CAMERA GEAR
You’ll be surprised how little you need to start with Astrophotography. Here’s a basic setup:
Tripod – A sturdy tripod is important as you don’t want the camera to move during those long exposure shots. It’s also handy for it to be light, as the good spots often require a hike. If necessary, weigh it down by hanging your camera bag from it. Just make sure it doesn’t swing in the wind.
Camera – Most modern ILCs will work ne but one that deals well with low light is the best. Paul mostly uses a Canon 6D for its low light performance. You can use a full frame or cropped camera but remember to compensate for the focal length of your lens.
Lens –Use a wide angle lens so
you can get both the landscape in the foreground and as much of the galactic core as possible. Anything from 12mm to 24mm is ne (remember to account for sensor crop). You’ll also want a lens with a wide aperture (ƒ/2.8 or even wider) to let in as much light as possible.
You don’t have to spend a fortune, in fact Samyang (also known as Rokinon) makes a 14mm ƒ/2.8 lens that’s around US$300 to $400 which is much loved by many wide eld. But don’t rush out and buy a lens – Paul recommends you try your widest lens rst and see how it performs.
Shutter Release – To avoid moving the camera while you are taking a shot, use a remote shutter release or the timer built into the camera (set it to a few seconds so you can get your hands off the camera before the shot).