Start with a camera
Get more from your DSLR or mirrorless
You already own a camera that can capture the night sky. The gap between a noisy snapshot and a photo worth printing is settings, tracking, and processing. All of it is learnable.
A DSLR or mirrorless body reaches targets a phone can't: nebulae, galaxies, long star trails. It also adds a few skills to pick up. None of them are hard once someone shows you the order to do them in.
Settings that actually work
The exposure, ISO, and focus choices the night sky needs, and why the camera's auto modes get them wrong.
Tracking for sharp stars
How a small star tracker follows the sky so your long exposures stay pin-sharp instead of trailing.
Stacking and processing
Turning a stack of raw frames into a finished image, in free tools and in PixInsight.
Planning a session
Reading the weather, the moon, and where your target sits, so a rare clear night doesn't go to waste.
Your first deep-sky session
- 01
Choose a target and a night
Pick something well placed tonight, then check the forecast and the moon before you commit.
- 02
Set up and frame
Mount the camera on the tracker, line up your target, and get focus right on a bright star.
- 03
Capture your frames
Shoot a set of long exposures, plus the calibration frames that clean up noise later.
- 04
Stack and process
Combine the frames and bring out the detail, from raw files to the photo you wanted.
Go further
Two courses take you the rest of the way
Cayetana Saiz teaches deep-sky imaging with a camera and lens in DSLR Deep Sky Mastery. João Yordanov Serralheiro covers long exposures in the Star Trails Fast Track. Pick the one that matches what you want to shoot first.
See the coursesWhat you need to start
A camera, a fast wide lens, and a small star tracker will get you a long way. If you're choosing or upgrading, the gear guides go deep on each.