Can I just say the photos of the kit, with colored price breakdowns - is probably the single most helpful thing for newbies like me, it answers a LOT of questions all at once. Thanks!
A pretty neat trick you could add to the DIY kit: if you have any earphones that have a volume button, many phones will allow you to set the volume button as a shutter. You can plug in the earphones and press the volume button on it so you don't shake the phone or have to set a timer.
Hi Ken! As you know, I have also done this for decades and I would be really hesitant to call the "Lifer" a "Lifer". Most astroimagers tend to upgrade their equipment as time goes on. I know we both have! The two questions beginners need to ask themselves are 1) Just how interested am I likely to get? and 2) If I do get really addicted (you may), just how much can I really afford? My best advice is to have some long and detailed conversations with an experienced imager before buying anything that costs more than pocket money. I do agree that the increase in interest in the hobby that we have seen in the past few years is very encouraging!
@@CCDGarden1 I'm the type of person that even if I can afford the latest and greatest or the highest end gear for whatever the hobby, I prefer to out grow my gear. I like the satisfaction of knowing that the next step is needed and will actually show results. It's like when a guitar player goes and buys a Les Paul thinking it will make him better instead of just practicing more.
However, unfortunately you can't take a photo like this normally regardless... He was most likely in a "dark spot" in the wilderness during a specific time/date and location somewhere in middle of nowhere where you can basically see the milky way with your eyes.
@@stopthecap2644 even this in mind it's pretty awesome what smartphone cameras are able to deliver. 10 Years ago you couldn't even take acceptatable smartphone photos in a dim room.
Just ordered an equatorial mount, RA motor, and a 300mm f/4 telescope to get some cool shots. Thanks for the help with being able to understand how to capture and process the night sky. Seriously, you have been a tremendous help for getting me into the hobby. I’m excited to up my game.
never even considered this as a hobby, but I have always wanted to try using just a telescope to view the night sky - regardless of this I found it really fascinating!
Wow! I wish I had seen this two years ago. At 35 minutes you say the video is long but it could save months of research and comparison shopping. Not to mention years of making mistakes. Thank you! This was super helpful. And good to know you are just outside of Boston so I can know what to expect.
I literally laughed out loud at the weight comparison. My “Lifer” is about 200+ lbs, not including the weight of the SkyShed POD. I really liked this video and have saved it to share with new astronomers who want a sense of size, cost etc. I’ve subscribed to your channel now. Great content.
Been there as well, my system is maybe 300+ pounds total and has three sets of optics/cameras on it with focal lengths from 200 to 1700 mm. It is clearly something that one does not move and sits in my backyard roll-off. Accumulated over many years, of course, not something one would buy from the get-go, as is true with most advanced setups.
I ordered from High Point the other week for a Christmas gift. It came to my door in three days. With all the shipping/supply chain issues I was stunned. Well done.
This video is incredibly helpful for those who are entering astrophotography. Before I took the leap into being a lifer I spent about 7 months manually tracking shots and star hopping then making my way towards larger kits. Keeping a budget, goals and understanding astrophotography is just as challenging as rewards will pay off! Its quite addicting! Thanks for the great work Nico.
Thank you for this video! I bought nearly all the 1500$ kit items .Not just because of your video. I spend a lot of time researching and now know why you chose those items. Already got great results!
Really enjoyed this format of showing several different price/complexity astro-photography options. It had the allusion of making if feel simple to just pullout a tripod put your DSLR on it, point it towards the night sky where you'll have good tracking without obstruction try to find an interesting object with your night sky smartphone app (Stellarium etc) and start snapping. Mainly because when it's compared to some of the more complex ones that you show it seems like much lower effort option. One thing you did keep focusing on is this need for beginning Night Sky Photographers to get something specific identified to take a picture of. Why not also suggest that the photographer look up at their night sky (in the region where they can see they'll have a good run of 2 hours tracking without obstructions) have them use low power binoculars and just see what areas in that region look interesting! Then they can set up their camera rig, do their basic alignments, adjust how they’re going to handle their time-lapse (multi-shot set up) and let them start snapping pictures. Then once they have processed that evening set of 200 or so "lights" let them see what emerges. Then for identification of the deep space objects that they’re looking at they can use their cheat image that was taken by aligning their smartphone with the exact camera view and their night sky app and take a screen shot. Then after they have processed their astro-image(s) they can compare them to the objects identified in the night sky by their smartphone app (Stellarium in my case) at the time they snapped their pictures. Like exploring just to see what comes up!
Yes, I find just a DSLR and lens on a tripod is much more low effort and it's easier to point too since a normal tripod is 'alt-az'. Nice idea about the binoculars, although here on the East Coast, when I look through binoculars even at Bortle 4 site (darkest I have within a couple hour drive), the only deep sky objects I can make out with binoculars are the Lagoon, Andromeda, Orion, and open star clusters like the double cluster. Of course these are also the best objects for untracked astrophotography with a DSLR, but then the question arises in my head, why have someone sweep the sky with binoculars rather than just star hopping to the object straight away? Maybe you are thinking about interesting asterisms folks may want to photograph?
Outstanding job. Even for a layman like myself. You know you are doing a good job making a YT clip when a person not interested in astrophotography is watching your video about astrophotography. :-)
Thanks Nick! I set up my 6" RC on HEQ5Pro in 20 minutes, as all cabling stays on the OTA, mount, or tripod. The persistent go-to error was finally sorted, by releasing both clutches, & manually moving the OTA to the first alignment star. After that, using the hand controller for the 2nd and 3rd alignment star.
Great content, Nico! Sent this to a photographer friend that is interested in moving to astrophotography. This was a great way to introduce him to the tech in a short period. Thanks for all your work!
That's kinda amusing, I actually got pulled into normal photography because I was fascinated by Astrophotography, one of my favorite hobbies now for sure even if the weather limits my opportunities
Hey Nico Carver, I hope I spelled your name correctly. The candid comments in the first 2-3 min of your video put a smile on my face! More power to you.
i'd say it's step by step. i am currently at the EUR 4,000 level with a modified DSLR, refractor, medium heavy mount. i am glad having made every step before (except for the mobile phone), you can't buy lessons you learned by yourself :) nice video btw :D
Great info Nico! I'm just a beginner at this...in fact, I haven't even gotten into astrophotography yet (emphasis on yet) but I know that eventually I will... I purchased strong binoculars at first, and when I saw Jupiter and the 4 moons I was hooked, even tho the mages were tiny, just the ability to see that amazed me! And then I saw Saturn, ..well, I knew it was Saturn and the only way I knew it was Saturn was because of the app "Starwalk 2" and the fact that it looked more like the shape of an egg, that really blew my mind. Mind you, I didn't actually see its rings, but knowing that I was looking at Saturn really lit a fire in me! So, within a few months of spending almost a thousand on the binoculars and the parallelogram mount and tripod...I purchased a 12" Apetura Dobsonian from High Point Scientific and , Im hoooooookedd! Anyways, thanks for the info, new sub! Clear Skies!
I came here by chance and stayed because it was the best lesson I've ever seen. You made the whole topic very approachable and engaging. You're a natural teacher, you explain things really well and cover all the bases, like the honest pros and cons and how people might feel about that based on their personality. Most times I've been taught anything I felt like the information was presented in a way that wasn't really that digestible for me, it would feel like information was "missing" but you were just supposed to get it. I really enjoyed watching this, thank you.
It's mind blowing to see all these little points of light we see every night in this way. And it's amazing what you're able to do with the technology. I don't see myself getting fully into telescope astro but I've learned a lot and appreciate it!
My gawd, Nico! This is the best TH-cam I've seen in a long while--and I don't just mean astronomy/astro-imaging ones. Lots of useful info; extremely well presented!
Great video, I'm a motorsport photographer but have always loved looking at the night sky. After watching a few of your videos I've just ordered the Star Adventurer 2i and can't wait to get started!
One of your best videos so far!! Really enjoyed it. It demonstrates how one can start getting involved into astrophotography without spending a lot and still get good results. Thanks
One thingto consider adding to the keeping it simple setup, Magic Lantern. It's third party/open source/community based firmware upgrade for most entry level canon DSLRs. As well as including a software interveralometer in the camera settings, it also uses opens up the possibility to use existing sensors in interesting new ways. My favorite and most often used one using the light sensor that switches off the LCD when you hold the viewfinder up to your eye to trigger the shutter instead. You can pass your hand just behind the viewfinder, don't touch the camera, but that motion will trigger the shutter. If the shutter is set to bulb, the first wave of your hand opens the shutter, the second closes it, both without physically touching the camera. Very handy. And free.
Great video with accurate advice. The cable thing is a holy grail of troubleshooting, I would just also advice that often it is also the power source that goes wrong...
Thank you from a total beginner for sharing your knowledge, it's really helpful to folks like me just getting into this and not having a clue where to start. 🙂
Something I definitely noticed in your video is that you justified the cost of the "lifer" setup quite a bit. I really don't think you need to justify it at all, especially since you built it up over time. People who like playing the guitar will easily spend that much money on a single guitar, people who like cars will spend a lot on those, people who like drugs will spend a lot there, etc. It is something you love so indulge! Plus, astrophotography is really cool! Great content, I will stick around to watch more videos!
You are a good guy Nico....I like so much your videos and they have helped me so many time. Last week I took my first photo of Orion Nebula with my telescope and DSLR. It's not perfect but I'm very happy of the results. Keep posting new videos and thanks for the great work!
Great video showing all the variations from very beginner to getting pretty serious. I started this year and got the WO Z73, WO 50mm guide scope, ASI120MM-Mini, guide came, asiair pro, been using a Canon 5d markii but just ordered the asi294mc pro today and everything is mounted on a celestron avx mount. Loving everything about this hobby !!
A 16 min set up time for the Lifer is amazing. For me, it’s 10 min to level the mount, put it together, connect all the cables, fire up the laptop and connect everything. 10 min to do the polar alignment and get the camera cooled to -15C and then a futher 10 min to go to the target, focus, do a test exposure and check the guiding. More time if I decide to reorientate the camera for better framing. I don’t think I’ve ever got going in less than 30 min.
I'm an amateur astronomer since Hale Bopp visit at 1997, was obsessed about astrophotography and spent thousands of dollars on equipment, every time I capture a "Great" shot after hours of stacking and editing I tend to want more ending up with purchasing new stuff, after being unemployed for a year, I ended up selling all of it, last piece of equipment was my favorite Sony SLR body, then thought to myself that all of the shots that I was craving are available online, were there all the time with the best quality that I can dream of, what a waste of time and money!
Thanks for this video! Definitely useful for amateurs who are weighing out their options to go further into this hobby. Very thoughtful to have added in the weight in metric system as well!
Honestly, I think that "the gateway drug" produced my favorite final render. As much as I would love to be able to have a setup like "the lifer" I know I'm never going to be willing to fork out that much cash on this hobby, especially considering that I live near a fair bit of light pollution. If I ever lived somewhere outside of the city though, I would be very tempted to make a backyard observatory 😅 My biggest draws to astrophotography honestly are the beauty and solitude. It's just like a perfect little getaway from everything and everyone.
I went from a Nikon Z72 and 200mm lens with a Skyguider pro to a CGEM2 ASIair 2600MCpro with 290mm Guider with a redcat and 8” SW Quattro 200p within 2 months lol.
I bought a tripod and took a few pics of the orion nebula with my a6000. 8 weeks later... My next picture M81 and M82 was taken with a heq5pro goto- 80mm ED - with reducer / flatner a 60mm Guide Scope plus mono cam. 2 weeks later... Next pic was the moon with a new 127 mak It escalated pretty quick. And I'm now skint but need dew controls 😩
So accurate that I actually just upgraded from camera + star adventurer to ioptron GEM28 goto eq mount + skywatcher evostar Apo 80 ed, both of which arrive this weekend, I have to admit that I was terrible with polar alignment, I could do max 35 sec exposures with star adventurer before stars would become ovoid, and that is with a 50 mm lens.
I’m addictive to astrophotography. This incredible video reminds me of a part of that really famous book BALL LIGHTNING: there are people exploring the edge of the universe, and the Milky Way would be their graveyards, while your problems like career, tests, promotions, relationships are so trivial like dung beetles cannot find poop💩
Love this type of content! I am a big fan of using what you have to start. With know experience, the more complex the gear set up, the more chance for mistakes and frustration. I started with DSLR, telephoto lens, tripod. Made HUGE mistakes, came home with nothing. Imagine if I had spent several $Ks on gear....I would have made the SAME mistakes. There is a learning curve that CANNOT be over come by simply adding more equipment. I now have a Star Adventurer tracker, which I love and I am moving to a small refractor, but not moving to guiding yet. I don't feel it is needed for the short subs I am shooting. Next move is to a goto mount, but I am not in a hurry. It is wild we can now do astro with a smart phone and get pleasant results! - Cheers
I always learn something from your videos, that simple little locking shutter switch is perfect! I've been meaning to get an intervalometer for my T7 so I can shoot time lapses while imaging with my rig. That thing looks perfect!! I ordered one already. Wow, Thanks for uploading!
This, as always, is great information presented in a clear way. Oddly, what I like most about the video was how you have the open truss Dobsonian back lit in the background. It looks really good.
Thanks! I recently got a little flexible light I can turn on back there and I think it does make my little home set look quite a bit better. Thanks for noticing!
I really want to not like the most expensive one the most but damn those stars are so much smaller, can see so many more doubles. I'm building a budget rig at the moment. Servicing an old EQ5 and I'll use it with a stock DSLR and vintage Soviet 500mm mirror lens. Should make for an unusual rig.
Keep up the great work! I haven't stepped up to purchase a DSLR yet, and I don't have the phone to adjust settings on the camera, but I'll get there one day. I love to learn as much as I can when I am interested in something (turns out that my ADD has a plus side, lol). You earned a new subscriber!
WHOW!!! What a perfect and extremely helpful video! I do both, camera plus tripod and dslr plus go-to-mount plus a simple sc-telescope for about 3 years. And still I found it extremily interesting! With every video of you I am impressed and motivated by the number of pictures you take and with the results you present. Thank you!
Once again great video. Cool comparison. Guess I'm in between Gateway and the "Serious" as I recently purchased first AP scope (WO Z61/Flattener) used off of Cloudy Nights. Suggestion for a 5 min video: You mentioned flying with smaller setup, like the Star Adventurer. How about a video on how one travels, ie packs such gear? I can easily pack my SUV up with all my gear and drive to a dark sky location, but flying??
One wonders sometimes where astrophotography is going with regard to objective science versus photo-art. Should aesthetics trump reality? At the high-dollar end especially, is the real motivator ego - "adore my stuff" - rather than learning and scientific inquiry? It's a personal choice of course, but non-professional photographers often end up spending a ton of money unwisely (relative to their household budget) with the sole aim of garnering popularity while simultaneously competing against thousands of others doing exactly the same thing. This powerful impulse drives the entire industry of course. The same applies to the worlds of terrestrial photography, high-end audio and so-on, where elitism becomes the goal. Believe me, I'm a victim too! At any rate, it was highly gratifying to see you cover all the bases here Nico, thank you.
For the Sky-Watcher Star Adventure, I made my own counterweight with long bolt and nuts, much cheaper. I got a very cheap item that fits in the hotshoe flash adapter, and epoxied a cheap red dot finder on to that. Now I set up, attach the red dot to the hotshoe, align it with the camera on a bright star, then I can get the camera aimed at things you can't see using the red dot.
Hi, Nico. I just bought the Apertura 72mm a few minutes ago. After several years of shooting with a dslr and lens setup including a star tracker and sometimes my AVX mount, I finally decided to try a telescope. I have a Celestron SLT 130 Newtonian which I bought over 10 years ago but never modified for astrophotography. I also have a Lunt 40mm solar scope. Since I like to shoot birds and other wildlife, I bought a Tamron 150-600mm lens a few years ago which I used for astrophotography from time to time. It did well enough for lunar photography but was pretty bad beyond 300mm for galaxies and nebulae. After months of clouds and hazy skies, I finally got some time this week to shoot. I tried the Pinwheel Galaxy and the Whirlpool Galaxy with that Tamron lens @ 300mm and I just wanted to cry. All that time just felt like a waste. I need a telescope. So, hopefully, I can finally capture some nice galaxies and "smaller" nebulae. I'm going to need to learn autoguiding since I never really needed it before with my 135, 85, 50, 35, 12mm lenses. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for showing what you can do with a nice doublet scope. That gave me the kick in the pants to just buy it already. Know anyone that wants to but a 150-600mm Tamron lens for f mount? 😉
I didn't know I had an "astro" camera setup worth double the best here, although I am sure there are much more expensive setups, which go into the multi-million dollar range. I have the Nikon D6 and 500mm f/4E VR FL lens plus a TC-14E III teleconverter and a PMG TR42L tripod with Zenelli Carbon X gimbal head, which is about $21,000 but I don't do much astro. I unfortunately live in a high light pollution area and although I get some great moon shots, I've never taken any other astro type shots, but I plan to soon. I'm hoping to travel to a relatively close place called Joshua Tree, CA. I also have the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens which I hear is a great astro lens, so I'll probably use that. Interesting stuff, I'm definitely looking to try this genre out, guess thats why I clicked on this video, lol.
Nice gear! Yes, a wide angle f/2.8 lens is great for milky way and starry night shots. It's fun to get some interesting landscape features in these too, which should be fairly easy to do at Joshua Tree.
Great video, I like the way you cover the whole journey for a budding astronomer/astrophotographer. If you get bitten by the bug using a smartphone you should follow these stages to enjoy you development journey, don’t jump in at the final stage even if you can afford it, or you won’t appreciate the journey.
Wow... These images are just so beautiful. I didn't know you could make such images of the night sky with your phone! I'm in need of a hobby, and I have a new born son. I remember how I got into astronomy when my dad bought me my first book about the planets (included Pluto back then), when I was eight. I don't even have a camera. But _I am_ willing to spend money on a hobby, if this turns out addictive. I live close to a forest, around farmland, and not too much light pollution here, so it's ideal. I'm just thinking it would also be a very healthy hobby to introduce to my son when he gets old enough. _(An added bonus is that we only live two hours from Torun in Poland)._
I find it extremely comforting seeing this uncountable amount of stars and realising that our existense and the destruction coming with it basically beeing void.
@@erito9507 Why do you think that? Imagine a white 16*16 pixel- and a white 4k pixel picture with each having one dead pixel on it. On the 16*16 it's truly visible on the 4k it isn't noticable at all. On a small scale the pixel is destroying the Image, but on a larger scale the pixel exists without problems. Transfering this effect to the destruction of earth means that even if we destroy us and our planet, even our solarsystem, there is still a unimaginable larger part of the universe that stays uneffected by us. Surely it would be much better to not destroy the earth and keeping the earth livible is a goal we should never give up, but if it should happen, I could still rest in peace knowing that we are just like one dead pixel on a 4k screen.
Fantastic video. Thank you. I am in the discovery process.. trying to learn what astrophotography is going to require of me. What the journey looks like. And this video answered so many questions and contributed to the framework of my understanding.
Yep, I use it too on cameras I have that are supported. The Canon 2000D/T7s that I was using in this video don't have ML builds, but I do use ML on my 60Ds.
Such a fantastic video. Really breaks it down to what level we think we are. Personally I'm probably around the Keeping it Simple to the Gateway Drug, setups. But this video is definitely peaking my interest in the subject. Thanks for doing this :)
@@NebulaPhotos I am curious how the Keeping it Simple would look with the better 135mm f/2 lens from the Gateway Drug setup. I have an old Celestron C5+ (from the mid '90s), but I haven't really tried many pictures in the last 20 years outside of a few lunar eclipse shots or some simple one long exposure shots with my DSLR on a tripod. This video has me curious to try again using a Keeping it Simple type setup with one of my better L lenses or through the Celestron C5 and taking advantage of newer software advancements for stacking frames, etc.
@@alangil40 This video I made may be of interest: th-cam.com/video/mYucAuUrdTs/w-d-xo.html I didn't use the Rokinon 135, but a Canon 200mm L (with and without a star tracker) and compared results with equal total integration. Interestingly, I preferred the result with the star tracker, but many in the comments preferred the result with only a tripod (no tracking).
Thanks for the video. Very clear explanation and even I could follow. I would love to be able to start astrophotography someday but light pollution is a big problem here in The Netherlands.
Rokinon / Samyang / Walimex 135mm really is an excellent lens and is often available second hand as well. Also a very nice portrait lens if you are comfortable focusing manually. Amazingly informative video that must've required a lot of work.
Just did my first astrophotography attempt yesterday with a D750 and a 50mm f1.4. I was 8 minutes away from Tadousacc, Canada in a super dark flat area. It was fucking awesome.
I shoot with The Gateway Drug, and the best trick I have found in the last couple years is to mount a cheap red dot sight in the hot shoe. There are a couple of cheap aluminum adapters on amazon, as well as inexpensive sights. I think i spent maybe 30 bucks total. A few minutes in the kitchen to get it lined up so the dot is roughly in the middle of the frame, and now it's SUPER easy to know exactly where the camera is pointed. Easily enough to check against a star chart app to make sure you're framing what you want. This took me from being incredibly frustrated and wasting a lot of an imaging session just trying to get to my targets, to being on them in a matter of minutes. Game changer!
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
I've never took a photo of the sky and I'm not going to but I still watched the entire video and I really liked it.
same :D
Just try it:D
dont do it unless you wanna be broke.
@@Wub892 same :D
@@roshanbaral5790 it's a drug
Can I just say the photos of the kit, with colored price breakdowns - is probably the single most helpful thing for newbies like me, it answers a LOT of questions all at once. Thanks!
A pretty neat trick you could add to the DIY kit: if you have any earphones that have a volume button, many phones will allow you to set the volume button as a shutter. You can plug in the earphones and press the volume button on it so you don't shake the phone or have to set a timer.
Cool, gotta try that!
there are tons of cheap bluetooth shooter buttons for phones. like under a dollar.
galaxy note series can use the stylus as a shutter button too
The Apple Watch has a camera remote for iPhones that could be used, I would not be surprise if other watches have a similar feature.
And places like the Source or some other retail stores will have bluetooth "shutter release" button, I used it for a time before I upgrade to a DSLR
I personally use an auto clicker over the shutter button. Though, I don't move my phone or do any tracking once I start taking images.
As a long time Astrophotographer with a backyard observatory, it is great to see such an interest in the subject over such a large group.
Hi Ken! As you know, I have also done this for decades and I would be really hesitant to call the "Lifer" a "Lifer". Most astroimagers tend to upgrade their equipment as time goes on. I know we both have! The two questions beginners need to ask themselves are 1) Just how interested am I likely to get? and 2) If I do get really addicted (you may), just how much can I really afford? My best advice is to have some long and detailed conversations with an experienced imager before buying anything that costs more than pocket money.
I do agree that the increase in interest in the hobby that we have seen in the past few years is very encouraging!
@@CCDGarden1 I'm the type of person that even if I can afford the latest and greatest or the highest end gear for whatever the hobby, I prefer to out grow my gear. I like the satisfaction of knowing that the next step is needed and will actually show results. It's like when a guitar player goes and buys a Les Paul thinking it will make him better instead of just practicing more.
Is the d5500 or d5600 ok for Astro
The fact that even smartphones now can get results like that is purely insane!
Love the editing and the effort you put into this Nico keep it up!
S21 Ultra: 😏
However, unfortunately you can't take a photo like this normally regardless... He was most likely in a "dark spot" in the wilderness during a specific time/date and location somewhere in middle of nowhere where you can basically see the milky way with your eyes.
@@stopthecap2644 even this in mind it's pretty awesome what smartphone cameras are able to deliver. 10 Years ago you couldn't even take acceptatable smartphone photos in a dim room.
@@stopthecap2644 .......duh
@@stopthecap2644 I can take a pic like the first one in my backyard, but I live in a city with 250k people
Just ordered an equatorial mount, RA motor, and a 300mm f/4 telescope to get some cool shots. Thanks for the help with being able to understand how to capture and process the night sky. Seriously, you have been a tremendous help for getting me into the hobby. I’m excited to up my game.
Great to hear Charles!
Nice! I'm a bit stuck in analysis paralysis, I'm checking out 114mm aperture 500mm focal length telescopes, whilst also looking at 70mm 700mm sticks
never even considered this as a hobby, but I have always wanted to try using just a telescope to view the night sky - regardless of this I found it really fascinating!
That's how this all starts 🙂
My kids saw Jupiter and it’s four Galilean moons their first night with a cheap 60mm telescope off Amazon. It’s amazing.
the amazing effects about filming the stairs is already pure amazing.
yes the stairs
Wow! I wish I had seen this two years ago. At 35 minutes you say the video is long but it could save months of research and comparison shopping. Not to mention years of making mistakes. Thank you! This was super helpful. And good to know you are just outside of Boston so I can know what to expect.
Thank you so much for doing 5 and not just 3 items. Especially coving the 1000-2000 jump not just orders of magnitude like $100; $1,000; and $10,000!
I literally laughed out loud at the weight comparison. My “Lifer” is about 200+ lbs, not including the weight of the SkyShed POD. I really liked this video and have saved it to share with new astronomers who want a sense of size, cost etc. I’ve subscribed to your channel now. Great content.
Thanks David! Can't wait to get an observatory some day, need to buy a house with a yard first :)
Been there as well, my system is maybe 300+ pounds total and has three sets of optics/cameras on it with focal lengths from 200 to 1700 mm. It is clearly something that one does not move and sits in my backyard roll-off. Accumulated over many years, of course, not something one would buy from the get-go, as is true with most advanced setups.
I ordered from High Point the other week for a Christmas gift. It came to my door in three days. With all the shipping/supply chain issues I was stunned. Well done.
This video is incredibly helpful for those who are entering astrophotography. Before I took the leap into being a lifer I spent about 7 months manually tracking shots and star hopping then making my way towards larger kits. Keeping a budget, goals and understanding astrophotography is just as challenging as rewards will pay off! Its quite addicting! Thanks for the great work Nico.
Definitely addicting! I had no idea when I started that it would take over my life 😂
I watched 100 "similar" videos this week. This was by far the best, not even close. Thank you!
Did not understand roughly 98% of what was said, but still glad that I found this channel. I am a student now and hope to improve with time.
Thank you for this video! I bought nearly all the 1500$ kit items .Not just because of your video. I spend a lot of time researching and now know why you chose those items. Already got great results!
that`s the comparison we didn`t ask for but we truly needed it. love it.
Really enjoyed this format of showing several different price/complexity astro-photography options. It had the allusion of making if feel simple to just pullout a tripod put your DSLR on it, point it towards the night sky where you'll have good tracking without obstruction try to find an interesting object with your night sky smartphone app (Stellarium etc) and start snapping. Mainly because when it's compared to some of the more complex ones that you show it seems like much lower effort option.
One thing you did keep focusing on is this need for beginning Night Sky Photographers to get something specific identified to take a picture of. Why not also suggest that the photographer look up at their night sky (in the region where they can see they'll have a good run of 2 hours tracking without obstructions) have them use low power binoculars and just see what areas in that region look interesting! Then they can set up their camera rig, do their basic alignments, adjust how they’re going to handle their time-lapse (multi-shot set up) and let them start snapping pictures. Then once they have processed that evening set of 200 or so "lights" let them see what emerges. Then for identification of the deep space objects that they’re looking at they can use their cheat image that was taken by aligning their smartphone with the exact camera view and their night sky app and take a screen shot. Then after they have processed their astro-image(s) they can compare them to the objects identified in the night sky by their smartphone app (Stellarium in my case) at the time they snapped their pictures.
Like exploring just to see what comes up!
Yes, I find just a DSLR and lens on a tripod is much more low effort and it's easier to point too since a normal tripod is 'alt-az'. Nice idea about the binoculars, although here on the East Coast, when I look through binoculars even at Bortle 4 site (darkest I have within a couple hour drive), the only deep sky objects I can make out with binoculars are the Lagoon, Andromeda, Orion, and open star clusters like the double cluster. Of course these are also the best objects for untracked astrophotography with a DSLR, but then the question arises in my head, why have someone sweep the sky with binoculars rather than just star hopping to the object straight away? Maybe you are thinking about interesting asterisms folks may want to photograph?
Astrophotography is my new found hobby, I think I’m going to start with the gateway drug kit but still have so much to learn.
Outstanding job. Even for a layman like myself. You know you are doing a good job making a YT clip when a person not interested in astrophotography is watching your video about astrophotography. :-)
Absolutely amazing video Nico. Love how you highlighted the kit in different colours when you were breaking it all down :)
Thanks Cat!
Thanks Nick! I set up my 6" RC on HEQ5Pro in 20 minutes, as all cabling stays on the OTA, mount, or tripod. The persistent go-to error was finally sorted, by releasing both clutches, & manually moving the OTA to the first alignment star. After that, using the hand controller for the 2nd and 3rd alignment star.
Great content, Nico! Sent this to a photographer friend that is interested in moving to astrophotography. This was a great way to introduce him to the tech in a short period. Thanks for all your work!
That's kinda amusing, I actually got pulled into normal photography because I was fascinated by Astrophotography, one of my favorite hobbies now for sure even if the weather limits my opportunities
Thanks 👍
This video helps beginners get a perspective of what they can have or build to start Amateur Astrophotography for their budget.❤️
Hey Nico Carver, I hope I spelled your name correctly. The candid comments in the first 2-3 min of your video put a smile on my face! More power to you.
Yes, you did! Thanks Fraz Ajmal!
i'd say it's step by step. i am currently at the EUR 4,000 level with a modified DSLR, refractor, medium heavy mount. i am glad having made every step before (except for the mobile phone), you can't buy lessons you learned by yourself :)
nice video btw :D
Great info Nico! I'm just a beginner at this...in fact, I haven't even gotten into astrophotography yet (emphasis on yet) but I know that eventually I will... I purchased strong binoculars at first, and when I saw Jupiter and the 4 moons I was hooked, even tho the mages were tiny, just the ability to see that amazed me! And then I saw Saturn, ..well, I knew it was Saturn and the only way I knew it was Saturn was because of the app "Starwalk 2" and the fact that it looked more like the shape of an egg, that really blew my mind. Mind you, I didn't actually see its rings, but knowing that I was looking at Saturn really lit a fire in me! So, within a few months of spending almost a thousand on the binoculars and the parallelogram mount and tripod...I purchased a 12" Apetura Dobsonian from High Point Scientific and , Im hoooooookedd! Anyways, thanks for the info, new sub! Clear Skies!
Nice! A big dob is so great for viewing. Thanks for subscribing!
I came here by chance and stayed because it was the best lesson I've ever seen. You made the whole topic very approachable and engaging. You're a natural teacher, you explain things really well and cover all the bases, like the honest pros and cons and how people might feel about that based on their personality. Most times I've been taught anything I felt like the information was presented in a way that wasn't really that digestible for me, it would feel like information was "missing" but you were just supposed to get it. I really enjoyed watching this, thank you.
i’ve always wanted one of those comparison videos of expensive vs cheap rigs. ty !!
Awesome I’ve watched this video like 3 times, over the span of 8 months!
It's mind blowing to see all these little points of light we see every night in this way. And it's amazing what you're able to do with the technology. I don't see myself getting fully into telescope astro but I've learned a lot and appreciate it!
My gawd, Nico! This is the best TH-cam I've seen in a long while--and I don't just mean astronomy/astro-imaging ones.
Lots of useful info; extremely well presented!
Thanks Ray! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great video, I'm a motorsport photographer but have always loved looking at the night sky. After watching a few of your videos I've just ordered the Star Adventurer 2i and can't wait to get started!
This channel is truly amazing. Unlike others this one strives to help everyone truly
One of your best videos so far!! Really enjoyed it. It demonstrates how one can start getting involved into astrophotography without spending a lot and still get good results. Thanks
One thingto consider adding to the keeping it simple setup, Magic Lantern. It's third party/open source/community based firmware upgrade for most entry level canon DSLRs. As well as including a software interveralometer in the camera settings, it also uses opens up the possibility to use existing sensors in interesting new ways. My favorite and most often used one using the light sensor that switches off the LCD when you hold the viewfinder up to your eye to trigger the shutter instead. You can pass your hand just behind the viewfinder, don't touch the camera, but that motion will trigger the shutter. If the shutter is set to bulb, the first wave of your hand opens the shutter, the second closes it, both without physically touching the camera. Very handy. And free.
Great video with accurate advice. The cable thing is a holy grail of troubleshooting, I would just also advice that often it is also the power source that goes wrong...
Im getting into photography just recently and man, you videos help me out a lot and got me really exited about astrophotography
We need more of those comparison videos! So cool
Thank you from a total beginner for sharing your knowledge, it's really helpful to folks like me just getting into this and not having a clue where to start. 🙂
this video is a GIFT! thanks!! it’s amazingly helpful and well done! love from Spain
This really is the go-to youtube channel for astrophotography. Now to search the video list for timelapse videos.
Thanks! I have done plenty of time-lapse, but interestingly never made a video about it. Good idea!
This is really helpful as I’m looking for a setup as a beginner and have a rather tight budget to work with, thanks!
Don't know how i missed ur channel. U just got new subscriber. Keep nice work going
Wow this was more helpful than you could ever imagine MASSIVE thanks looking forward to more vids!
So glad you liked it!
Something I definitely noticed in your video is that you justified the cost of the "lifer" setup quite a bit. I really don't think you need to justify it at all, especially since you built it up over time. People who like playing the guitar will easily spend that much money on a single guitar, people who like cars will spend a lot on those, people who like drugs will spend a lot there, etc. It is something you love so indulge! Plus, astrophotography is really cool!
Great content, I will stick around to watch more videos!
You are a good guy Nico....I like so much your videos and they have helped me so many time. Last week I took my first photo of Orion Nebula with my telescope and DSLR. It's not perfect but I'm very happy of the results. Keep posting new videos and thanks for the great work!
Great video showing all the variations from very beginner to getting pretty serious. I started this year and got the WO Z73, WO 50mm guide scope, ASI120MM-Mini, guide came, asiair pro, been using a Canon 5d markii but just ordered the asi294mc pro today and everything is mounted on a celestron avx mount. Loving everything about this hobby !!
Me too! :) Nice setup !
@@NebulaPhotos thank you sir !! It has been quite the learning curve but so much fun figuring out a little more every time
A 16 min set up time for the Lifer is amazing. For me, it’s 10 min to level the mount, put it together, connect all the cables, fire up the laptop and connect everything. 10 min to do the polar alignment and get the camera cooled to -15C and then a futher 10 min to go to the target, focus, do a test exposure and check the guiding. More time if I decide to reorientate the camera for better framing. I don’t think I’ve ever got going in less than 30 min.
I'm an amateur astronomer since Hale Bopp visit at 1997, was obsessed about astrophotography and spent thousands of dollars on equipment, every time I capture a "Great" shot after hours of stacking and editing I tend to want more ending up with purchasing new stuff, after being unemployed for a year, I ended up selling all of it, last piece of equipment was my favorite Sony SLR body, then thought to myself that all of the shots that I was craving are available online, were there all the time with the best quality that I can dream of, what a waste of time and money!
Thanks for this video! Definitely useful for amateurs who are weighing out their options to go further into this hobby. Very thoughtful to have added in the weight in metric system as well!
Honestly, I think that "the gateway drug" produced my favorite final render. As much as I would love to be able to have a setup like "the lifer" I know I'm never going to be willing to fork out that much cash on this hobby, especially considering that I live near a fair bit of light pollution. If I ever lived somewhere outside of the city though, I would be very tempted to make a backyard observatory 😅 My biggest draws to astrophotography honestly are the beauty and solitude. It's just like a perfect little getaway from everything and everyone.
The gateway drug 😂 very accurate
I went from a Nikon Z72 and 200mm lens with a Skyguider pro to a CGEM2 ASIair 2600MCpro with 290mm Guider with a redcat and 8” SW Quattro 200p within 2 months lol.
@@rvoykin I just got my ASIAIR Pro and now waiting for these clouds to break!
I bought a tripod and took a few pics of the orion nebula with my a6000. 8 weeks later...
My next picture M81 and M82 was taken with a heq5pro goto- 80mm ED - with reducer / flatner a 60mm Guide Scope plus mono cam. 2 weeks later...
Next pic was the moon with a new 127 mak
It escalated pretty quick. And I'm now skint but need dew controls 😩
So accurate that I actually just upgraded from camera + star adventurer to ioptron GEM28 goto eq mount + skywatcher evostar Apo 80 ed, both of which arrive this weekend, I have to admit that I was terrible with polar alignment, I could do max 35 sec exposures with star adventurer before stars would become ovoid, and that is with a 50 mm lens.
This is not encouraging for me to read. 😹😹😹 I’m glad there’s a really healthy support group here, though.
I’m addictive to astrophotography. This incredible video reminds me of a part of that really famous book BALL LIGHTNING: there are people exploring the edge of the universe, and the Milky Way would be their graveyards, while your problems like career, tests, promotions, relationships are so trivial like dung beetles cannot find poop💩
it's interesting how there was some more colour in the "getting serious" image
this is a video that a lot of people have been waiting for, like me. great comparison. very good work
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
You put everything in perspective very concisely.
Love this type of content! I am a big fan of using what you have to start. With know experience, the more complex the gear set up, the more chance for mistakes and frustration.
I started with DSLR, telephoto lens, tripod. Made HUGE mistakes, came home with nothing. Imagine if I had spent several $Ks on gear....I would have made the SAME mistakes. There is a learning curve that CANNOT be over come by simply adding more equipment.
I now have a Star Adventurer tracker, which I love and I am moving to a small refractor, but not moving to guiding yet. I don't feel it is needed for the short subs I am shooting. Next move is to a goto mount, but I am not in a hurry.
It is wild we can now do astro with a smart phone and get pleasant results! - Cheers
I always learn something from your videos, that simple little locking shutter switch is perfect! I've been meaning to get an intervalometer for my T7 so I can shoot time lapses while imaging with my rig. That thing looks perfect!! I ordered one already. Wow, Thanks for uploading!
Intervolometers become even more useful once you have a Star tracker too, to open up those long, multi minute exposures!
This, as always, is great information presented in a clear way. Oddly, what I like most about the video was how you have the open truss Dobsonian back lit in the background. It looks really good.
Thanks! I recently got a little flexible light I can turn on back there and I think it does make my little home set look quite a bit better. Thanks for noticing!
I really want to not like the most expensive one the most but damn those stars are so much smaller, can see so many more doubles.
I'm building a budget rig at the moment. Servicing an old EQ5 and I'll use it with a stock DSLR and vintage Soviet 500mm mirror lens. Should make for an unusual rig.
Tell me more about this 500mm lens... sounds really interesting
Excellent comparison, Nico ! One of your best videos !
Thanks Nadir!
Keep up the great work! I haven't stepped up to purchase a DSLR yet, and I don't have the phone to adjust settings on the camera, but I'll get there one day. I love to learn as much as I can when I am interested in something (turns out that my ADD has a plus side, lol). You earned a new subscriber!
Your videos are very informative and motivating, you are helping beginners a ton, underrated channel imo. Thanks!
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words!
Great video Nico!! I’m from keeping it simple to getting serious and learning all the time!
WHOW!!! What a perfect and extremely helpful video! I do both, camera plus tripod and dslr plus go-to-mount plus a simple sc-telescope for about 3 years. And still I found it extremily interesting! With every video of you I am impressed and motivated by the number of pictures you take and with the results you present. Thank you!
Great video! Would be interesting to see "total time taken" (setup, editing, etc.) in the photo stats when you are displaying the produced shot.
Ah, that would have been a good idea. Next time!
I have a pixel phone and this month has been perfect to try out astrophotography mode so it's great that this video has popped up!
Once again great video. Cool comparison. Guess I'm in between Gateway and the "Serious" as I recently purchased first AP scope (WO Z61/Flattener) used off of Cloudy Nights.
Suggestion for a 5 min video: You mentioned flying with smaller setup, like the Star Adventurer. How about a video on how one travels, ie packs such gear? I can easily pack my SUV up with all my gear and drive to a dark sky location, but flying??
Yes, it's a good idea! I'm taking a trip in August so I will make the video then!
this is so interesting when working with ultra low light levels. 😎 great camera imaging is another world of exploration. 🤩 Thanks a lot.
This was so well done Nico, awesome video!!
Thanks Helena! 🤘
One wonders sometimes where astrophotography is going with regard to objective science versus photo-art. Should aesthetics trump reality? At the high-dollar end especially, is the real motivator ego - "adore my stuff" - rather than learning and scientific inquiry? It's a personal choice of course, but non-professional photographers often end up spending a ton of money unwisely (relative to their household budget) with the sole aim of garnering popularity while simultaneously competing against thousands of others doing exactly the same thing. This powerful impulse drives the entire industry of course. The same applies to the worlds of terrestrial photography, high-end audio and so-on, where elitism becomes the goal. Believe me, I'm a victim too!
At any rate, it was highly gratifying to see you cover all the bases here Nico, thank you.
For the Sky-Watcher Star Adventure, I made my own counterweight with long bolt and nuts, much cheaper. I got a very cheap item that fits in the hotshoe flash adapter, and epoxied a cheap red dot finder on to that. Now I set up, attach the red dot to the hotshoe, align it with the camera on a bright star, then I can get the camera aimed at things you can't see using the red dot.
Hi, Nico. I just bought the Apertura 72mm a few minutes ago. After several years of shooting with a dslr and lens setup including a star tracker and sometimes my AVX mount, I finally decided to try a telescope. I have a Celestron SLT 130 Newtonian which I bought over 10 years ago but never modified for astrophotography. I also have a Lunt 40mm solar scope. Since I like to shoot birds and other wildlife, I bought a Tamron 150-600mm lens a few years ago which I used for astrophotography from time to time. It did well enough for lunar photography but was pretty bad beyond 300mm for galaxies and nebulae. After months of clouds and hazy skies, I finally got some time this week to shoot. I tried the Pinwheel Galaxy and the Whirlpool Galaxy with that Tamron lens @ 300mm and I just wanted to cry. All that time just felt like a waste. I need a telescope. So, hopefully, I can finally capture some nice galaxies and "smaller" nebulae. I'm going to need to learn autoguiding since I never really needed it before with my 135, 85, 50, 35, 12mm lenses. Anyway, just wanted to say thanks again for showing what you can do with a nice doublet scope. That gave me the kick in the pants to just buy it already. Know anyone that wants to but a 150-600mm Tamron lens for f mount? 😉
The gateway drug is truly a gateway drug 😄
It was my gateway drug for sure.
Mine as well ❤
Same here 🙂
Very informative and helpful. Great time to be into astrophotography!
I'm always looking for cheaper or well-functioning DIY tools. Anything that kids can afford always gets a ❤ from me.
I didn't know I had an "astro" camera setup worth double the best here, although I am sure there are much more expensive setups, which go into the multi-million dollar range. I have the Nikon D6 and 500mm f/4E VR FL lens plus a TC-14E III teleconverter and a PMG TR42L tripod with Zenelli Carbon X gimbal head, which is about $21,000 but I don't do much astro. I unfortunately live in a high light pollution area and although I get some great moon shots, I've never taken any other astro type shots, but I plan to soon. I'm hoping to travel to a relatively close place called Joshua Tree, CA. I also have the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens which I hear is a great astro lens, so I'll probably use that. Interesting stuff, I'm definitely looking to try this genre out, guess thats why I clicked on this video, lol.
Nice gear! Yes, a wide angle f/2.8 lens is great for milky way and starry night shots. It's fun to get some interesting landscape features in these too, which should be fairly easy to do at Joshua Tree.
if you're not getting much use out of it, i can take it off your hands haha
Great video, I like the way you cover the whole journey for a budding astronomer/astrophotographer. If you get bitten by the bug using a smartphone you should follow these stages to enjoy you development journey, don’t jump in at the final stage even if you can afford it, or you won’t appreciate the journey.
I’m not even close to where I want to be with astrophotography, but I’m pretty happy with position I have now :)
60k views! You deserve it nico
This is gonna be great! 😀
Wow... These images are just so beautiful. I didn't know you could make such images of the night sky with your phone! I'm in need of a hobby, and I have a new born son. I remember how I got into astronomy when my dad bought me my first book about the planets (included Pluto back then), when I was eight. I don't even have a camera. But _I am_ willing to spend money on a hobby, if this turns out addictive. I live close to a forest, around farmland, and not too much light pollution here, so it's ideal. I'm just thinking it would also be a very healthy hobby to introduce to my son when he gets old enough. _(An added bonus is that we only live two hours from Torun in Poland)._
I find it extremely comforting seeing this uncountable amount of stars and realising that our existense and the destruction coming with it basically beeing void.
deep thoughts
I don't know how people conclude to this point
@@erito9507 Why do you think that? Imagine a white 16*16 pixel- and a white 4k pixel picture with each having one dead pixel on it. On the 16*16 it's truly visible on the 4k it isn't noticable at all. On a small scale the pixel is destroying the Image, but on a larger scale the pixel exists without problems. Transfering this effect to the destruction of earth means that even if we destroy us and our planet, even our solarsystem, there is still a unimaginable larger part of the universe that stays uneffected by us. Surely it would be much better to not destroy the earth and keeping the earth livible is a goal we should never give up, but if it should happen, I could still rest in peace knowing that we are just like one dead pixel on a 4k screen.
@@dem4xed and why do you care that the universe doesn't care about us?
@@erito9507 What do you mean by that?
Fantastic video. Thank you. I am in the discovery process.. trying to learn what astrophotography is going to require of me. What the journey looks like. And this video answered so many questions and contributed to the framework of my understanding.
I recommend using magic lantern firmware with the Canon cameras, this you can skip the shutter release / intervalometer
I agree, I am also running magic lantern
Yep, I use it too on cameras I have that are supported. The Canon 2000D/T7s that I was using in this video don't have ML builds, but I do use ML on my 60Ds.
Excellent video! Stellarvue is actually just a few blocks away from where I live. I was happy to see a video using their equipment.
Such a fantastic video. Really breaks it down to what level we think we are. Personally I'm probably around the Keeping it Simple to the Gateway Drug, setups. But this video is definitely peaking my interest in the subject. Thanks for doing this :)
Glad you liked it! Clear skies :)
@@NebulaPhotos I am curious how the Keeping it Simple would look with the better 135mm f/2 lens from the Gateway Drug setup. I have an old Celestron C5+ (from the mid '90s), but I haven't really tried many pictures in the last 20 years outside of a few lunar eclipse shots or some simple one long exposure shots with my DSLR on a tripod. This video has me curious to try again using a Keeping it Simple type setup with one of my better L lenses or through the Celestron C5 and taking advantage of newer software advancements for stacking frames, etc.
@@alangil40 This video I made may be of interest: th-cam.com/video/mYucAuUrdTs/w-d-xo.html I didn't use the Rokinon 135, but a Canon 200mm L (with and without a star tracker) and compared results with equal total integration. Interestingly, I preferred the result with the star tracker, but many in the comments preferred the result with only a tripod (no tracking).
Loved the b-roll footage, looked really professional
Wow echt gutes informatives Video, love it👍👌
Thanks for the video. Very clear explanation and even I could follow.
I would love to be able to start astrophotography someday but light pollution is a big problem here in The Netherlands.
You got me pretty interested in trying this for myself in the future. Thanks for sharing your experience and all the details that you did :)
Rokinon / Samyang / Walimex 135mm really is an excellent lens and is often available second hand as well. Also a very nice portrait lens if you are comfortable focusing manually.
Amazingly informative video that must've required a lot of work.
Just did my first astrophotography attempt yesterday with a D750 and a 50mm f1.4. I was 8 minutes away from Tadousacc, Canada in a super dark flat area. It was fucking awesome.
Those photos look unreal. Space is just amazing
You should putting in the $5 category, I have the candidates;
"caffeine provider", "ginger brewer", and "pizza advocate"
😂
✨stock photos✨
Congratulations Mr Carver for this great and helpful video , you're an astrophotography encyclopedia !!
Ha, thanks. Glad it was helpful! :)
DSLR, AT60ED, L-eNhance, autoguiding and platesolving through AstroBerry… on a Star Adventurer! What category is that?
Ooh, I like that kit. Perhaps the "High Tech-er"
I shoot with The Gateway Drug, and the best trick I have found in the last couple years is to mount a cheap red dot sight in the hot shoe. There are a couple of cheap aluminum adapters on amazon, as well as inexpensive sights. I think i spent maybe 30 bucks total.
A few minutes in the kitchen to get it lined up so the dot is roughly in the middle of the frame, and now it's SUPER easy to know exactly where the camera is pointed. Easily enough to check against a star chart app to make sure you're framing what you want.
This took me from being incredibly frustrated and wasting a lot of an imaging session just trying to get to my targets, to being on them in a matter of minutes. Game changer!
Yes, I was kicking myself that night for not remembering any of my finder devices 😅
@@NebulaPhotos Haha. I bet! Weather's been awful in our area (Boston'ish), but hopefully we get some clear nights in the next moon cycle. Clear skies!
Another awesome well explained and informative video Nico. Thanks ;-)