Astrophotography has quickly become incredibly popular these days, with the advent of increasingly smaller and affordable star trackers, and not to mention the global pandemic, which has forced people to make do with photographing what is immediately around them, or above them.
If you are thinking about getting into astrophotography, or you already have, and are wondering about taking it to the next level but are unsure how to proceed, then this video is most definitely for you.
Nico Carver, better known in the astrophotography community and on YouTube as Nebula Photos, comprehensively breaks down five levels of astrophotographic equipment in detail. Starting with a humble smartphone and tripod, all the way up to a dedicated astrophotography camera, robust automatic tracking mount, telescope, and all the accouterments and gadgets that go with it, there's a well thought out kit for every budget. And as you can imagine, the budgets increase exponentially, as does the complexity and quality of photos one can achieve as you progress through the various kits he outlines. As someone who is currently advancing through this field, I can personally vouch that the results are worth the expense in time and money if you are ready to tackle astrophotography with any seriousness.
I am constantly amazed though, by the quality of images that can be taken with the minimal amount of equipment, which seems to be Carver’s specialty. Astrophotography is an inherently frustrating realm of photography, and the steps needed to get the fantastic images you see on the internet are sure to scare away most hobbyists. But Carver does an amazing job in this video, and many others on his channel, at explaining that if done carefully, you can get amazing results with the smallest investment. Yes, even a smartphone.
Very good show of the many ways to capture the the night sky!!! Just a hobbyist. I once capture the Milky Way unknowingly till processing recently from 2012 with a Canon T2i and a EF-S 10-22mm f/4 16mm lens just pointed SE. That said, I got into MW after purchase of the Sony A7s in 2014 and finding info of MW on a website and the night vision of A7s Jan 2015. BUT with little info in 2015 anywhere but ran across the new PhotoPills site that explained where and when but lens info was still rare. But as a hobby for years many lenses to ultra ultra wide from a 1635mm f/4 to a terrible Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 but the the 1224 f/4 for both was about getting more sky. But today it is about the MW arc pano with a pano rig, I use the Novoflex Panorama VR-System Slim that has everything from a degree stepper base to an arm for elevation. I have no use for a tracker due to a 190+ degree pano can be done in less than 1 1/2 min. but believe me I went through many autopano gear that never really worked, please be warned and save your $. Info - the faster the glass f/1.4, 1.8, 2.8 requires a faster SS and always use NR for hot/dead pixels hardest to remove, inform because your panos will be faster so even more no need for a tracker when using any lens 24mm or wider. But for 35 to 50mm a tracker is needed. no matter always two or more levels just to get more sky so as to crop to a 3x2 frame. Software is way better today where even PS/Lr will do panos but PTGui has improved the best over the years.
These are sweet photos Edwin!