Experienced APers, you have ONE piece of advice to offer newbies...what is it?

[MKHACHFE]

As the title says, if you could only offer one piece of advice to someone starting out in astrophotography, what would you say?

I've only been doing it for a year, so I'm hardly experienced, but I guess my one piece of advice would be to persevere with the processing. Personally, I go through 20+ attempts at processing the harder targets. Discarding and starting from scratch. Eventually, even the most challenging subject emerges.

Don't be discouraged if you can't process an image at first. Keep at it.

Thats one of the biggest lessons I learned, personally.

 

Cheers

[Budgie1]

Research,, research, research.... so you understand the processes for astrophotography and how they differ from terrestrial photography. Read books, watch/read tutorials and don't be afraid to ask!

Don't go target hopping! Set yourself one target for the session and stick with it to get as much data as you can.

 

[Peter Drew]

Steer clear and enjoy astronomy.    🙂

[tooth_dr]

57 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

Steer clear and enjoy astronomy.    🙂

Any need to bash AP?  

[tooth_dr]

1 hour ago, Budgie1 said:

Don't go target hopping! Set yourself one target for the session and stick with it to get as much data as you can.

 

I agree. This is good advice!

[Peter Drew]

7 minutes ago, tooth_dr said:

Any need to bash AP?  

I couldn't bash a paper bag!, just a flippant comment based on the constant AP woes featuring on astro forums.    🙂

[alacant]

13 hours ago, MKHACHFE said:

Keep at it

Hi

Be up and running with the minimum of fuss, stress and mystery by watching someone who knows what they're doing during a few AP sessions.

You also get to see the stuff you need first hand.  

One piece of (from a non-expert) advice? An astro club.

Cheers and HTH

Edited May 21, 2021 by alacant

[Stu1smartcookie]

As someone who really does want to image but hasn't got the patience or the time ( or so it seems ) i would say , try not to compete with others that display beautiful images on here and other forums . Don't set your bar too high . Its a learning curve , a steep one but the principles stay the same whether you are experienced or a newbie . keep your set up simple , at first . I made the mistake of trying to buy everything and not getting good results. Start simple and work up . And the mystery factor is "LUCK " ... we all need it sometimes when imaging 

I finally got an image of M82 ( my profile photo) which to me will always be fantastic . It was on an Eq3 mount with a 150pds and a dslr so you dont have to break the bank . 

[Rusted]

Choose your subject matter very carefully depending on your budget.

You can take pictures of the moon or the filtered sun in white light.
With no more than a small telescope and compact camera or phone camera.
It doesn't even need to be on a driven mounting as long as it is steady.

I've captured eclipses and transits of Venus and Mercury.
With no more than a small refractor on a secondhand video tripod and a compact camera.
Better still would be a plywood, fork mounting on a garden post or a charity shop tripod.

No worries about light pollution.  No investment in expensive kit just to impress other people.

Join an astro club. You get to play with stuff you can never afford.

 

[Marvin Jenkins]

8 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Any need to bash AP?  

Yes! But I also love it. In equal measure to looking through an ep. The latter gives me an immediate feeling of wonder and peace, the former gives me anxiety and heart burn with the occasional picture to keep forever.

I consider them both worthy pursuits but then again I am an angler, so a worm on one end and a fool on the other. 

Marv

[ollypenrice]

Do nothing by rote: even when following oft-repeated and good advice, understand what it is you are doing and why. Processing, in particular, is about thinking, not clicking.

Olly

[pete_l]

14 hours ago, MKHACHFE said:

one piece of advice to someone starting out in astrophotography

Keep it simple.

But not too simple, as Albert might have said. Get a basic system working. Then get it working well, repeatably. Then enjoy it. There are no prizes for money spent (even if some think this makes you a "serious" astronomer) and nobody gets 10 times better images for 10 times more expensive equipment.

Edited May 21, 2021 by pete_l

[MKHACHFE]

18 hours ago, Budgie1 said:

 

Don't go target hopping! Set yourself one target for the session and stick with it to get as much data as you can.

 

Oh my yes. I absolutely agree with this. I was lucky enough to get 5 clear nights last autumn at a B2 site and the first 2 of those I wasted by changing my mind on the target and thinking too much. So yes, plan your target and stick to it.

I was like a kid in a candy store and wanted to "try" everything, but only ended up wasting time and getting very little.

 

Cheers

[MKHACHFE]

18 hours ago, Stu1smartcookie said:

As someone who really does want to image but hasn't got the patience or the time ( or so it seems ) i would say , try not to compete with others that display beautiful images on here and other forums . Don't set your bar too high . Its a learning curve , a steep one but the principles stay the same whether you are experienced or a newbie . keep your set up simple , at first . I made the mistake of trying to buy everything and not getting good results. Start simple and work up . And the mystery factor is "LUCK " ... we all need it sometimes when imaging 

I finally got an image of M82 ( my profile photo) which to me will always be fantastic . It was on an Eq3 mount with a 150pds and a dslr so you dont have to break the bank . 

Agreed. I don't try and compete with others. I know my stars are a bit bloated and elongated in the edges of the image, but I don't care. I know my lens might not be absolutely 100% as focused as it can be, but I don't care. I know that my final images will never win any awards, but I have achieved so much more than I expected to, I'm happy to put up with imperfection at this point in my AP journey.

I don't even feel the need to invest more money into it. My wife asked me if there was anything I wanted for astrophotography for my birthday and the only thing I could think of was to get my camera modified. I have not desire or need at this point, to buy expensive filters, coma correctors etc...

Sorry to ramble on.

[MKHACHFE]

9 hours ago, pete_l said:

Keep it simple.

But not too simple, as Albert might have said. Get a basic system working. Then get it working well, repeatably. Then enjoy it. There are no prizes for money spent (even if some think this makes you a "serious" astronomer) and nobody gets 10 times better images for 10 times more expensive equipment.

Quoted for 100% agreement. Well said. 

[powerlord]

I've been doing it now for 4 months. So clearly I am an expert, and have nothing more to learn. 🤪

however, i think my limited experience might be more helpful to you than folk doing it years, who may have forgotten what it was like to start with.

1. if you know AP is what you want (I didn't) I'd ignore the 'start small/simple' stuff - and get a proper rig from the word go. asi1600, good good refractor, filter wheel, NB filters, etc). If you are that sort of person. It will save you going down infinite rabbit holes with DSLRs, then planetary cameras, and lenses, and filters which later you will all have to sell and will cost you money. the lazy geek has a great video on the AP black hole:

2. get stuff second hand. resale value is then just about what you paid - your hobby will be free!!! (see..that's how my brain works..).

3. pick a target and stick with  it for lots of sessions, try different stuff - that way it's easy to see your progress.

 

[DaveS]

As has been said, pick a target and go deep. Be prepared to put in 20-30 (Or more ) hours, though some targets (Bright globs for instance) will give you a nice image in as little as 3-6 hours, say one or two nights imaging depending on how much astro dark you're getting.

[DaveS]

Oh yes, and what he says in the video, if you can "buy once, cry once".

But the most important purchase was the most expensive, and also second hand, when I moved from light-polluted London to darkest Dorset.

[tomato]

Funnily enough In the early days I used to enjoy capturing 3 or 4 targets in a single night (I still do with the RASA). OK, they weren’t great but I learnt about Goto and the accuracy of 3 star pointing models/meridian flips etc and the buzz of capturing my own image of all of those iconic targets kept me going through the frustrating times. Also  your second attempt on the target is almost guaranteed to be better than your first one, which helps.

My piece of advice, at the earliest opportunity, make your set up permanent, even if it’s only a fixed pier in the garden. Trying to decide when to set up under iffy conditions and then tearing down and putting the kit away at 2 in the morning with work next day wasn’t good.