Astrophotography with a 50mm lens

I photograph the entire constellation of Orion with a nifty fifty!

[@jessd423]

Totally thought that lizard was real, even when you were petting it 😂

[@deltaastrophotography]

It scares the crap out anybody that walks into my bathroom lol!

[@ivyghost9878]

ITS FAKE????

[@R-A-F]

@@ivyghost9878 no, it's a real replica reptile made from his dinosaur relatives remains 🙃🤪

[@legolator]

wow that finnished image is insane.

[@AstroEscape]

Dude that cloudy shot was nice. Highlights the constellation itself. Sometimes accidental shots are the coolest!

[@mahmoudeledrissi7234]

It give me excitement to watch your videos to learn and laugh a bit. Great videos bro the best. Lol

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thank you so much!

[@javierdeabreu6565]

Hey! I tried the same shot last weekend, I own a Sony A7II and Sony 50mm f1.8 but at 1.8 stars were way too purple... I had to close it a little bit. Amazing result!! It really encourages me to keep it up!

[@tysonreesmusic]

Tried following this tutorial from start to finish. I am a little confused as the lizard keeps appearing even once I get out to shoot and ruins my exposures. Any advice please

[@deltaastrophotography]

Oh no! Get a little Godzilla. He'll keep the lizard in check!

[@spex357]

I used to live in the middle of nowhere and it has many benefits.

[@poiderh]

G'day from South Australia, I too use the Nifty fifty, but on my crop sensor Nikon D7200, I have a long way to go in my processing, but you have inspired me to push on, I will be going to a very dark location later in the year, if I can get half the clarity you have here I will be happy

[@ruthlessrog1]

Immediately thought about Robin Hood men in tights when you were petting the lizard 😂🔥

[@deltaastrophotography]

One of my favorite movies!

[@manliofaviomascarenosigala3651]

Beyond how amazing is your tutorial to take pictures of night sky. Your style it's incredible.

[@far03005]

Dude!...with the lizards. That was hilarious. I thought it was real on the first shot

[@BLarsenPhoto]

Nice. I must have missed the part about the details of camera settings and how many shots the final image was. It'd be good if you also put that in the description.

[@zelazowy]

Great tutorial of how to mix humor and knowledge, love it!

[@THX-ye1mk]

Started this hobby in December, there is so much to learn. Amazed at the detail you are pulling out, subscribed.

[@TelfordO]

Another fabulous video, great presentation.

[@neftalilara6075]

Wow! You’re the most funny teacher I have ever met

[@IllFlyIt]

Very nice video. Subscribed and eagerly awaiting more. Final shot looked great!

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thanks! I'll try to get the video of how I processed that shot out in the next couple of days!

[@brinkoo7]

First thing I noticed when you zoomed in on tracked photo was m78 !! Love it. So I tried this myself about a week or so ago from a Bortle 8-9 zone and I couldn’t differentiate the light pollution from nebulousity unfortunately. After watching this though I might revisit my shots and see if they can’t be processed better. I’m not sure if I additionally had some funky flats or maybe the focus ring changed when I did my flats but I recall having some obnoxious rings in my processed photo

[@deltaastrophotography]

Where were the rings? I seriously regret not taking flats for the photos in my video. I had awful problems!

[@kevsymonds3875]

Fab pic and great step by step guide

[@kostaskatsalis4668]

Can't believe you were still vloging while you had such clouds behind you!!! Apart from that, great work!

[@haroldbell1246]

I enjoy your approach to astrophotography and the explainations that you present to the viewer. Easy decision to subscribe to the channel. Thanks bunches...HB

[@joelsweatman1503]

Awesome pic and video, thanks for sharing..................................peace

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thanks a lot!

[@lifecrustvlogs]

Nice video mate.. almost convinced me to buy an iOptron Skyguider Pro..

[@deltaastrophotography]

You really should! It's such a game changer!

[@astrodusktilldawn9702]

Thank you for this. Started doing astrophotography about a month ago and bought this lens recently. Nice to see how someone else uses it. Inspiring

[@deltaastrophotography]

I love that lens! It's really great for Milky Way stuff too, and I can't wait to use it more for that!

[@PortugalCarp]

What a beautiful photograph.

[@hermit6514]

I wish you had more subs, you are very helpful and funny

[@ronrotunno2901]

Amazing image Walt! I really enjoy your vids.

[@rickalessi7490]

love the SV-1!! i miss mine so much..

[@ianmacdonald2307]

A great tutorial and superb result. I’ve only recently bought this lens for this purpose and haven’t yet had the opportunity to use it on my Star Adventurer tracker. I have a Canon 600D/T3i with a crop sensor so will be interested to see if I can capture the entire constellation vertically, before Orion disappears. Thanks for sharing 👍 Edit: I got to use this a couple of nights ago. The sky appeared clear but there was obviously some very high cloud which added to the light pollution. Orion was starting to drift downwards into the SW sky which also didn’t help. The images I got all had a light brown tinge to them just like some of yours in similar conditions. But lessons learned - the lens is clearly a ‘light grabber’ even though I had to settle for an ISO of 200 with 60 second exposures at F4. It also proved that I could see all the constellation stars in ‘live view’ within the field of view. Just hope I can get another go at it before Orion finally disappears until next winter

[@gibsonwashere6005]

Great video!! Thank you!!

[@Tim_the_Astronurd]

just found this channel. fun content. subbed

[@aguelch]

This is jsut a stock camera with no Ha modification? Wow. That is truly incredible.

[@blaeandblack547]

like a James Bond baddie with that lizard.

[@jimgarasich7328]

Awesome. Tried it with my new astro tracker and also got Barnard's Loop !

[@yobtnirp3D]

Do you know what bortle level the area you shot is?

[@T.K.9]

Bought an 1100D few weeks back at a bargain price. And today got my nifty fifty which I was lucky to win a bid on at half its usual used pricing. Still learning and can't wait to try my gear out, without the star tracker at first 😅 Nice video and the final processed image looks epic. And oddly enough the shot with the clouds looks pretty nice too. Looks dreamy! But damn the dso's looks really nice.

[@andyobryan]

Mississippi Delta kid here... trying to place your locale, I'm astro' photog'ing over in N Miss area but skip over towards Clarksdale some ... enjoyed the video, well done!

[@deltaastrophotography]

I live just a few miles south of Clarksdale actually!

[@andyobryan]

@@deltaastrophotography oh man, i just figured out we know each other - I own YaloBrew - crazy small world man! Mutual hobby, definitely need to catch up with you on this front!

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@andyobryan Hell yeah! Hit me up on a clear night and let's shoot some stars!

[@UrNmEdge]

Dang, I can't wait to try this! I don't have a star tracker though, but still feel like it would be fun. Now only have to find dark enough skies 🤣

[@deltaastrophotography]

Just keep saving! The star tracker is well worth it! You could also invest in some light pollution filters and still shoot from the city! As soon as I make a little extra money I'm going to start experimenting with that!

[@AndrewRockYoutube]

Thanks for the video. Just was researching telescopes and instead came across astrophotography. I already have a Canon 80D and recently got the 50mm lens for Christmas. So, seems like a good place to start to see if this would be an additional level of photography to pursue. Really useful video and definitely subscribed. Andrew

[@thedeltabohemian]

Beautiful final image!

[@HorrorAndCoffee]

I have that same 50mm....haven't quite gotten the right pic yet

[@LiamTheRed]

Thank you so much! I just got the nifty fifty a couple days ago and am waiting on the star tracker and tripod. I have a canon xsi and it can only get up to 1600 iso, do you recommend taking more pictures since the iso can only go that high?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Taking more pictures is always a good idea! But with a star tracker, ISO 800 is all you'll really need for a while! Two or three minute exposures really bring out so much detail. When you start shooting at focal lengths of 200mm or more, then I would worry about more ISO because your exposure times will get shorter.

[@LiamTheRed]

@@deltaastrophotography thank you!

[@lucasdupuis1214]

There's no northern star on the southern hemisphere !

[@pranjaysingh7788]

Nice work

[@socialwebwiki]

and can you make a tutorial or tell me how to stack photos with a startracker or without with a landscape in the foreground?!

[@cecilepuckhaber1067]

If I'm in the city with a star tracker what would be the best iso and shutter setting? I can't seem to find one that does give me a black screen or all white

[@TravPlays]

I’ve got the same pics roughly that you took, but how did you pull out all that colour at the end??

[@GalaxyArtMedia]

Nice work Delta, I like the video. What bortle sky scale you had there? I am thinking to get also a star tracker as a secondary mount to have more fun with wide field lenses while i am imaging with my other telescopes.

[@deltaastrophotography]

I live in a Bortle 3 area. It's nice to not have to use filters, but I'm dying to get an upgraded rig and try narrowband imaging! I thinks its a great idea to have a secondary mount to capture multiple things in a night!

[@GalaxyArtMedia]

@@deltaastrophotography i started with Eqm35-pro from skywatcher. Very good. Mount it did perform good even with a 6 inch telescope. You can see also the review on my channel. I tested last week with a small refractor with 20 min exposures at 360mm focal but also with autoguiding. Bortle 3 is good dark sky. I live at the moment in bortle 4 there is some light polution atvthe edge of the town but the milky way ia visible.

[@GalaxyArtMedia]

@@deltaastrophotography here is the video link with the skywatcher eqm35 pro and my ritchey-chretien 152/1370mm telescope: kzbin.info/www/bejne/epvHZ2qHqNaSjac

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@GalaxyArtMedia Cool! I'm going to go ahead and give you a subscribe!

[@GalaxyArtMedia]

@@deltaastrophotography Thank you, i already subscribed to your channel, i liked your video with the nifty fifty lens, i am thinking to make a similar one with my 40mm lens, from bortle 4, not sure if i will still have time for orion nebula tracked since is very cloudy here and soon will be full moon

[@lozovoyzoarg2077]

Thank you for the video. It was very helpful. I have one question: can a Nikkor 50mm 1.8D lens give any good result? Thank you in advance for any response.

[@AnalyticalExplorer1]

What's the best way to know about different things I see on my screen. Like, every astrophotographer knows about different nebulae, galaxies and such. How do I learn to spot what's what?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Getting to know the night sky can be pretty tough actually! Start with a website called telescopius.com it will tell you what's in the sky that night. From there use an app called stellarium to show you where that object is in the sky and when it will be up!

[@MILPICS]

Please do share the processed files on some cloud it's really useful to look in high quality.

[@connorcharlesworth5904]

here’s the recipe for brownies: 1/2cup butter 2eggs 1cup sugar 1/3cup cocoa powder 2teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2cup milk

[@sunhuatom]

Just want to ask a small question: why the heck a startracker is so expensive? just a gear box with arduino.

[@paulcizdziel3769]

Enjoyed the video and your style! Have you any experience with the Canon EOS RP camera for astrophotography? Heard anything insightful?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Unfortunately I don't have any experience with mirrorles cameras yet. I still depend on the viewfinder of a regular DSLR to manually find deep sky objects. Not quite ready to for the digital viewfinder yet!

[@kevinjack5184]

Cool vid. I have a Star Aventurer or Giuder (I don't even know) Tracker. Had it a year, yet haven't used it yet!

[@milesmilner3660]

Hi! Love your videos. I am very new to the hobby and am looking for budget equipment to get me going. I have a Nikon D3100, what Nikon equivalent 50mm F1.8-ish lens would you recommend on a budget?

[@deltaastrophotography]

A second hand Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 should probably fit the bill!

[@socialwebwiki]

awesome video!!!!

[@thecompresser3217]

I SAW UR UNPROCESSED TIF IS UR CAMERA MODDED OR U USE SOME FILTERS DO GET THAT MANY STARS I HAVE A CANON 600D BUT IT HAS VERY LESS STARS COMPARD TO URS AND FLAME NEBULA IS VISIBLE BARELY AND HORSEHEAD TOO ,DID U USE HYDROGEN ALPHA FILTER FOR THIS PLEASE REPLY

[@teigas84]

Great video, also watched the tutorial on the processing. Is your camera astro modified?

[@deltaastrophotography]

It's not! Just a stock Canon 6D!

[@teigas84]

@@deltaastrophotography Thank you for the reply!

[@happytimelapses]

Hello! I’m new in astrophotography. I have a canon T7. And I don’t know if buy a 50mm or a 75-300 lens??? Which one is better for Astrophotographers?

[@Minevi39]

I can’t believe how much details you pulled out of this image! I tried a wide angle of the Orion Constellation a few days ago, with a 50mm lens at f/4.5, a modified Canon EOS1000D, ISO800 and 300s exposures on a Star Adventurer, with a total integration time of one hour because of the light pollution. I can barely see Barnard’s loop, and definitely can’t see the WitchHead. Since I don’t know in which LP conditions your were, I will assume you weren’t under darks skies and the difference between us lies within post-processing. Could you share your stacked image before post so that I can see how far I can bring it ? Thanks!

[@deltaastrophotography]

Here you go! drive.google.com/file/d/1M3Kts8SzrcMKhiX2smhIC42eaftbQ6wK/view?usp=sharing I do live in a pretty dark area. Good luck with the red on the right side of the image lol! I can bring out all the detail after three curve stretches. Two before star removal with Starnet++ and one after.

[@adaminhongkong]

@@deltaastrophotography what is starnet++? From wathcing videos like yours I have been inspired to get my first treacker and am very excited etc. Can I also ask how many images did you stack to get the the final image? And why did you do some curve stretches before and after starnet++? Thanks for all your advice very hepful for newbies like us!

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@adaminhongkong Starnet is a software that removes the stars allowing you to really focus on editing your target. You can later add the stars back in. I did curve stretches before Starnet because the old version would show artifacts like holes where the stars used to be if I did heavy stretches after Starnet. The newest version, Starnet V2 has really improved that problem. I would usually only do a few light stretches after removing stars. Once the stars are gone, it's really easy to improve color, noise reduction, and sharpening. Sadly the website to download the new version seems to be down today. I don't remember how many images I stacked, but as a rule, I always get at least an hours worth of data. Usually more if I can pull it off.

[@jimjorgensen4909]

So what were your final settings when you shot photos with the tracker?

[@deltaastrophotography]

I think it was ISO 800, 120 second exposure, and f/3.5

[@ivyghost9878]

you uploaded this just as the clouds roll in :(

[@deltaastrophotography]

I know! I was about to go shoot tonight but then I noticed the haze rolling in! I can still see the stars though, so it's a good night for just looking up!

[@ivyghost9878]

@@deltaastrophotography I was also wondering, what bortle zone did you shoot this in?

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@ivyghost9878 Bortle 3!

[@coggy123]

Great video. I'm getting there with equipment just need a tracker and ball head. Any budget trackers you could recommend?

[@deltaastrophotography]

The only two I can really recommend are the iOptron Skyguider Pro and the Skywatcher Star Adventurer. There are more out there, but I don't know much about them. The iOptron is rechargeable with a USB cable and the Skywatcher uses AA batteries. I chose the iOptron because I do most of my shooting close to home and didn't want to bother always buying batteries.

[@qrkyboy]

What are you mounting the camera to the tracker with?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Just a small ball head attachment that came with the star tracker. It's for smaller light setups that don't require a counterweight.

[@scrptwic]

I have the Pentax cameras with the built in astrotracker and intervolumter I will give it a try I have a 50mm1.4 and a 85mm 1.4 so i could use either lens to get the pictures

[@goooser410]

very cool !!!!!

[@kevinashley478]

Hey, just wondering here. How dark should the sky be to not have your images affected by light pollution? And if I am in bortle 4, would a light pollution filter give any benefit on a stock DSLR?

[@deltaastrophotography]

At Bortle 4 you should be ok as long as you aren't aiming low near the horizon. It should be nice and dark high up! Try to get away from houses and street lights if you can. I have a street light in my driveway and it drives me insane! I try to get on the opposite side of my property.

[@kevinashley478]

@@deltaastrophotography yeah, I live in a Bortle 6/7, but if I drive an hour and a half to two hours away, I can get a bortle 3 and if I get a little further to the coast there are some bortle 2 sites. But that last bit would be quite a drive. That site is right on the pamlico sound, so I might have to save that for when I got really good equipment and I am going after something special. I am hopeful that a tripod, star tracker, and my T3i will allow me to capture the heart and soul nebula. But being in NC, the light pollution is horrible and now the cities are switching to the LED streetlights and I have heard that light pollution filters dont work with those. So if I could find a high bortle 3/low bortle 4 site, should I consider getting a LP filter?

[@ironwither123]

If you can't find Polaris like if you are in your backyard, how would you polar align?

[@astrosoulfinder]

I thought that lizard was real

[@orcharddweller1109]

Thanks so much for the video. I have tried focussing the nifty fifty to infinity during the day, taping the focussing ring, but then when I set up in the dark the focus is miles out. Any idea why, cos this approach works with some other lenses?

[@kevinashley478]

Hey Walt. Another great video! After seeing your final processed image, I was wondering: Do you process your images to have such a vibrant pastel look, or is that the natural color?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Those are natural colors! I just increase the vibrance and saturation to make them pop!

[@Locutus34]

what is your f-ratio ? i have huge issue about comatic abbrretion...

[@deltaastrophotography]

With that lens I usually shoot at f/4. I still get some mild coma around the edges, but it's not nearly as bad as my 24-70 lens.

[@erganeshkotamepatil6466]

which camera you using in this video sir

[@deltaastrophotography]

A stock Canon 6D!

[@Philobr]

If you're taking 2 min images how does the centre of the nebula not blow out?

[@deltaastrophotography]

It does, but at 50mm the core of the Orion Nebula is so small it doesn't really matter. At higher focal lengths that does become a concern. One way around it is to take a separate set of short exposures that are only 10-15 seconds. You can use those to mask in just the core in photoshop.

[@Philobr]

@@deltaastrophotography great thanks. Great video. With it coming into winter I can't wait to get some Orion images. Got my 1st scope in March Skywatcher 150pds on an eqm35pro. Was just using a tripod and dslr before that with single images. Didn't really understand astro processing so watching lots of videos. Thanks

[@ujjwaldatta6713]

Hi!! First of all Happy New Year!! Thank you for your tutorial videos. I followed along for the nifty 50 post processing of the Orion constellation. I wanted to ask you and share my outcome with you via email if you’d permit. Also, do you have any tutorial on post processing the Pleiades shot using the same nifty 50. Thank you.

[@MikeD606]

Wow, that's crazy amount of nebulosity for a non-modified camera! Or is the 6d astro-moded? Either way, I'm looking forward to the processing video! :)

[@deltaastrophotography]

It's just a stock 6D. I live in a bortle 3 area so I get a lot of detail. Especially when I get away from my house which has a bright street light in the driveway.

[@kevsymonds3875]

Was this done on a full frame or crop sensor as i got a nifty fifty but a ctop sensor would this still be ok to use

[@deltaastrophotography]

It was done with a full frame. With a star tracker it's not going to make much difference. You'll just be a little more zoomed in with your crop sensor. Without a star tracker, your exposure time will be shorter and it might be a little more difficult to get some of those details.

[@kevsymonds3875]

Thanks for getting back i take your advice on board and give it a go 😃

[@iamthereaperrr]

Did you use a modified dslr???

[@deltaastrophotography]

Not at all! Just a stock Canon 6D in a really dark area!

[@TheBeardedEntertainment]

Is your camera astro-modified?

[@deltaastrophotography]

It's not! I just live in a bortle 3 zone!

[@العلمللجميع-ح1ف]

I want to buy an old version of Nikon ED AF Nikkor 300mm 1: 4, i just bought a skywatcher tracker. Do you recommend this 300mm old lens is good in astrophotography? I have an old D7000 nikon

[@deltaastrophotography]

A 300mm lens, your crop sensor Nikon, and star tracker are going to be great for a lot of targets like the Orion Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula, The Horse Head Nebula, Andromeda, and many many more!

[@العلمللجميع-ح1ف]

@@deltaastrophotography appreciate your help and advice 🙏 👍 ❤️

[@mishalibrahim3549]

Pov: you saw a cat

[@GregLee]

wow .... if only i could pull that off have the kit but love your stuff ! are you n instagram ?

[@deltaastrophotography]

I created one after reading this comment. Find me at delta_astrophotography!

[@medifreeman2998]

We are way for the next video 😁 Like subscribe and turn the notification for the nrxt video

[@richiewitkowski7142]

Some cameras sadly will not make the live view any brighter. My Dad's Canon Rebel T1 can do ISO 3200 with a 30 second exposure but the live view is still so dim that only like Vega and Jupiter show up in the view. Really sucks because my phone does a lot better with things like that. I am very familiar with the night sky but man that feature with the live view is a total kill joy

[@deltaastrophotography]

I know! I have a Canon T5i and the live view just sucks! The difference between the T5i and the 6D live view screen is huge! I'm sure even more modern cameras have very bright screens!

[@AstroDenny]

This is fantastic- What are the exposure details? Is that a modded DSLR? I can never get the loop to pop like that with mine stock camera and my Nikon 50mm has some serious distortion around the edges. Kudos for bringing the witch head out so clearly. :-)

[@deltaastrophotography]

It was a stock DSLR actually! ISO 800, f3.5, exposure time 120 seconds. 65 light frames and 10 darks. I was having a lot of trouble with my edges too. Had to crop in a little bit. I think the trick to making the loop pop for me is using Starnet++ to remove all the stars so I can process the nebulosity separately.

[@AstroDenny]

@@deltaastrophotography Really great shot. I have mixed results with my camera lenses.

[@janadrienlim9318]

@@deltaastrophotography Great video! Do you think a rough polar alignment would be enough for 50mm? Seems like a wide focal length for me.

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@janadrienlim9318 I think so! I polar aligned in about thirty seconds. Wasn't really trying to get it super perfect and it worked great!

[@TheBlueStinger55]

It's a great lens for the price. I have a 50mm stm paired with a used canon 700D/T5i and a Minitrack LX3 tracker and even though I'm still a complete novice I manage to impress friends and family with my badly edited space pictures hehe.

[@deltaastrophotography]

I had a T5i once! I sold it to get the 6D and now I really regret it!

[@TheBlueStinger55]

@@deltaastrophotography A much better camera so can assume it's the swivel screen? I couldn't do without it, my poor back wouldn't cope lol. Great channel btw, keep up the good work!

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@TheBlueStinger55 I just want a crop sensor for deep sky stuff!

[@jfam_185]

Was the camera modified?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Not at all! Just a stock Canon 6D!

[@julianelwood7136]

Subbed for more lizard based humor

[@mellee3045]

You do need a very expensive camera and lens

[@cupcakke8535]

Wait the lizard isn’t real?

[@earthlingjohn]

What happened to your volume @ 6:24 till 8:12 ?? Did you go from stereo to mono ?? Does not play well on my Android tablet... Extremely weak !! And Extremely disappointing

[@deltaastrophotography]

It doesn't do that for me on my phone or other devices. That's really weird!

[@earthlingjohn]

@@deltaastrophotography Are your phones/tablets Apple ?? (I only have android phone & tablet...no pc or laptop) Edit: BTW , Thank you so much for responding 👍

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@earthlingjohn Thank YOU for letting me know! I have a Galaxy S21 I just listened on. I'll try it on my tablet when I get home. Not that I could fix the problem at this point. But I want to know.

[@earthlingjohn]

@@deltaastrophotography Thanks ! I can't claim that my tablet is top shelf/cream of the crop but it struck me as odd that the volume would do that only during the image processing segment and then come back up for your on screen closing remarks \_°~°_/

[@Eamonwastaken]

Lmao I just did this!

[@luisgarcia2644]

You are not only knowledgable but funny, I've seen a lot of videos about astrophotography and I can say that yours are very easy to follow, thanks man!

[@speuce]

you're an amazing content creator, i appreciate all the tips i learned from this and i thought the lizard was a nice touch :) keep it up!

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thanks a lot!

[@Kanogotpreggo]

loved the video. You are funny

[@joshruanes]

subbed for lizard.

[@craig_hills]

10/10 lizards to you sir

[@techandmoe]

Thank you.

[@fklucid5097]

Mind blowing man, good stuff.

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thanks a lot!

[@Myindianodyssey]

When I increase the shutter space to 10 seconds, it gets too bright. How to fix that?