Why Astrophotography?
I’ve always been fascinated with outer space and astrophotography. There’s just something about looking up and standing in awe of the beauty and vastness of it all. It’s inspiring. Even the Psalmist declares, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.” So it’s no wonder we experience that pull to learn more and see more of the heavens around us. We’re all curious explorers in this regard. And this is the genesis of my astrophotography plan.
But exploring the heavens from our little perch here on Earth is not an inexpensive proposition. However, advances in technology over the past decade have dramatically improved our access to this hobby and lowered entrance costs. Nonetheless, it’s still not cheap. Therefore it’s necessary to formulate a strategy whereby I can embark on this amazing journey without selling the house and starving my family. I love it when a plan comes together.
Reality – Level Zero
So, before getting started in this hobby, I can confidently tell you that I knew absolutely nothing about photography in general, let alone astrophotography. So I’m starting from a platform of complete ignorance. But I’ve always had the itch to try this. Besides, with Covid-19 effectively sentencing us to house arrest, now just seemed like a good time.
But am I going to enjoy this hobby long-term? I honestly don’t know. That tells me I need to be judicious with my resources. I don’t need to fill the corners of my house with any more toys that have long since lost their appeal. My overriding concern is that if I plan too big at the start, it’s my lack of knowledge and experience that will frustrate me and spoil my interest – not my gear. This demonstrates the need I have to come up with an astrophotography plan.
Start Small and Build Up
My idea is to start small and then build up my investment in this hobby over time if I find this is something I stick with. Plus, given where I’m starting from, I want to reduce the complexity as much as possible so I can also learn the basics over time. I’ll have enough to worry about with learning about photography, never mind trying to figure out how to align, track, target, guide, control, and set up a lot of extra equipment which if not perfectly tuned will yield horrible results.
I decided to embark on this journey by simply starting with a DSLR camera and a tripod. The thinking goes, if I buy a decent camera and tripod and all my glorious plans for becoming a master at astrophotography don’t pan out – what have I lost? If I don’t fall in love with astrophotography, we have a decent family camera that we can use. And my boys will have something to use with their school projects. Cool.
So that’s where this story begins. After doing a little research I decided to purchase a Canon EOS 250D camera that also happened to be on special locally. I opted for the EF-S 18-135mm IS kit lens because I figured I’d want to explore using a variety of focal lengths and didn’t want to limit myself to wide-field photos. After all, I want to get after deep sky objects.
Additionally, I wanted a stock camera that would allow me to eventually purchase a wide variety of lenses that I could potentially use with other cameras. For instance, maybe in the future, I’ll decide that I’d like to purchase a full-frame or mirrorless camera. With this consideration, I’m not locking myself into purchasing just EF-S lenses moving forward (if of course, I stay with Canon).
Astrophotography Plan Investment Strategy
| Time | Level | Equipment |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Novice | DSLR camera with kit lens and tripod |
| First Year | Beginner | 1-2 fast (wide aperture) prime lenses, intervalometer |
| Second Year | Intermediate | Star tracker, 200mm+ prime lens |
| Third Year+ | Serious | First telescope, monochrome camera, filters, guide scope |
This design is built on the concept of not making any niche investments in equipment for the first year. In other words, anything I buy while I’m just getting into this hobby is not a dedicated piece of equipment that can only be used for this hobby. The first real piece of dedicated equipment that I’d be looking to invest in is a star tracker but only if I’m sure I’m going to stick with it.
If you’re curious about how I’m coming along with my investments and you want to follow along, I’ll be posting all of my astrophotography equipment on the My Gear page.
So that’s the plan. Now it’s time to get out with my camera in tow and start taking some photos!