DEEP SKY Astrophotography How To (Using a DSLR Camera)

Deep Sky Astrophotography using a DSLR camera and telescope.
My Telescope: bit.ly/3WS67IG
Getting Started Guide: bit.ly/2ngb0z3
Image Processing Guide: sellfy.com/p/0zsyyq/
In this video, I'll walk you through the process of taking a picture of a nebula (Cocoon Nebula) from my backyard using a DSLR camera and a small telescope.
Attaching a camera to a telescope, polar alignment, autoguiding, and running a sequence of images are some of the many topics covered in this video.
I touch on the core aspects of deep-sky astrophotography and share my personal results using a DSLR camera and telescope in the backyard.
Thank you all for taking the time to watch my videos!
Affiliate Links:
Some of the links in my video descriptions are affiliate links, which means at no extra cost to you, I will make a small commission if you click them and make a qualifying purchase.

[@iancraig2507]

And I am a 66 year old beginner astrophotographers it also means watching all your videos I can find. You have been such an inspiration.

[@suspats7868]

[@rooftopastronomer2697]

Hey old man. Don't respond/do what these spam replies from bots tell you to.

[@TheWhaddeva]

Go Ian, all the best and enjoy :-)

[@thiy4gu]

Good luck man👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@Doctoberfest]

You've been at it for a year how are things going?

[@Wheeljack678]

I've been dabbling in Astrophotography for barely a couple of years. I learn something new with each of your videos, keep. I really appreciate you "dumbing it down" (in lack of a better term) and over-explaining what perhaps is considered of many to be basic minor details. It really does help.

[@hotflashfoto]

I watched this a year ago and here I am watching it again. I wish I could give it a second like! I'm slowly getting my stuff together and trying to find opportunities to get out more. What I lack at this point is a laptop for auto-guiding. I really appreciate the patience you exhibit toward your craft, and the way you explain things for noobs like me.

[@aemyttyastro]

For Me Being A Beginner 11 Year Old Astrophotographer Means Watching Your Videos A Lot,! Keep Up The Great Work Trevor!

[@AstroBackyard]

That's why I keep making them. Thank you for letting me know! All the best and clear skies my friend

[@ant9944]

AstroBackyard currently starting out untracked. It is helpful to learn processing, although I hope to buy a small tracking mount for my camera soon. (It’s just a Nikon d90 and a 70-300mm zoom lens)

[@gamechecktvbauloewe]

11 Years old? My hope in the upcoming generation is restored.

[@saahilsinha5558]

AE Mytty yeah do that not Fortnite

[@alexvolpe04]

AE Mytty I started when I was 11 years old too

[@WaltherMekkie]

The ending of this video sums it all up perfectly. The sky after sunset, how your busy with it all and the results. And a perfect piece of music along with it. Even my 20 month old daughter is watching it with me...hope she will have the astrovirus as well someday 🙂

[@stevefpv7249]

Hey Trevor! my first passion was viewing thru my Celestron C-90 way back in the 80's. Have a Sky-Mentor 10" dob in the garage that I just dusted off after about 15 years thanks to stumbling onto your vids. Re-realize how much I love it:) Thank you!

[@MilkyMatterCore]

all I can say is thanks! Waiting on my first setup to be delivered now. And I've poured through so many of your videos for either education or inspiration! The APT tool is gonna be my best friend. Automate all the things!

[@michaeloberly6129]

Thanks for doing this very detailed video. It's hard for me to believe how far astrophotography has come since I was dabbling in it 30+ years ago, and it's stunning the results that you and others get from your back yards in city environments. You have what looks like a perfect yard to set up this stuff, anyway. (aside from the mosquitoes -- always a peril of this activity) If I decide one day to seriously get back into this, I'll definitely be using the instructional material you provide here.

[@simonworger]

I followed some it last night but it was quite late in the UK so just finished watching the rest. Love the final image, great colours and no noise. I have a few CMOS cameras, cooled and non cooled but I still like to use the dslr.

[@hossome1]

Still just dreaming about getting into AstroPhoto, but I value the time and effort in putting together this video. Thx for the work!

[@user-cp2oq6hd1x]

Everytime i see you with a light shining on you im like.. How is he not swatting mosquitos! Also having 2 little dogs myself I really enjoy seeing your bond with Rudy, dogs are THE BEST!

[@lyndonvickery2589]

Coming across your videos has brought me back to the night skies.. Having had a 6" reflector of somewhat dubious Russian origins many years ago just visual observing and showing the 'kids' another view of our world was always awesome. Now having seen what you can do from 'your own back yard' with the advances in technology I am again hooked. As usual Trevor a great video. As an aged newcomer some details on physical connections between pieces of kit would be useful . Keep up the great work

[@niklasonne2509]

Great video, and great results Trevor! I bought my first telescope recently and am starting to get into astrophoography. Your videos are always inspiring and it is nice to see some videos for us newbies as well. Kepp up the good work!

[@richardgrudzien2798]

A great video, so helpful for those like me who are just starting out with guided DSLR +telescope astrophotography. Much appreciated, Trevor!

[@kevinf9423]

Absolutely incredible info! Thank you so much! Great pic of the bird too! ☺

[@dianagalaxy7928]

A Red-Shouldered Hawk! They are so beautiful. Oh, astrophotography, wonderful work and demo.

[@ccasche5088]

You have a gift! Thank you for getting so many of us and me started.

[@JohnCollins-qo2bb]

Thanks very much, Trevor, for the very clear and well done Videos. I have 50 years photography experience and one week in Astro, but I'm feeling the passion and looking forward to learning with your help!! Best in All from outside of Boston!

[@bradley8418]

Don’t fix the counter weights. It’s iconic to Astro backyard. You show real results from humble beginnings and prove that one doesn’t need to break the bank to produce great photographs of space. Keep up the great work.

[@andyhello23]

Amazing man, what an average person can do with this stuff today. Just found your vids, and great to see someone trying to help out those beginners. I always think, one of the most beautiful sights in nature, is a clear nights sky. You have a great hobby there, and nice to see how much you appreciate all this.

[@fusion-music]

Love your "mistakes" video and this dslr basics. Glad you are seeing it as important to cover these things.

[@MattsAstrophotography]

Looks great Trevor and thanks for these videos, you have helped me alot over the years so never quit making the beginner to intermediate videos with a ton of info.

[@wardastrophotography5098]

Man.... Your videos are extremely informative and helpful and very enjoyable to watch, I really appreciate the hard work that goes into them and the quality is second to none! 🙌🔭👏

[@johnr1960]

As always, another great, educational video to help all of us that are just starting out. Thanks Trevor.

[@AstroBenni]

really cool videos Trevor ! I really enjoy looking them. i like the way you explain things ! I´m quite new in Astrofotographie but with your videos there is no way not to make it :) Thanks buddy !

[@cdkslakkend5742]

Enjoying learning from your experience. Very excited.

[@Gigglesgirl2000]

Thank you for suggesting to enjoy the view and getting to know the sky first. I just starting watching your great tips. I wondered if you ever just enjoyed viewing the sky. You did your lens to one eye time. I am currently happy finding simple things I have not seen before and taking pictures of my new discoveries with my cell phone. But I want better quality. Got a little Nikon. So not yet a astrophotographer. Just want to remember that enjoyable moment. Thanks again Trevor!!

[@abramians1]

As always, great information! Love the final image!!!

[@azdh85224]

Great video - great advice - thanks so much for sharing your dslr image capture info and knowledge. Btw, nice to see your wife, and Rudy - and your yard looks fantastic. Another Spectacular image! 👍🏻📷🔭

[@maurizioangelo64]

I love your feeling for the nature, for the sky, I love too the sunset, that thst you show to us was so beautiful!! Thanks man!! All the pictures of the sky are very very nice!! Have you a great holiday!!

[@Lessgetbrootal]

This channel is amazing. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us Trevor, it's inspiring

[@AstroBackyard]

Thank you Zach!

[@hkanderful]

Thank you for sharing this great video!!

[@LysdexicGamer]

Literal chills at the end. Great work!

[@neilsmith5883]

excellent video, just what i need to help me decide what gear to start off with.

[@The_OEK]

That was really interesting to watch! Thanks for your videos!

[@eightmilesupwind9030]

OMG. This video is SOOOOO good! Thanks!

[@shawnewaltonify]

This is high quality content you are producing. Really well done. The Cocoon Nebula is very beautiful. Thank-you as always! I am going to focus on observing for now and get a dobsonian, and maybe come back to astro-photography. I'll be watching here.

[@jalenab2374]

I absolutely adore your videos!! I LOVEEEEE astronomy and I have a telescope but it’s not meant for deep sky. I’m saving up a telescope and I watch your video to know what the best thing is to get I’m thinking of getting the setup you have in this video!! I love love loveeeeee the picture you take they’re breathtaking!!!!!! Keep up the good work! 😁😁😁

[@cruikshank]

Thank you again for an excellent video that is informative & entertaining. Your video production gets better with each release.

[@kevinlamberg9724]

Very helpful video-thank you!

[@radpunch]

Watching this while my scope is outside imaging the Iris nebula, the first time I mustered up the confidence to leave my equipment alone outside lol. I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for you Trevor, so thank you for introducing me to this wonderful hobby.

[@AstroBackyard]

Thank you Jordan! Yes, I know that feeling! Cheers

[@merbella4201]

Hi, thanks for an awesome video. I am busy researching what I should invest in to start in astrophotography and your videos and website have been refreshing compared to some tech-heavy videos/websites that I've looked at. You explain things very well. I know I have a ways to go but I feel better informed with every article/video of yours. Thank you.

[@eirikkittelsen9787]

Another great video Trevor! Have just purchased all equipment needed. ASI Air, asi 183mm pro, skywatcher eq6 r pro and all required filters. Now just waiting for nights to get dark here at 60 degrees north in Norway 🇳🇴!

[@TrickshotSchuppi]

Thank you very much for this video. I learned a lot.

[@ibrahimabdoel9601]

Amazing work as always Keep it up!

[@RagMama123]

Excellent informative video. Thanks.

[@Broccoli_32]

Great video Trevor, One of your best!

[@YTMegiddo]

haha, "Staying put like a boss!" I love it.

[@DirbyOne]

Wow!! Just wow! Well worth watching all the way through.

[@markattardo]

Good timing! Just dug my scope out and need to start learning again.

[@scottcameron393]

Glad to see some beginner videos. Thanks!

[@amp2amp800]

Very clear and complete. Been looking for this for a while. Thanks! I thought your final piece of advice was going to be.... insect repellant!

[@tigercloud6945]

I'm glad I stumbled upon your site please keep it up it is very helpful.

[@ME2K23]

Thanks very much Trevor! Really appreciate this type of tutorial. Indeed, very few of us have the knowledge, let along the gear but I can bet many of us want to know what can be done with the basic gear they own, or could get as a startup kit. 👍🌟🔭📷

[@rudycajuso29]

Very nice video, well explained making it easy to follow. Love the image. Keep them coming along with your pod cast, love listening to them on my drives into work. I wish I had skies like yours unfortunately I live in a Bortles 9 area and not too many clear skies.

[@BeautifulL1fe]

Thank you for this very informative video..

[@kevinashley478]

Wow! Great video and as an absolute beginner, this answered some of the questions I had in a comment on another video of yours. Just a couple here: How do you power the rig when you are not at home? Does the software save the images to your laptop vs on the camera card? Once you are polar aligned and tracking, why would you need to use the autoguider for sharp stars? Once you are focused, polar aligned, and tracking at sidereal rate, why would your images show trailing or any tracking errors that would require autoguiding? I hope I am not being a pain in the ass with all my questions. You are an absolute inspiration and it is great and motivating to see someone who is teaching others that is as passionate about the subject as you are. You should be very proud of what you are doing. Thank you.

[@philipgelsheimer5705]

Hey Trevor, great video as I am glad you went back to reintroduce your old equipment and techniques 'cause I am exactly where you were. As I am just 'down the road' from you and part of the Halton Outdoor Group, I can share that when it comes to those mosquitoes I live by 'Great Outdoors' by Watkins. You can get it at a dedicated Hiker shop or even on Amazon. The bugs go from driving me batty to 'what bugs?'. Cheers!

[@emanuelacostagutierrez2255]

Your videos always motivate me to try new techniques I'm gonna start to save money to buy that APO telescope

[@JackMack465]

All I can say is, "wow". The final image left me speechless.

[@AncalimeNL]

1:19 shooting deep sky objects using 'beginner' level gear. Oke, I am interested. I am a beginner. Ffwd to 2.09. What do we see: an expensive tripod, a computerized goto mount with hand controller. A 73 mm apochromatic William Optics Zenithstar 73 refractor telescope with F/5.9 as main scope, paired with a smaller William Optics as a guidescope (with camera of course. A Canon 60 DA (optimised for astrophotography) a dew heater and a laptop. Oke Trevor, I really like you videos, I really do. They are quality, and it's videos like this that made me pick up my old astronomy hobby in times like this, but, I really have to say this: This is by far not a beginner setup. Yes it is a setup I am interested in for sure, but it is really really really not a beginners setup. The amount of cost going into this is huge! I am financially good, but I can not buy this in one go. I am more looking towards a redcat 51 with a skygyuider pro, a good tripod and some other stuff. Even that combination is just south of 2000 bucks. No, I disagree with you in this video. That's not to say that as I mentioned already I think you are a great guy, make great tutorials and videos, but in this case, you have missed the ball...... sorry...

[@aysolar]

Wow - I had no idea! Thanks for sharing your passion

[@ReeWrayOutdoors]

Really enjoyed the music track you used with the final image sequence. Great match! And excellent information!

[@Rockbusters.]

I recognise it from something.

[@taavilez]

Love your channel btw keep it up!

[@marcm9392]

Thank you for all your videos Trevor, they have been extremely useful! I have been shopping for a more serious astrophoto setup for the past few month and I use alot of your info to validate the research i have been doing. I just bought HEQ5 2 days ago and my Zenithstar 73 is ordered. All I need (for now) is a light pollution filter. Would you recommend going with that IDS 2 inch filter to put in the field flatner or a clip-in for the dslr (i use a Canon T3I). I am near Ottawa, Bortle 7 zone. I will be unguided for now. Is their a big improvement when using a guidescope vs the Synscan PEC training? I can't wait to get started with the new gear, its a big upgrade from the Star-Adventurer /EF-s lens.

[@curtishustace]

Im just starting out. This video is very interesting, but looks really advanced. haha. Im going down that rabbit hole pretty fast! Sheese!

[@firemountain8481]

hey brother love your work thanks for helping us all out

[@kensegel5909]

Awesome!! Great work!!

[@emtech7457]

very detailed video, like it

[@patrickwynne6666]

fantastic video clip!! i am just beginning to understand how it's work!! thanks mate :)

[@AstroBackyard]

That was exactly what I was hoping to hear! Thank you!

[@BKBees]

The dust trail is so cool on that image. I thought the cocoon nebula was too small for my 80mm but seeing this makes me want to give it a shot.

[@LifeIsPlug]

You should do a video on setting your polar scope. I had trouble with this and still dont think I perfected it but would be a good video for beginners.

[@billjobes1851]

Thanks very much for the tutorial !

[@ElRumble]

Awesome channel ☝🏼💯

[@cliveroberts415]

I use the live view function with the crosshairs in APT for alignment, much easier than the DSLR screen.

[@rexcao4454]

Hi Trevor, many thanks for this video! I am curious if we do the three-star alignment to improve the polar alignment, plus the guide camera further improves the accuracy. Is it still necessary to do an additional drift alignment?

[@BigTinkerer1]

Good Job as always!

[@cLickphotographySEA]

Amazing ! ! !

[@twilight444m5]

Thanks for all these informative videos! I want to get to get into astrophotography and have the patience to go nice and slow! I have many yrs experience with landscape/wildlife photography and editing. Presently , I have a Skywatcher 120ED Refractor and I am awaiting the Skywatcher AZ/EQ 6 Mount and Tripod. I see many people into this prefer a shorter focal length for refractors but I assume my 900mm scope will be ok for astrophotography?

[@bluegrassengineer]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@tacpreppers4906]

Awesome video!

[@lmo3154]

great video using a cheaper set up just what us beginners need keep up the good work

[@saemranian]

Great, thanks man for sharing

[@122dro]

Thank you for this!

[@patjes2001]

Great video Thank you!

[@MrSpike2450]

Hi Trevor do you happen to know the distance that I need to have my sensor from the back lens if I'm not using a field flattener on the z73 ?

[@Sergeant_Nugget]

I am buying my first home really soon and I really want to give Astrophotography a try. I bought my first DSLR camera and trying to get use to it. I am hoping to buy a telescope by next year and start giving this a go. This video will help me out. Even saving it to get back to this easily.

[@AstroBackyard]

The best of luck Neftali!

[@DonGoddardAllAboutPaint]

Another spectacular video and a great tutorial as well. However, you're about 3 weeks too late. LOL I've chugged through most of this using your other videos as guides and enjoyed it. I would suggest others do the same, even if there is a huge portion of what you need here. The individual videos go more in detail and you get to see more of Trevor's images. Great job, Trevor!

[@curronhill2744]

Really cool video for us new folks. Thanks for making it. Loved the final image. It is amazing what you get in your backyard. How much processing time did you have in it? Do you have any teaching videos on doing the processing? I have mostly been a visual observer, but now want to dabble in this as well.

[@zhymm45]

Trevor, I really love your videos. You provide a great service to the astrophotography community. Just one thing (lol) - as a former astronomy teacher and planetarium director (34 years, I'm retired now), sidereal has four syllables, not two (si·​der·e·​al | \ sī-ˈdir-ē-əl ). Blame the teacher in me for finding your pronunciation a bit jarring, :P Keep up the good work.

[@rishikeshparmeshwar5904]

Thanks for a very informative tutorial. What are the options for an in-camera narrow band filters for Nikon DSLRs? Most of them listed on Amazon are for Canon.

[@wpherigo1]

Nice vid! Thanks from us newbies! Off topic - how do you get the stripes in your yard? Do you set the lawn mower to not be quite level?

[@orionm4254]

Is there a chart of various forms of light, I would like to have a better understanding of planetary and nebula light bandwidth and the various forms of emmisons they produce. Thank you. happy gazing!

[@vitami1]

Great video.

[@robertlennox681]

Trevor, thank you for this video. I am just getting started in astrophotography but so far have not been able to make it past the star alignment stage. You inspired me to buy a WO Zenithstar 73 with field flattener and I have been trying to use it with a Canon Rebel EOS T3i which has nearly identical specs to the Canon EOS 60D you used in the video. However, my experience has been very different from your experience as depicted in the video. Even under a Bortle 3 sky I could not see anything in live view. I thought this was initially due to it being far out of focus. I could only do the focusing "digitally" using EOS Backyard. When it was in focus I still could not see anything in the camera's live view. I believe my settings were the same as yours except I didn't set the shutter speed to bulb. I tried shutter speeds up to 30 sec. I'm wondering if this is a problem unique to the T3i? The T3i live view uses something called Exposure Simulation ("ExpSim") so the display is a simulation of what the image would look like given the selected ISO, shutter speed, and f-stop. It looked like the 60D in your video didn't have ExpSim (?). In any case I haven't been able to find out how to turn it off. Another possibility is that I may have not been pointing to a star that was bright enough. This could be related to problems I was having getting the telescope to point to a selected object such as Arcturus, which should have been bright enough to see if it was actually in the field of view to begin with. This would be an entirely different problem related to my mount and not the camera.

[@ChristopherWhimpey]

Amazing video!

[@guerrerosdigitales]

I have the Sony A7Riii (42 megapixels) and will get the A7Siii (12.5 megapixels but amazing ISO) which of those cameras would be best for astro photography? Also, I have a 16-35mm 2.8 GM lens, would that be great for this or should I get the new 24mm 1.4 GM lens? thanks for your feedback

[@calleywilkinson2371]

I should have added what my set up is, Canon 700D, Skywatcher Evostar 80ED & Field Flattener, EQ6 Pro, 50mm Guide scope. Just setting up, have not started taking photos yet, hopefully shortly. Thank you for all your videos i have learned a lot, which i will be putting into practice shortly Calley Wilkinson

[@wearywanderer]

I am taking my first steps... would you be able to create a video on setting up the flattener out of the box and between the DSLR and telescope?

[@sleeplessingc]

great, great video. top notch. A beginner tutorial on the software would be cool. mention the things that the other guys don't say anything about.