My Journey into Astrophotography

Since the day that I remember, I have always been interested in skies. I grew up in a small village, under a sky with many stars visible. In a clear night, and if the street lights are not on for any reason (power outages were very common back then), you could see Milky Way with naked eye. When we moved to the nearby city, Çanakkale, the window of my room was looking at the east, and I used to wait until very early morning just to see the planets rise before the Sun. I was in awe with the beautiful skies, especially the Moon and Venus. I always wanted to do something related to space for a living, even go to space one day.

As reality set in as I grew up, those grand ambitions gradually faded. The dream of becoming an astronaut morphed into hopes of becoming a fighter pilot or an astronomer. Eventually, my interest in technology took over, and I pursued a career in computing. While I recognize that I have achieved some of my dreams, none of them have been related to space, much to the disappointment of my childhood self. Though my passion for space never waned, the demands of life and career created distance between me and those dreams. Even the idea of becoming an amateur astronomer remained just that—a thought.

Eventually, I have taken up photography as a hobby, and from time to time I attempted taking some Milky Way photographs to some level of satisfaction. Yet, the thought of photographing deep-sky objects always intimidated me due to the costs of the necessary equipment.

In April, I was fortunate enough to witness a total solar eclipse. As the event approached, I immersed myself in articles and videos on how to prepare for viewing and photographing it. Ultimately, I decided to use two sets of equipment to capture the event:

1. My mirrorless camera with a telephoto lens mounted on a star tracker (or rather an EQ Mount).
2. A SeeStar S50 as a backup, in case the camera setup didn’t go as planned.

I bought a Sky-Watcher Sky Adventurer GTi to mount my Sony A7R III and used a Baader AstroSolar White-Light Safety Film to create a filter for my Sigma 150-600mm telephoto lens (converted from a Canon mount).

I also purchased the SeeStar S50 because of its impressive features, especially given how simple and easy it is to use. I figured it would also come in handy for casual stargazing since it didn’t require a complicated setup.

Despite challenging weather and last-minute changes in location to avoid clouds, I witnessed the total solar eclipse and took numerous images. The experience was surreal. I had seen partial solar eclipses before, but nothing compared to the awe of totality.

I was able to capture these images with my camera’s remote while never taking my eyes of the Sun:

And SeeStar S50 worked almost flawlessly (except it misjudged the Sun right before and after the totality and lost tracking briefly) and I was able to capture an awesome video:

All these ignited my passion about space and desire to do astrophotography. After editing solar eclipse images and videos, sharing them on social media, one evening, I took my SeeStar S50 to my backyard and aimed it to the Moon:

Although it isn’t something striking and I could take a better quality image with my mirrorless camera, using this little telescope started to feel right, and I started to look for other targets.

In the same night, Messier 101 or The Pinwheel Galaxy was high in the sky and I aimed SeeStar S50 to it. As it took several photos and stacked them, the galaxy was clearly visible. After sometime, I was able to get this image:

Even though this is not a clean image and has a lot of noise, it was exciting to see a galaxy 21 million light years away!

The very next night, I aimed Seestar to Messier 51, The Whirlpool Galaxy and with some small setting changes, I got much better image of it:

Then I regularly started to go outside to my backyard with this little thing, and kept capturing more objects:

While experimenting with my new toy and capturing more images, I kept diving into articles and videos on deep sky image processing. Aware of the limitations of this small telescope, I decided to give my mirrorless camera and tracker a try for better results.

Trying to use tracker and camera

It was painful. Really painful.

First, I struggled to understand how to properly do a polar alignment. It seemed like the personal challenges I was facing had taken up so much mental space that even simple tasks felt difficult. As a result, I couldn’t get the mount to track correctly, and I wasn’t able to capture exposures longer than 30 seconds without the stars trailing.

Focusing was a real challenge as well. The focus ring on the lens was frustrating to use, making it difficult to achieve sharp focus. Things improved slightly when I tried using a Bahtinov mask, but I still couldn’t get it just right..

Then came the processing… I might have been a bit too ambitious with the targets I chose. Living relatively close to Manhattan, I don’t have the pristine skies of my childhood village. My backyard is under Bortle-7 skies at best, compared to the perfect Bortle-3 skies back home. The combination of heavy light pollution, using an unmodified camera like the Sony A7R III, and my beginner-level processing skills led to some pretty poor results—like this one:

It may look arguably better, and I think I could process it much better now, but at the time, it was very disappointing.

Learning to process images better

I was watching more and more videos about how to process sky images, I came across a video on how to process SeeStar S50 images in Siril. I followed the instructions in the video to reprocess M16 Eagle Nebula image that I previously took, and I had a more encouraging result:

After seeing this, I continued to take more images with SeeStar S50 to apply newly learned processing methods:

Although I was happier with these results, I wanted to take cleaner and better images. I was bothered by not being able to use my EQ mount.

Getting an astro camera

Sony A7R III is a very capable and versatile camera. It is literally a beast. It has a great sensor and capable of creating high resolution images. The mount that I was using was capable of carrying it too. So, why would I buy an astro camera?

1. Cooling System:

Many dedicated astro cameras come with active cooling systems. This cooling helps reduce thermal noise during long exposures, which is critical for capturing faint details in deep-sky objects like nebulae and galaxies. While mirrorless cameras like the Sony A7R III have excellent noise control, they lack this active cooling, making them more prone to noise during long exposures.

2. Sensitivity to Infrared (IR):

Astro cameras are often modified to be sensitive to a broader range of wavelengths, particularly hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) emissions, which are common in nebulae. The sensor in an astro camera can pick up more of this light compared to a stock mirrorless camera.

Standard mirrorless cameras have IR filters to prevent certain wavelengths from reaching the sensor, which limits their ability to capture details like the reddish glow of H-alpha regions without modification.

3. Higher Dynamic Range and Bit Depth:

Typically, astro cameras offer higher bit depth (e.g., 12-bit, 14-bit, or 16-bit), which provides more dynamic range. This allows for finer details in both faint and bright areas of the image. While high-end mirrorless cameras also have good dynamic range, their sensors are optimized for general photography rather than faint astronomical targets.

4. Adaptability to Telescopes:

Astro cameras are specifically designed to be easily mounted on telescopes and come with features like cooling and precise manual controls for long exposures. Many astro cameras also offer monochrome versions with better sensitivity for narrowband imaging, which is popular in astrophotography. While you can adapt a mirrorless camera to a telescope, it’s not always as straightforward, and the form factor may not be as optimized for such setups.

5. Specialized Features for Deep-Sky Imaging:

Astro cameras are tailored for deep-sky imaging, offering better sensitivity in specific wavelengths, less noise over long exposures, and more compatibility with astrophotography software. Mirrorless cameras excel at general-purpose photography and can do decent astrophotography for wide-field or planetary shots, but they may not capture the same level of detail for deep-sky objects without modification.

I spent days for reading and watching reviews for astro cameras. I didn’t want to buy somthing very cheap which I will eventually end up spending much more to get an upgrade and I didn’t want to spend too much for a much more capable camera because by the time that I will need such camera, new cameras will apear in the market with better capabilities which will make me want to buy them.

I ended up buying ZWO ASi 533MC Pro because of these reasons:

1. Decent resolution (3008 x 3008 pixels)
2. 14 Bit depth
3. Cooling system
4. Zero amp glow

I had to buy Canon to M42 mount adapters to adapt my Sigma 150-600mm or maybe my older Sigma 70-200mm lenses to this camera.

I also went a bit overboard and bought a dual narrow band filter to filter out unwanted wavelenghts and light pollution.

Getting a controller for guiding

Then I needed a computer to control my rig. There are many options here. I could either use a PC with a guiding software such as PHD2 or N.I.N.A. or I could get a dedicated guiding computer like ZWO ASI Air.

Using a PC offers more flexibility and access to different software, which is great for astrophotography. However, I didn’t have an old laptop lying around, and I definitely didn’t want to buy a new one just for this. Even if I had an old laptop, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it outside, connected to the rig all night long.

I could by a mini PC, but the cost of it was similar to an ZWO ASI Air Mini, but it would be bigger and heavier.

Although the geek in me was excited about the idea of building a new PC and customizing all the software, the rational—and perhaps more practical—side reminded me that my main goal wasn’t to tinker with computers, but to take better images. So, I ultimately talked myself out of it.

I decided to go with ZWO ASI Air Mini. It is a small computer that can be attached to the rig easily, its software is easy to use and comes with a lot of convenience. I can just leave the rig outside and sit on my couch in the house and control the rig on my iPad.

It quickly became very costly since I also needed a guidescope and guidecamera. I went with the decent but the cheapest options that I could find to keep the cost down. I got a ZWO 30mm f/4 Mini Guide Scope and ZWO ASI120MM Mini Monochrome Astrocamera.

First Image with new setup

As if following the laws of the universe, the moment my new equipment arrived, the skies were immediately covered with clouds. When they finally cleared, I set up my rig outside and spent nearly an hour trying to get the polar alignment right. Thankfully, with the help of the ASI Air software, I finally learned how to do it properly. I figured out what I’d been doing wrong and what I had missed before. Now, it only takes me a few minutes to nail the polar alignment.

Then the focusing issues resurfaced. Since I hadn’t made any changes to the optical system, I was still stuck using the same sensitive focus ring on the lens. It was incredibly tricky to fine-tune, making the process frustrating all over again.

After spending who knows how long setting everything up, I finally had a moment to check the Sky Guide app to see which deep sky objects were visible. I noticed that from my vantage point, the constellation Cygnus was rising behind my house. Without hesitation, I aimed my rig at the Pelican Nebula and began taking one-minute exposures. I stayed up all night, watching the faint outline of the nebula slowly appear in the light frames on my iPad’s screen. I kept going outside to adjust the focus, as it would shift due to the changing temperatures throughout the night.

After taking dark, flat and balance frames, not able to fight the sleep any longer, I went to bed in the morning.

Processing time

I won’t lie—I had no real idea what I was doing. Despite everything I had learned up to that point, I still lacked hands-on experience with stacking and processing software. I had about four hours of data, but I wasn’t sure how to handle it.

I tried applying what I had learned, experimenting with Siril and Photoshop, but the results were a disaster. It was a frustrating experience, and I felt deflated.

However, I’m not one to give up easily. Acknowledging my lack of experience, I decided to approach the situation with a beginner’s mindset. I convinced myself to forget everything I thought I knew and found a tutorial video to follow step by step.

I cannot thank Deep Space Astro enough for this video:

I followed the video step by step to process my data, and the moment I saw the image start to take shape, I was elated. The final result wasn’t perfect, but it was enough to make me feel relieved and happy.

After seeing these results, I was excited to try other targets with longer total exposure times. As I captured more images, I also watched additional editing tutorials from various astrophotographers to refine my skills. The processing routine I now use is largely based on this tutorial from the Nebula Photos channel on YouTube:

After gathering 6 hours of data from the North America Nebula and Pelican Nebula in the constellation Cygnus, I followed the steps in this tutorial (with the only difference being that I used Siril first and then Photoshop instead of GIMP). The final result gave me a renewed sense of confidence and hope for future projects:

It was beautiful! I was thrilled with this outcome. But the perfectionist in me wasn’t completely satisfied with the stars. Their shapes revealed that they were slightly out of focus, and there was also some distortion. It was a reminder that there’s always room for improvement.

This didn’t stop me from trying again, and I carried on with more imaging sessions consist of multiple nights. I love the way they came out:

I was thrilled with the images, but at the same time, incredibly frustrated by the persistent focus and fringing issues. No matter what adjustments I made, the stars just didn’t look right. It became clear that the optical side of my rig was holding me back. A dedicated telescope was needed to take my astrophotography to the next level.

Search for a telescope

Choosing a telescope is really hard. There are many types of telescopes and so many options for each type. Each type have their strengths and weaknesses. You instantly feel the “paralysis of choice”.

Considering I was just starting out, a refractor telescope seemed like the best option due to its ease of use and versatility. However, I was also drawn to the idea of having better magnification, which made reflector telescopes tempting. Reflectors are fantastic for magnification and produce much sharper images—something I really appreciate. The downside, though, is that they’re generally much larger, bulkier, and heavier compared to refractors, which makes them less convenient for regular use.

During my search for a telescope, I came across this video from Wido’s Astroforum channel:

Reflector telescopes also require a process called collimation. It is essentially a process of aligning the mirrors (hence the word reflector). Although the process is not too complicated, it requires some experience. I went back and forth with the idea of getting a Newtonian like Apertura CarbonStar. I also considered going crazy with a modified Schmidt-Cassegrain like Celestron EdgeHD 8.

Eventually I decided that as a beginner, I didn’t want to deal with the bulkiness and quirks of the reflectors. I decided that I have to go with a refractor.

The newly released Askar V seemed like the perfect telescope for me. It offered versatility with its modular design, had good quality optics, and the reviews were generally positive. However, there was one major drawback: I didn’t want to spend $1,600 on a refractor right at the start. While the Askar V’s modularity provided good value, allowing for six different focal lengths, only three of them were realistically useful to me. I didn’t want to pay extra for focal lengths I’d probably never use. At the same time, I wasn’t willing to compromise on optical quality. For a similar cost, I could get a refractor with even better optics, which made me reconsider the purchase.

I looked at the famous RedCat/SpaceCat series from William-Optics. Although they are lovely and high quality products, the 51mm version didn’t make sense to me. At least for the beginning. While the 71mm version has the focal length I want, I couldn’t justify the cost of it.

I watched and read tons of reviews for different refractors. I compared their specs and considered their weight and size. In the end I have decided to go with Apertura 75Q Refractor.

My reasons were simple:

1. More affordable
2. Size is just right (39 cm)
3. Weight is within the limits of my EQ mount (3.09 kg) when combined with other equipment (camera, guidescope, etc)
4. Fast enough (f/5.4)
5. Focal length is right in the middle of what I want: 405 mm
6. Has 5 elements optics (Quintuplet), so it doesn’t require a field flattener

First light with Apertura 75Q

As soon as the telescope arrived, I attached it to my rig and eagerly waited for nightfall. Focusing was a breeze—using a Bahtinov mask made the adjustments incredibly smooth, allowing me to achieve better focus in no time. With everything in place, I started capturing images right away.

I spent 4 nights to just to capture data without doing any processing. When I finally had chance to process the image with Siril and Photoshop, I ended up with the following image:

I know it’s not perfect, but it’s a massive improvement over anything I’ve been able to achieve before. The stars aren’t flawless, but they’re much better—there’s no distortion, and the image is flat from corner to corner. I’m genuinely happy with the Apertura 75Q and excited to use it to capture more deep-sky objects in the future.

Final thoughts

Astrophotography is a hobby that brings together a mix of emotions—fun, frustration, excitement, disappointment, and even self-doubt. There are tons of tutorials, amazing astronomy and astrophotography channels on YouTube, and great forums like CloudyNights to turn to for guidance. If I’d had the time and courage earlier, my journey might have started with much less equipment, and it probably would’ve taken a lot longer to build up a rig with a dedicated astro camera and telescope. But honestly, I’m happy with how things turned out in the end.

Astrophotography can definitely be an expensive hobby, especially when you consider the cost of the equipment—something that can spiral quickly if you suffer from GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), which I’ve experienced before with my photography hobby. I’m hoping to keep it under control this time around. But that shouldn’t discourage anyone from getting started. You can still begin with the camera and lenses you already own, or dive in with a smart telescope like the SeeStar S50, which makes things more accessible.

The journey I’ve shared here outlines how I got into astrophotography and reached a good starting point. I’m not sure where it will take me next, but the sky is the limit—literally.

My current setup

• Telescope: Apertura 75Q
• Mount: Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi
• Camera: ZWO ASi 533MC Pro
• Guiding Computer: ZWO ASI Air Mini
• Guide scope: ZWO 30mm f/4 Mini Guide Scope
• Autoguiding Camera: ZWO ASI120MM Mini Monochrome Astrocamera.
• Filter: Antlia ALP-T Dual Narrowband OIII & H-a

YouTube Channels I Follow

• Nebula Photos
• AstroBackyard
• Dylan O’Donnell
• Galactic Hunter
• Astrum
• Deep Space Astro
• Wido’s Astro Forum
• Astrobiscuit