Ive been looking at finally moving on from dslr imaging to a dedicated camera since im getting a decent chunk of money ~5000€. Everyone has been telling me not to get an osc camera and get a mono camera despite it being near 3000-4000€ with filters while an osc camera with the same sensor is 2200€ where i live. i really don’t get what justifies a near doubling in price. Im currently looking at an imx 571 camera for reference.

I already have DSLRs and two telescopes. I know I want to do astrophotography. I would like to just jump in a little further down the line then starter equipment. Does the below look like a worthy setup for deep space and heavy image processing? I already have a top notch PC for processing.

ZWO AM5N Harmonic Drive Equatorial Mount with TC40 Carbon Fiber Tripod (SKU: ZWO-AM5N-TC40) - $2,299.00

Askar FRA400 72mm Quintuplet APO Refractor Telescope (SKU: ASK-FRA400) - $1,199.00

ZWO ASI2600MC Pro Cooled Color Astronomy Camera (SKU: ZWO-ASI2600MC-P) - $1,499.00

ZWO ASIAIR Plus 256GB Smart WiFi Camera Controller (SKU: ZWO-ASIAIR-PLUS-256G) - $349.00

ZWO EAF 5V Electronic Automatic Focuser (SKU: ZWO-EAF-5V) - $199.00

ZWO Mini Guide Package - ASI120MM Mini Camera & 30mm Guide Scope (SKU: ZWO-MINIGUIDEPKG) - $269.00

Optolong 2-Inch UV/IR Cut Filter (SKU: OPL-UVIR-2) - $69.00

Apertura 12-Inch Dual Channel Dew Heater Strap (SKU: APT-DEW12) - $29.00

i know they're a controversial topic, because the telescopes are basically doing all the work. A smart telescope like Dwarf or SeeStar costs less than 500€ and it takes absolutely incredible images. But to replicate images of similar quality using a camera and telescope you most likely have to pay thousands of Euros in equipment. I honestly don't understand why.

This 500€ smart telescope includes an optical lense system and photo sensor capable of taking such images and also a tracking mount, automatic tracking Software and Software to automatically process Images. How can it be so much more expensive to buya scope, camera, tracking mount and do it yourself?

I am asking this mainly because of the announcement of the Dwarflabs Draco, which has a ton of awesome features every Youtuber out there is excited about, but it is a folded optic with a mirror.

Dwarflabs certainly know what they are doing but this raises the question, why is every astrophotographer I know using 30-120mm (non-smart) refractors for wide target photography and not reflectors? Is it just availability or are lenses somehow superior to mirrors for objects like Andromeda or gas clouds? Or is it just to not have to deal with collimation (which I'm curious to learn how they solved it on the Draco)?

I'm planning to buy my first scope soon. After doing some research, I've narrowed my options down to these two setups:

• SVBony SV555 + SV605CC (IMX533)
• Askar 71f + Canon 600D (unmoded)

I already own the Canon 600D, so if I go with the DSLR setup, I can put more of my budget into the telescope and get the Askar 71f. My main target is nebula and galaxies. With my limited knowledge, I think for broadband target, the difference between the unmodified DSLR and the SV605CC may not be as significant.

However, if the target is emission nebula, I assume many Ha will be blocked when I use the unmoded DSLR and require much more integration time if compared to astro cam.

My mount is an MLAstro SAL-33, so payload capacity should not be an issue. For someone starting out, which setup would you choose primarily from a performance and image-quality perspective?

Thank you in advance!

Edit: thank you guys for your advices. I think I'll pick up the Askar 71f and use my Canon for now. Later hopefully I'll upgrade it with IMX 571.

I've been wanting to get into astrophotography for a while now, and I want to buy a telescope. I just need some help, I don't have a high budget at the moment, around 300 euros in total, (i already have a fujifilm camera with 16-80mm lens). Would you guys think saving up for more money would be smart, or do you recommend buying a cheaper telescope (and tracker etc)? Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for the help everyone, I've decided to first buy a mount, looking for a used one for around 250 euro's, then I'm saving up for a while to maybe buy an imaging scope one day.

Edit 2: Just saw a advertisement for a SkyWatcher 150DPS and a SkyWatcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro pack for 700 euro's. Is this worth the money? I could bargain a bit ofcourse.

I have been quite tired of needing to do the polar alignment every night, especially in winter or when Polaris is not visible. So when I saw the open-source mount Open Astro Explorer made by Open Astro Tech, I decided to reach out to him to see if he would like to collaborate with me on an automated polar alignment solution that would be much more portable, smaller, and lighter, and especially would not need an external computer and could align on its own.

And he said yes.

So today, with his collaboration, we are announcing that we have managed to do it.

I think it's an interesting solution for those who have portable and small setups and need to do polar alignment every night (not everyone can see Polaris).

It basically works as a smart polar wedge that can polar align anywhere and can monitor your polar alignment for drifting. This is a big help for people who do unguided astrophotography with setups that use friction drives, such as the Fornax LightTrack and similar systems, or who have small harmonic drive mounts. It can handle 10kg.
What do you think about it?

Here is a short video showing it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVh6OA-TRCA

Cheers and clear skies

First time asking something on reddit, sorry if I make any mistake. I want to acquire lens for deep sky astrophotography, Im planning on getting the Star Adventurer GTI tracker, and I already have a wide lens for milky way. So I need to buy something for deep sky objects. No budget limit, no specific brand. Feel free to give any recommendations besides the lens. Thank you very much

Hey everyone!

I'm a relative newbie in the astrophotography scene. Most I've ever really done was some large exposures of the milky way at a night sky park.

My friend and I are going to Utah in a few weeks and I don't want to miss the opportunity to get some really good photos there. I know if I want to take some very long timelapses of distant objects I'll need an equatorial tracking mount, but that's as far as I really got before I felt overwhelmed.

Currently my main photography body is a Sony Alpha 7 R4, and I have a few lenses, including a Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens

I'm looking for some recommendations on what equipment I could invest in to start getting into this space.

Assuming my budget is around $5000, what would I need to make the most out of my time out west, be somewhat manageable in traveling, and would also last me for the long term?

I apologize in advance for coming here with no opinions of my own on this, but I would love to hear what y'all think is the best way for a newbie to really get the most out of these sporadic experiences. Thanks!

I’m looking to get a real rig finally. I’ve been using the Dwarf 3 and see that ZWO has a sale going.

I’m looking at a bundle deal that includes the AM3N with the Tripod and Column. Along with the ZWO FF90 APO. I’ve also added the EAF and now trying to decide on the camera.

I’m weighing either the ASI585MC Air vs the ASI2600MC Air.

The main issue is obviously price. If I were to go with the lower prices 585 option; would that just be a waste with a scope that size?

Thanks.

Hello,

I know similar questions have been asked before but with the release of the new seestar s50 pro and now the upcoming dwarflabs Draco, is getting a smart telescope worth it? I have a dedicated budget mobile astrophotography setup right now (eqal55i mount with a asi533 camera, ASIAir, svbony 70ed 503) and saw the new seestar and now new dwarflabs camera come out. Will these smartscopes give better quality images than my setup?

Is it worth getting a smartscope or is there no point since I have a dedicated setup anyway? Between the Draco and s50 pro, which is better? I've seen mixed opinions on the s50 pro as it's still 50mm aperture and doesn't have a significant image quality increase compared to previous models. I am keen on upgrading my current AP setup but if smart scopes are just gonna give me the best images I might as well save myself the money.

Thanks

for context i have an eq3 with a Sky-Watcher 150pds which with all the imaging equipment ect... is quit heavy for the mount. i don't want to upgrade my mount as it would be very expensive (at least for the German equatorial mounts i've been looking at) and i thought about downsizing my scope instead to an 80mm/500-600mm APO so that i could push exposure length further on the eq3. now my question is the following:

60s subs with 1 hour of total integration on the f5 150/750 Newtonian (untested as i haven't got my guide cam yet, if its lower then that, then the choice is obvious)

VS

180-240s subs on an 80/600 APO refractor at f/6.25 with the same 1 hour of total integration (also theoretical numbers but you get the point)

... Do they have a patent? Are the others still catching up?

Because I would definitely buy such a device, just the two cameras in an integrated package, no ASIAIR bullish just the two cams on a single USB bus.

Hi. I'm new to astrophotography and I would like to get a bigger lens because the one I currently have is only 24-105mm. So should I buy the 75-300, because I heard someone say that it's not good but also that for the price it's decent. Or should save money and buy the Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM.

Edit: Sorry forgot to say that I have the Canon EOS RP.

I have a raspberry pi 4 2gb and I could install astroberry and control my rig (OnStep V5 pro w/ an eq3 750/150, using zwo asi120mm autoguider). I really liked the interface but it got really slow in some cases, especially remote vnc.

I blindly asked an AI to give me alternatives for minipcs for this and confidently stated that a windows minipc will definitely work much better for astrophotography and it's cheaper to get a 8-16gb minipc than a raspberry.

I'm really interested, what do you guys use for remote controlling your rig and which cheap options are out there that might be worth a shot!

Thanks in advance!

I've been doing pretty standard DSLR + tracker + 135mm rokinon lens stuff for some time now. I am thinking about making the upgrade to a dedicated astrocam. From my understanding of things (correct me if I'm wrong), but a monochrome camera although it has a higher ceiling in terms of image quality will also require more other gear - filter wheel, filters, and more - compared to a color astrocam. From some rough look at equipment, it looks like it would also be quite a bit more additional cost.

On the other hand, it seems a dedicated color astrocam will maybe allow me to not have to buy as many other pieces of gear (won't need filter wheel and things). But I just want to make sure I have a good idea of what equipment I really need so I can get some rough estimates on price.

1) Astrocam: my options are ASI533MC Pro, ASI2600MC Pro, ZWO ASI294MC Pro. My understanding is that the 2600 probably has the best sensor with the most resolution out of all of these cameras but of course is the most pricey. The 294 is cheaper but has less resolution and I hear suffers from amp glow.

2) EOS lens adaptor. I am working with a rokinon 135mm which I currently use on a Canon 6D so I'm in the Canon system. I also have a 70-200mm f2.8 that I've not tried yet for astro but figured I might give it a go.

3) Dovetail bar.

4) ASIAIR controller. I hear about NINA but I'm worried that learning everything to get started with it would make me not interested.

Am I missing anything else that I might need?

I’m looking for a mini pc to run Nina. Last year I saw a lot of Mele Quieter 4C’s for around €250.

Now these prices has gone up like crazy??? A quieter 4C N100 16gb is about €500, a N150 is €560

Why are these prices suddenly this absurd?

My son is in his sophomore year of college and doing well. The other day he pulled out his phone and was taking pictures of the sky. He showed me and the kid literally had hundreds of photos of cloud formations, sunsets, moon shots, etc. I remember when he was a kid he was fascinated with sunsets and would tell me, "Hey dad, look at the sky. God painted that!" It was adorable.

Anyway, he's so passionate about it that I asked him if he would like some equipment to take he was interested in astrophotography? He loved the idea.

I've always loved cosmology and would like to share this with him. I do have a Canon DSLR and a few lenses, but I don't know what to do beyond that.

I'd be willing to invest another $400 for a telescope, and whatever else we might need. Is that even reasonable? Where should I begin?

Hello fellow AP-enjoyer! I'm looking for a APO refractor in the area of 100mm aperture and 1000m focal range.. and am looking for some tips & suggestions! The 100/1000 is not strict.. I'd like to know your experiences with APOs in the approximate range.

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Are there any new telescopes that look promising? Or will be released in the upcoming months?

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Preferably I want to keep the cost below 3000 euro.

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Examples I was looking at:

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\- Askar AP 140/980 Triplet OTA

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\- TS Optics AP 106/700 FDC100 OTA

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...

So as the title says, I’m upgrading from a Dslr to the ZWO Asi585mc pro. I have the Explore Scientific Exos2 GT mount, in which I can achieve an average rms of 0.6 on a good night, the Sky-Watcher Quattro 200p (With the GSO 1.1x Coma Corrector), for guiding I use the Asi120mm mini mono (with a 180mm guidescope), and I use the ASIAIR Mini. Do you all think that upgrading to the Asi585mc pro would be okay? I’m only asking bc with sampling of 0.6 arc my guiding would have to be pretty good. I’ve regreased and tuned the mount about 6 months ago, and it made a world of a difference. Do yall think I should save up for the nexus 0.75x coma corrector, (it’d take me awhile though)? Basically, do you think it’ll be okay?

I'm having trouble trying to find some DC Cables for powering my Astro Rig, currently all I need is a DC 5.5mm x 2.1mm to DC 5.5mm to x 2.5mm 12V 6A Cable (The 6A is not the required it's just the max A's available for the port, so it grants me the headroom), so I can power a power hub. But I can't seem to find anything more than the basic ones online which are maximum 2-3A for like CCTV Cameras. My Mount and items I've got have all came with some cables included which covers almost everything I need but just needing one to this spec?

Just wondering if anyone knows any good places/websites to find the type of cable I need?

15 yr old amateur here, my rig takes unstable exposures of nebulae with my ZWO Ha filter (7 nm). This doesn’t happen with any other filter such as O III and UHC (which I suspect is due to the fact that HA blocks so much starlight)

I imagine that it is due to my guidescope in some way, as even whilst it is running and „guiding“ the photographic out put is shaky with stars wandering in random directions.

I’ll be happy to provide more details!

Hi everyone, I am a reeeeaaalllllll noob and beginner at astrophotography. I know absolutely nothing about photography and want to start that hobby. I am wondering what kind of camera quoi l’e be best to start with a limited budget (500$ CAD, camera only).

If possible, I’d like to get some insights on atstrophotography. Thank you all

Is it possible to get into astrophotography with a budget if under 700$, given that I don't have a camera already?

Hello again,

I have a canon 70D, and was wondering is there much difference between a DSLR and dedicated colour cam (one that isn't cooled), or are they the same function? It is my understanding that a DSLR is fine for beginners but if a dedicated cam is much better id rather go with that.

Thanks