First camera for night sky pics

[AstroNate]

Hello, new member here of course, so hope this is the right section for this topic.

I'm not very knowledgeable at all with cameras and photography, so I was hoping to find out a little more on what kind of camera/what spec(s) I should look for to take just fairly decent photos of a starry night sky.

I'm planning on going to a dark sky park soon, and like I said I don't really need like a top-of-the-line camera, I just want something good enough to take some pictures with a little better quality than what my phone would give, and be able to see the stars in the photos clearly, that isn't real super expensive. Thanks!

 

[Jeff15]

Hello and welcome, there are lots of cameras to choose from, just use Google to find as much information on each camera so that you can get one that suits your needs, good luck......

 

[Grandpa Ron]

My grand daughter has excellent night photos of the milky way and other star shots with just her camera phone. My grandson has a high dollar Nikon that also takes incredible shots of the night sky. Their secret; many of their best shots are from high in the Rockies in CO or MT. I live with sky glow and haze at an elevation of 850 ft.

Here are some shots with my $400.00 Canon T6 Rebel.
From Iceland


But I do not live in Iceland. So from Indiana, with sky glow and moonlight.
or if clear

The trouble with night photos if you can become a night stalker.
or

Then the fun really begins.

All of these photos were shot with the Canon tripod mounted, an ISO of 3200 to 6400, Exposures of 8 to 30 seconds. If you pursue night shots to will definitely get to know the manual features of your camera.

I was going to try a star trails photo of several hours on the "B" setting, but I am not sure what that would do to the battery or camera sensor.

Good Luck.

 

[Original katomi]

If you are going to do several hours of star trails you may want to consider a mains adapter or a battery grip.
You may encounter problems with the sensor overheating. Coulored edges or even the camera shutting down.

 

[TCampbell]

This really depends on your expectations. Most of the dramatic images you see of objects in deep space are shot with cameras taking several "long" exposures (long... typically being around 5 minutes ... sometimes longer, sometimes shorter). Clearly you wouldn't be able to hold a camera still for that long, so this means the camera is typically attached to some type of mount that is rotating at the same rate the Earth spins (15 arc-seconds per second).

Many common cameras can do this ... so it's not necessarily about the camera quality (although a good camera is helpful) ... it's more about being on a mount that rotates at the same speed as the Earth (Earth spins west-to-east, while mount spins east-to-west ... at roughy 15 arc-seconds per second.)

 

[star camera company]

Yes, best to get a telescope with clock drive or “go to” mount. By arranging counterweights it’s simple to affix any camera. Having a clock drive handling the camera you’re free to block the lens while a plane goes over. Don’t count out Film!

 

[Stormchase]

I have a canon 1000d. It take pretty good star shots. It works fine. I normally shoot 30 sec (max for the camera) and the lowest Fstop I can do. Was normally 3.5. This allows the most light in. You can get one for about 100 bucks with a lens. It will do it. Image quality is not the best but goes up as camera get more money. To an extent. I dont know your budget but i would get a cheap camera body and spend 400 or so if you can on a samyang or like lens. They are cheap but are Exellent for the night sky. That's for milkyway and general stars. If you want deeper sky shots like nebula it begins to cost more.. even a lot of money. But you can get an OK shot with a cheap camera and the kit cheapo 75-300mm lens.
But yes. Look online for cameras for sale. There are some good deals for very capable cameras.

 

[Lonnie1212]

I started off with a Nikon D3200 camera with an 18-55 mm lens. It was the perfect camera to learn photography on. Have had it for 6 years now. Still using it. I think the Nikon D3200 would be an excellent choice for night photography and for learning. You could check out the prices on eBay or a camera shop.