Cropping your image is perfectly acceptable in astrophotography. Very long focal lengths and high magnifications are challenging. Don’t get stuck with filling the frame at all costs. Just insert the info for the camera sensor and lens (telescope).Ī word of advice. If you want to see how big a target will be in the field of view of your camera-lens system, you can use the free software Stellarium. You can also use them to capture other celestial objects such as the Orion Nebula and the Pleiades. Nevertheless, It’s ideal for Moon Sun photography. It tends to cut some light coming into your camera.

Teleconverters to extend your lens’s reach.

longer telephoto for nebulae and galaxies close-ups.

135mm for closing in on small constellation or narrower starfields.

Typical focal lengths for the full-frame camera are: Slower lenses require longer exposures and even more images for stacking.

It’s a great free site and image database where photographers like you can contribute.įinally, you should go for lenses that perform well with apertures in the range of f/2.8 to f/5.6 for deep-sky astrophotography. This is where modern ED lenses and APO refractors using low dispersion glass often have the edge over many old legacy lenses.Ī great way to check if you can use your lens in astrophotography is to search it on Astrobin. What you need is a lens without too much chromatic aberration at relatively wide apertures. The truth is, I use old manual lenses from the film photography era. For the most part, autofocus or in-lens/in-camera stabilisation aren’t necessary in astrophotography. You don’t need to have the latest pro-graded lens to do night sky photography.

You can check our post on the best astrophotography cameras here. It allows you to close in on targets with shorter and cheaper telephoto lenses than those with full-frame cameras. Mirrorless M4/3 cameras such as the Olympus OM-D EM-10 MK III are impressive because of their 2x crop factor. Why? Because RAW allows you to edit your files without losing any quality.Īn entry-level model such as the Canon 1300D is usually good enough for astrophotography. What you need are options that are considered ISO invariant.Īlso, your camera must allow you to shoot in RAW format. Options with high ISO capabilities are not necessary. When it comes to night sky photography, you need either a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Photography Equipment For Astrophotography Camera

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