Compact or small mirrorless camera for star landscapes

weepete · Jan 17, 2020

I'd really like to try and take some night shots while I'm out fishing. There's some guy's getting some cracking shots like this:

Century Sea Fishing

Now, I know the theory behind it but a DSLR is simply too heavy to cart around when ounces count. Even with my lightweight setup I'm already carring around 30lbs between my tackle box, bait and beach rods and that's not counting the weight of a flotation suit or waders. Also sea fishing in the UK is a messy, smelly buisness and anything I take is unlikely to stay clean. No way I'm taking my 5d IV

Unfortunatley my cell phone won't cut it for star shots though it's ok in decent light. I really don't want to spend a lot, as there's a good chance anything I take will end up pretty trashed. I don't need top quality either, just enough to post online maybe a small print (the latter is not essential)

Having a gander on e-bay there are some used Sony A5000s going for around £100 which would not be unreasonable and I like the look of but I wonder if there's a lighter compact camera around that would be suitable? Leicas and the RX1R are out, far too costly, but I've zero experience of 4/3rds or 1" sensors and how they may perform for astrophotography. Prices of used RX100s are still a bit high as ideally I'd like to spend under £100 but I could go to £150 max for the right camera and a fast, wide (ish) lens. I'm prepared to forgo weather sealing to save cash and stick it in a waterproof bag until it's used. Maybe I'm still being too much of a gear head! Looking for thoughts and reccomendations please?

Thanks

Pete

Derrel · Jan 17, 2020

Recently the Google pixel 3 phone has been advertised in American theaters showcasing its night sky mode , with good Milky Way photos. I have seen a few Milky Way photos made with this phone, and I think with a decent tripod or camera support you could do pretty good work with this phone camera, especially if you don't need to make large prints.

Jeff15 · Jan 18, 2020

Look at the the Sony RX10 M4........

weepete · Jan 22, 2020

Derrel said:
Recently the Google pixel 3 phone has been advertised in American theaters showcasing its night sky mode , with good Milky Way photos. I have seen a few Milky Way photos made with this phone, and I think with a decent tripod or camera support you could do pretty good work with this phone camera, especially if you don't need to make large prints.

Thanks Derrel, that google night sky looks very interesting but no plan to change my phone soon. The pixel 4 is a bit lacking in other areas too, and a lot of the time I use mine for stuff I'd have used a laptop for a few years ago. Hopefully they'll eventually roll out that AI for the android platform and we can get it in all platforms.

Jeff15 said:
Look at the the Sony RX10 M4........

Thanks Jeff, but I think that's a bit big, not much difference between that and a DSLR.

Finding it difficult to find a proper compact that could take a shutter release though some have apps it's unclear whither these would work in bulb mode. Looking at the used prices of the A5000 I'm more and more liking the idea and the APS-C sensor I think would be a plus.

TWX · Jan 22, 2020

Christopher Frost on his Youtube channel just upgraded from the M3 to the M6-II and while cameras aren't the main focus of his reviews, he's commented that the new camera's low-light performance is much improved over the old one. Would you be able to rent something to try it prior to buying, or would that cost enough to not be justifiable?

weepete · Jan 23, 2020

TWX said:
Christopher Frost on his Youtube channel just upgraded from the M3 to the M6-II and while cameras aren't the main focus of his reviews, he's commented that the new camera's low-light performance is much improved over the old one. Would you be able to rent something to try it prior to buying, or would that cost enough to not be justifiable?

I'd be leery about renting, less to do with the cost and more to do with cleanliness! The baits I use tend to be very messy, smelly and will end up all over any gear I take. Really the only thing that gets the smell out is bleach

I normally fish at least one shore trip per month, but I can do a little more than that. At this time of year fishing into darkness is common and happens on most trips from October to March normally in places with pretty dark skies.