my arsenal
I get asked all the time about cameras, lenses, trackers, etc! Here is a list of the gear I personally use to for my astrophotography and professional shoots.
Cameras
Both my d810 and d750 are Astro-Modified and Full Spectrum Modified by Spencer’s Camera! Makes a huge difference, the Astro Mod is better for most photographers. My z6 performs well in lowlight, I use it for astro, time lapses, and for professional shoots like product photography. My intervalometer is essential for taking self timing shots when I am solo as well as continuous long exposures (longer than 30”) for tracked and stacked shots of the night sky.
Lenses
Night photography will push your gear to the limit! Over the years I have stock piled quite a few great lenses. My 14-24mm f2.8 (nikon and sigma) is the workhorse for all my day and night photography and for landsapes. You definitely want a lens with an aperture of at least 2.8 to let in lots of light! The Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 has been a budget friendly lens for me when I started astrophotography and is a unicorn lens that performs well at a low price
I love utilizing prime lenses for astrophotography! Especially on a tracker. Prime lenses typically trade focal length flexibility for higher quality images, especially in the corners which matters for night photography as we often shoot with the aperture wide open (when not on a tracker). I love shooting tracked panoramas, or tracked and stacked images, of the night sky, using 35mm, 50mm, and 135mm lenses. It is more work, however you can capture extremely detailed images of the night sky. I love my 150-600mm Sigma for moon shots, as well as shooting some nebulae and galaxies on my bigger trackers. It’s an extremely fun lens for wildlife and landscape photography too!
light and portable
tripods &
Ball heads
One of the most under emphasized pieces of equipment for astrophotography! It’s fun hemorrhaging money for a new lens, but spending big bucks on a tripod? Not fun or glamorous… But the reality is, you NEED a sturdy tripod and bullhead for night photography. I use carbon fiber tripods with heavy bal
G3 Low Profile with PU70 plate
trackers
A German Equatorial Mount, or a “Star Tracker”, is a game changer in night photography. Used by deep sky photographers and in recent years by landscape astrophotographers- A star tracker allows you to blow open the exposure triangle by increasing your exposure time to minutes, allowing you to lower ISO and get much cleaner shots of the sky. I love my Skyguider Pro and Star Adventurer for hiking around, and always bring my Advanced VX or iOptron CEM60 on road trips to utilize my 50mm, 135mm, and 150-600mm lens for extremely long exposures. Make sure you polar align correctly and balance BOTH your Right Ascension and Declination for the most accurate results.
I have guided tons of people for gear recommendations and also shot with many different brands and types of astrophotography set ups, here are my recommendations for each of the major brands! As sensor and software technology improves every year, so does the affordability of high end camera equipment that can capture amazing images of the night sky!
Nikon
Sony
Canon
Camera Bodies
Nikon d610
Nikon d750
Nikon d810
Nikon d810a
Nikon d850
Lenses
Nikon