Canon 200mm 2.8 (prime) and a star tracker, but unsure if I should expect to get these results without the filters you mentioned. I can't modify the camera because I also use it for wedding work.
Ok i got a challenge for ya. Since I see quite few people saying how sure the camera may be $200 but everything else that you have is where all the money is. So how about you take that $200 camera and a regular ol' tripod, you know an Amazon $25-$50 one. And the little metal mount to attach your camera to and that's it. No extra filters or lenses, or no computers or sky tracker thingy, nothing fancy but the camera itself and go out on a nice dark night and see what you can capture with that cheap ebay $200 camera.
Imo....I think you'll get decent photos. Using all the fancy things does get you a hellofa better image. But your not testing all the fancy stuff just the camera.
So how about it?
Ahh the humble 600D. Always there, always ready. Such a workhorse. But damn man, -17°? That's rough! Nice photo though for sure. Need to get me a sky tracker sometime for those "ehhhe tonight seems dubious" nights
Is it the canon 600Da? I've been searching for that camera all over but can only find the regular 600D. I know the 600Da its optimized for this sort of scenario (astrophotography) due to its IR filter.. I had a 600D before and I used a 600Da as well and there is a huge difference in night sky photography
Well it also shows that you have great skills on using any kind of equipment you love doing astrophotography I applaud you.
But out of curiosity what is your thought and view on the so called smartphone claiming to be some sort of astrophotography.
Cheers
For similar money you can get Sony a5100 or a6000 with much better sensor that is 24mpix instead of canons 18mp, and better dynamic range. Also mechanical tracker for like 130 that has no batteries and doesn't care about temp. So the entry level is even lower if you are interested in astrophotography
You knowing what to do and the ancillary gear and such, but your leader that a DSLR being real cheap does not impress me. Your skill and know how did. The new gear isn't always what you need. My cameras are from 2017 and that is the newest I will go. I bought one new and one used. Goes to show just because it is older, doesn't mean it is no good anymore.
Ok, I'm no expert here, but that lense looked like it could cost twice what the camera itself is worth.....
"Just" 550$ on amazon :D So over 3 times than DSLR at 1:58 :0
I`ve got mine on a Astromaster 130 EQ. Just waiting for clear skies. Was setting up with a svbony with a 2 x barlow looking at a star and an object moved across the screen. Took about 5 seconds to cross the screen which is way too slow for a satellite. Wish I had recorded it.
please give us current pictures of Nebula. that picture of Nebula is very very Old ,, perhaps millions of years old.🙈🙈🙈🙈❤️ great video!! greetings from Indonesian 🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩
At what point does a once flag ship camera that cost $1000+ but now costs under $200 become a crap camera and why is that?. I still use a couple of D70's for IR and daytime photography and they are awesome.
I m a beginner in astrophotography, to be honest I m first studying it in theory. Well, how do you create a single image made by 67 images (of 60sec)?i can create 1 of 60 seconds, not 67..please help
Yeah ...we know it can be cheap .. but please please pleeeease ..also MENTION the price of the TRACKER TOO ....don't hide the fact that the tracker is SUPER EXPENSIVE
There is this cool app that can do all that on your phone. When you press the shutter button, it uses the orientation, location of your camera and time to go download the NASA image you want to have. Much faster and easier than other methods---and you don't have to find a low light pollution area. And the images from Hubble are pretty amazing.
I think theese dudes ar payed heavy money all just to promote indirectly the star trackers which are basically overpriced electric motors. Dude! Just give me a motorized head that spins at the right speed! I can align it myself. What is the great deal about this rigs? This is the best example of a speculative market. All because of dudes like you...
So, if I buy a camera like that and I attach it to my Celestron 6 in Schmidt-Cassegrain, I should be in business, as long as I remove the infrared filter. I already have and attachment that can hook a camera to the eyepiece. I will wait until the weather get a little hotter… Hate to freeze my fingers...
AWESOME, it may not, as you say, be “award winning” but I am impressed ... thank you for sharing 👍🏻👍🏻
Yes, it is still very capable camera.
If you want cheap Astro modified cameras please check our bio.
We have even this one camera in stock modded to a full spectrum or Astro.
We also can re-calibrate your cameras.
Very nice picture, but a bit of a misleading title since the lens is about 500 dollars new and the filter is about as expensive as the camera, and then you'll ofcourse need the tracker
So overall the setuo still is about a 1000 if you'd start from scratch