I've always loved space and the stars, and now that I'm able to begin my looking journey I have no idea what brand I should get let alone what type. I see a lot of people saying get seestar, and l've come across some other brands but I just don't know if I can trust those small "digital" telescopes, I feel like they're just too... small to look at anything at all. And I don’t want like over the top telescopes I just want one so I can kick off my future in astronomy

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I did my very first attempt at stacking astrophotography images. The goal wasn't to get an amazing final image, but rather to learn the workflow before my next session, where I'd like to photograph the Milky Way above an old house.

Here's the gear I used:

• Sony A7 III
• Samyang 18mm f/2.8
• Tripod
• Intervalometer
• Sequator for stacking

Camera settings

• Aperture: f/2.8
• ISO: 3600
• Exposure: 20 seconds (Bulb mode)

Intervalometer settings:

• Delay: 2 s
• Long: 20 s
• Interval: 3 s
• Number of shots: 40

At the end of the session, I also captured 20 dark frames by putting the lens cap on while keeping exactly the same settings.

I then loaded everything into Sequator.

First results

My first stacked image honestly looked pretty disappointing.

After reading another Reddit post, someone suggested that instead of feeding the RAW files directly into Sequator, I should first import them into Lightroom, export them as 16-bit TIFFs, and then stack those in Sequator.

While doing that, I also adjusted the white balance (although I'm not sure if that's actually something I should be doing before stacking).

The second result was definitely a bit better, but I'm still somewhat disappointed. Even after editing the final stack in Lightroom, I can recover a little more detail, but nothing particularly impressive.

So I'd really appreciate some feedback on my workflow.

A few questions:

• Does my overall workflow make sense, or am I doing something wrong?
• Should Lightroom adjustments be done before or after stacking?
• Is Sequator good enough for someone at my level, or would another stacking program make a noticeable difference for wide-field Milky Way shots?
• Are 40 light frames enough, or should I aim for 80–100+?
• Are dark frames sufficient, or should I also be taking flats (and maybe bias frames)?
• Is ISO 3600 a reasonable choice? Would increasing the ISO capture more signal, with the extra noise being reduced through stacking? Or is it actually better to stay at a lower ISO?

One last question about exposure time:

I initially used the 500 rule, which suggested about 27 seconds with an 18mm lens. Then I checked the NPF rule, which suggested something closer to 20–25 seconds, so I chose 20 seconds.

However, I'm still getting slightly elongated stars—they're more oval than perfectly round. Is that expected with this setup, or should I shorten the exposure even further (maybe 15–18 seconds)?

My main goal is to learn and improve before my next Milky Way shoot, so I'd really appreciate any advice, corrections, or suggestions. Even if I'm making beginner mistakes, I'd love to know what I can improve.

Thanks in advance!

Are there other ways to avoid dew formation?

Are there any tips on how to avoid breaking the camera? (dew, high temperature changes and etc.)

What should I do with my camera before sunset and after shooting, when I return to my tent?

How do I "acclimatize" it?

Should I use a lens hood or not?

If it helps, I shoot in the mountains at an altitude of 2600-3000 meters.

Hi, i’m about to try my first mosaic with M31, my equipment is a 585mc air and askar 103apo with harmonic mount (wave 100i). as it would be my first attempt at a mosaic, i’m open to suggestions and tips. for example: if i plan to do it in various nights, is it better to finish one panel at a time or maybe a smaller total exposure time of all panels each night? or what are your favourite settings and how you setup a mosaic session in asiair. I would like to hear about all that and other tips you may have on mosaics. Love!!

I'll be shooting a timelapse with about 900 frames.

Should I take one dark frame and edit all the other images using that dark frame, or how many dark frames should I take?

And can I take them home just by covering the lens cap?

And how should I shoot if I need that dark frame, with or without a long exposure NR?

Or can I just remove noise in Lightroom or other apps?

Or will this remove noise from some of the stars, or how does this work?

Please explain..

I tried to take Short exposure Untracked Images in RAW pro mode in my nothing phone 3A , but the image had lot of Hot pixels , Like RED , BLUE AND GREEN. noise isn't an issue but this is ! Anyone figured out how to solve this?

Hello folks.

After a 2 year stop the craving for astrophotography got a hold of me again. Back then i had a ton of good equipment. Sadly i sold all of it (Besides a Canon 70D Fullspec i never used).

I started with only a Eq5 and moved to heavier mounts and scopes. At the end i had an Azeq 6 and a 80PHQ. Turns out the loadout was to heavy and big for my comfort and i started to size down to a more compact one which materialized a harmonic mount and multiple small apos.

Want to avoid this error and unnecessary money spending so id stay with a smaller, compact and fast to use setup.

Currently i have only cameras (The canon + a Nikon 6II) and would prefer to keep it on a budget in case i wont get to use it as much as i would like.

Thought about the following options:

Nikon Z6II / 70D

Skywatcher GTI

Askar FMA 180 Pro

No Guiding / only if needed

Another option is to sell the Z6II and get either a better small apo or a better mount. But it should be powerable by battery and i dont think there is a really better option in the same format.

(What other scope / mount?)

Id really like to try the fullframe sensor but i dont know if its worth it. Im familiar with nikons problems.

Has anyone used the Z6II for AP? Images i saw seem promising.

Thanks and cs :)

What I have:

Sony a6300

What I _think_ I need:

• Zenithstar 61 (360mm)

• Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi Mount Kit

• William Optics Flat61 Field Flattener

• Sony E-Mount M48 T-Ring Adapter

• 2x or 3x Barlow Lens (moon photography)

• Intervalometer

• NP-FW50 Dummy Battery to USB

Seems like it will total out to about $1700. Any recommendations to save money? Are there buy/sell groups or something?

For context, I live in the NYC tri-state area.

Thanks in advance!

I recently bought a svbony sv503 70ed upgraded quadruplet, i use a Nikon Z50, was wondering how i would connect the two, i would prefer a threaded connection over a compression fit

Hello everyone, I just recently got my first camera and I'm trying to get into astrophotography. I have a sky watcher heritage 150 that is working great and looks clear through the eyepiece.

However, the photos I get with my Sony a6000 are completely blurry and I can't find out why. Here is the piece I bought to attach my camera to the telescope: https://www.amazon.com/Vbestlife-Telescope-Adapter-Astronomical-Mirrorless/dp/B09331Z12H

I tried moving the camera back and forth to focus it, but the image never improved. I can't figure out how to attach pictures, but my image of the moon is just a white blurry circle. It's not even distinguishable as the moon.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

I've been doing some astrophotography with a stock Nikon Z6+105mm macro lens+star tracker (chinese clone to the nomad MSM) and I want to level up my astro game and start building a dedicated rig. I've narrowed it down to the following items:

• Teseek Juwei 14 Harmonic mount - 697$
• Askar 71F quadruplet - 638$
• SV165 30mm f/4 guidescope - 47$
• GPCMOS02000KPA 290C planetary camera - 145$
• Dew heater - 20$
• T ring adapter - 15$

Total with shipping is going to cost around 1,600$.

I have a sturdy camera tripod, I will be using my laptop+NINA, as well as my Z6 with a dummy battery, until I can save up for a cooled astro camera and then look into more accessories such as narrowband and LP filters. I mainly want to shoot nebulae and galaxies, no real interest in planetary imaging.

What else will I be needing? Power supply/cables/portable battery etc...
I live in the middle east and the used market is non-existent in my country so all the parts above will be sourced from Aliexpress.

I'm planning to shoot astrotimelapse in the mountains at altitudes above 3,000 m.

How do I know when I need a lens warmer and when I don't?

Can you recommend any lens warmers? Or are they all good?

And how do I properly attach them to my lens, for example, to the focus ring or the zoom ring? I have a Sony 18-135mm lens. I'm afraid it might shift focus...

and what about lens hood, should i use it or not

I was doing some research on the sv220 H-alpha Oiii filter because is still at a discounted price on svbony website, but my initial thought was to save up to buy an optolong l-para. Do some of you know the main differences in quality? is the optolong worth the price compared to the one of the sv220? The only difference i've been able to discover is: the halo produced by the sv220 appears to be much more intense than the one in photos taken with the l-para. how much is it manageable in post-processing?

I woke up at 4am this morning to complete cloud coverage. Was looking forward to today for weeks 🫤

I was gifted a lot of equipment and want to know what would be the best use for it and what combination to use. I want to get great photos of the milky way, the moon, Saturn, Jupiter, galaxies and nebulas.

I'm in the North Dallas area but plan to go visit an area with a 3.4 Bortle to get some practice, and then go to a 1 Bortle area.

If I'm using the Star Adventurer 2i, how long of an exposure can I take before the stars begin to go out of focus? And do I take several long exposure shots and stack them to get the best photo? Do I need an auto guide or can I do without for now?

This is some of the equipment I have.

Tripod
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens
Canon EF 100–400mm L lens
Sigma 12–24mm lens
Rokinon 135mm f/2 lens
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i
Atomos Ninja Flame 4K
Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller
Light pollution filter
Meade LX200 12" telescope
Canon EF T-ring
Several filters and adapters for the Meade LX200

So, I just started astrophotography on a Cannon 2000d. The lens is a 18-55mm. I can take pictures of the moon pretty well, but I've been also trying to catch stars in photos, but I can't and it's just black. Anyone know how or even if I can pics of the stars with this camera? Edit: for those wondering, I did some research on Google, but now I want advice from real people who did this, not just sites and AI's.

Spent a small fortune recently on a Celestron CPC 925 and Autoguider and cannot get motivated. Problem is, is that I live in Lincolnshire and it doesn't get proper dark till 11pm. I love my bed too much and should have realised that but I had to scratch the itch but it was costly. Do I persist or sell?