How to photograph Andromeda with a 75-300mm lens

I attempt to photograph the Andromeda Galaxy with the Canon 75-300mm kit lens!

[@BigBadLoneWolf]

If you have difficulty finding your target, use Stellarium and place the phone against the back of the camera, and it will point you in the right direction. If you have a camera which has focus peeking, it will show even stars you cannot see with your eyes

[@DTOMSM]

I use Stellarium too! It helps alot. Although it did lie to me when I tried to find Messier 30. Other than that, everything else was easy to find!

[@bailesie]

Don't forget to polar align the duct tape! 😜 And you named your puppy Sagan? ❤️

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yes! His name is Sagan! I think you're the first person to notice that!

[@michaelgrimes3564]

Walt, Nice to make your acquaintance...Just found your channel..Good stuff...I have used both the Canon EF 75-300mm Kit Lens and The Sigma (Canon EF Mount) 75-300mm in my Astrophotography... While the Canon EF 75-300mm Kit Lens is cheap, I have found that between 135-200mm seems to be the sweet spot...It performs Ok...Not the best and not the worst..It did inspire me to Invest in The Sigma variant.... The Sigma version however is in a world all its own....It Performs very well even at 300mm, I think due to Real Good Glass and Quality Build.....The Focus seems to hold well....I wouldn't write off the Canon EF 75-300mm Kit Lens though. For Learning or Teaching its Ideal, especially basics. Even the 18-55mm Kit lens is useful.......Often I use my Old 300D and a 75-300mm on my Skytracker Pro to Teach my pals and give them an opportunity to take there own DSO Picture, and infect them with the bug to dive into the Hobby, to which I've made some " Converts".....I wouldn't Sacrifice that lens to the Gods....Save it and build a beginner's Rig to teach your pals....

[@TacticalSBR]

I appreciate you being able to help break things down for beginners such as myself. I have a Canon 800d, this lens came with the kit,. Sure it may not be great BUT getting into AP is seriously expensive, and its nice to at least be able to use it until skills are refined and the wallet recovers.

[@epic_playz4283]

im only 16 and working my butt off full and part time for a goto mount for my telescope (2k usd) 😂

[@mahadahmedbaloch]

I have the same camera but got an 18-55mm kit lens. How do you even get 75-300 as kit lens. Also, how you doing with the astrophotography.

[@smalltowncritic1]

This is great! You're a natural at this, Walt! Definitely looking forward to seeing more of this

[@Tbonyandsteak]

It is a secret, but long exposure makes your crap lense a super lense. You can shoot through your window glass for the same reason, The glass quality means less on long exposures.

[@joeyplunkett8267]

I love it Walt. And esp the "duct tape" at the very end. I cracked up. Keep it up buddy. I subscribed.

[@anandarunakumar6819]

Man's other best friend, that is hilarious 😁

[@deltaastrophotography]

I mean.. What can't duct tape fix? lol!

[@dipeshdebnathltd]

2 important points are a good position where the sky is free from background light and the ground that has very less vibration. Arid, desolate places are good. After that,u can use any lens from 300mm upwards with these settings and u will get good shots.

[@joechunter1]

Wow, great picture using a camera! Thanks for sharing your process.

[@deltaastrophotography]

Hey thanks a lot!

[@sashamonty1046]

Walt, you never cease to amaze me! Bravo.

[@LandscapesDronescapes]

You nailed it. I've a 150-600mm Sigma and a MSM so I'm off to go and try!

[@TelfordO]

Thank you for a simple yet great video. I have a 75/300 lens, i was to looking at a 300mm Canon lens IL lens today here in the UK at around £600 second hand, next clear night i think i will be hunting for Andromeda with the cheaper option. Clear skies.

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yeah it's all about having fun with what you have! And for that amount of money, I would consider looking at the Redcat 51 telescope! It would probably be better than a lens! And if you have a crop sensor camera it would be even more zoomed in! Clear skies!

[@albey1816]

What camera are you using? - Megapixels? - What zoom? / 300mm?

[@mihaibran6830]

Canon 700d + yongnuo 50mm f1.8 ISO 100 + 30sec shutter = astrophotography :))

[@CosmicApe94]

This is a phenominal, quick and very informative video. Thank you for this!

[@giacomomeloni1685]

But for do the clear photos of Andromeda,moon,ecc..is necessary to have the star tracker??

[@mahmoudeledrissi7234]

The best video ever. I learned a lot . Laughed a lot. Great.

[@stevenmassey2276]

I guess a Sigma 150-600 would be a major pain? Thanks for such a great channel. I am new to astrophotography. Admittedly, I suffer from G.A.S., but hopefully will get good results from all your information from you videos!

[@ElPasoTubeAmps]

Very nice. Thanks.

[@abl1699]

Awesome. What is the other galaxy in the background?

[@kevinashley478]

1:42 Walt, I'm guessing you don't date much, do ya? LMAO j/k. I finally found a bortle 2 site in my state. Sure it's a 3 1/2 drive, but it's fucking perfect, as it's right at the Pamlico Sound. Looking forward to the fall/winter.

[@joshuadrilon3832]

I saw a 1000mm Soviet lens online. I DARE YA HAHHAHAHA.

[@deltaastrophotography]

Oh really? Is this a challenge? Lol! Sounds fun!

[@joshuadrilon3832]

@@deltaastrophotography YES PLEASE HAHAHAHHAH

[@thedeltabohemian]

Oh my goodness!! Walt, you are on🔥!! I just love this and you so much!!!! 💛💛💛💛 You are an amazing, gifted and super spacey, fascinating man!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@woozii.capalot]

I’m tryna take a picture of the andromeda galaxy with my iPhone n a telescope but when I put the picture in deep sky stacker, the stacked image comes out all white n you can see the galaxy, n when I put it inna editin app it when I edit it doesn’t change. Any way I can fix this?

[@RobertBojor]

I realize I'm a bit late to this party, but I found out that hooking up a mobile holder to a horse shoe adapter and sticking it on top of the camera (where the flash would go), booting up an app that shows up the start based on the phone's direction helps a ton with finding and identifying stars fast.

[@aandj4012]

Is a 18-55mm lens good enough for this and a canon Rebel t100?

[@pivottech8881]

Great video, I understood everything more cleaer in this video, and hope to get out soon to begin getting some photos and actually get good at this hobby, I've had other hobbies but this is the one I am serious about and probably won't give up until I am physically unable, which will be never. But again great video one thing though, you caught me off guard with 6:13 'Ducktappee!'

[@cryora]

There are cheap zoom lenses that have focal lengths in the thousands. Are those good?

[@a.t.9654]

Usually no. Having 1000mm lens is usually bad because heat waves gets in the way anyways.

[@andylong29041969]

Keep doing what you're doing Walt. Loving the videos from the UK. Just learning about this stuff and adding kit as I can afford to do so. Cloudy skys here so no Milky way test shots yet. Will try Andromedia from East Coast location as soon as I can. Hope to get Milky Way and Perseid meteor shower in August. Thank you again for some terrific videos!

[@alexiscolin1830]

Dude, you're just too funny man, I love it ! A great content, exactly what I was looking for, I'm using old gears, just to start in astrophotography :) Thanks for this video

[@Lino-zd4ft]

Fantastic !!! Thank you for this ! Can you tell me the tripod and startracker you are using ?

[@deltaastrophotography]

The startracker is the iOptron Skyguider Pro. My tripod is just some old heavy duty video tripod someone gave me a while back. For startrackers, I would recommend the iOptron 1.25" tripod.

[@kevinashley478]

Also, how do you figure out the ISO setting? Like, for shutter speed, there is the NPF which gives you pinpoint stars. But what do you use as a standard to decide which ISO setting you should use? Especially with a star tracker. Or does ISO not matter? I know it matters when taking pictures of the moon. Does it really matter when you have a star tracker? How low is too low? How high is too high? How do you know if you are too low or too high with your ISO? Sorry for all the questions.

[@JustinBerke]

"This lens sucks." [Leaves camera strap on]

[@aravec]

Brilliant. Thank you for making this. Both educational and amusing. You're a great teacher. Tell me please, why 20 black photos of the lend cap as opposed to just one? Surely one contains all the blackness needed?

[@mishy2055]

Taking more of them just gives a better average photo of what you will get once you have stacked them - this is what a stacking program like deep sky stacker will do for you

[@deepspacehunter]

Its hard to fathom how a lens can be garbage when its capable of such a cool image on equipment that's not even designed for astrophotography in the first place... LOVE THE IMAGE❤❤❤❤❤ Edit: Star trackers are really just nightscape and time lapse devices that just scratch the surface of astrophotography so this image is quite the feat....

[@audreystjohn5388]

I am so glad I found your channel 🥰. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge! You've made my dreams of astrophotography come true❤️

[@chinitamadrina2150]

I have so much fun watching your videos 😂 and I learn a lot at the same time

[@CapoFirstFret]

That is extremely cool!

[@colinwatkins2950]

well thats not bad for a cheap lens so why call it garbage.

[@StevenVegter]

Is it also possible with out a star trekker ?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yes! It's far more involved though. There's a guy named Nico on KZbin that is an expert on doing that. Here's a link to his video. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ponGg36lrbmDjMk

[@Ghostflyer63]

May I suggest using painters tape versus duct tape there is less of that sticky residue

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yes lol! I actually started using electrical tape after I made this!

[@anzaeria]

I might sound desperate and stacking the odds against me but I plan on photographing the Andromeda galaxy from the southern hemisphere and with no tracker. Obviously, it would only appear very close to the horizon where I am and very briefly. I'll be using a 200mm prime lens on M4/3 so at least it will show up as a decent size. I know the quality of the final image won't be great (probably limited to 1 second exposures) but hopefully, I end up with something that will be recogniseable as the Andromeda galaxy. I'll take as many frames as possible within the short period of time that it will remain visible in my part of the world.

[@anzaeria]

Edit: I guess I could try shooting the Andromeda galaxy on multiple nights over here (in South Australia) and build up a collection of frames over time. And then stack them.

[@remcovanhal6336]

Guess im eating beans and having a beer tonight

[@NerdAttempato]

Hello Walt. Being M31 now more visible at an acceptabile time of the night (01:00am in Italy), I'd like to try imaging it, using a tracker (Star Adventurer 2i). I'm using a D5600 Nikon dslr camera (1.5x crop factor) but I'm undecided about the lens. I could use a 500mm f/6.3 mirror lens (the usual cheap model by Kenko, Opteka, Walimex, etc), or an old but good Nikon 300mm f/4.5 AI-S. I'm interested in the lack of chromatic aberrations in mirror lenses, but I expect the overall quality of the nikon 300mm should be better. What would you suggest me? :) Thanks in advance :)

[@arafathussain6123]

Anyone knoe the piano at 5:21 please let me know

[@AffinityPhoto]

So… an 800mm on FF to frame Andromeda?

[@avocado0712bb]

OMG! That’s nice. Injustice wonder if I can make it with the same lens but with APSC device. I am using m6 and I am not sure if I will purchase full film 😢

[@deltaastrophotography]

If you have a star tracker it will look even better than a full frame camera! I rarely use full frame cameras on deep sky targets these days.

[@marktuyet]

Use painter's tape not duct tape.

[@pepperonihead]

Looks like your using the iOptron SkyTracker pro camera mount???

[@deltaastrophotography]

It's the iOptron Skyguider Pro!

[@iamaamirkhan.]

It's really great to know such tips and tricks. Good work Walk, subscribed !!

[@maedhrosprime3889]

you win my sub, like and com😆

[@jordancruz9843]

Very helpful! How did you set your.intervalometer? I can't seem to use mine above 30secs. The shutter remain open even after the set exposure time.

[@speedymarc]

for more then 30 sec you have to put in "bulb mode"

[@MarkSmith-of5fe]

Love all of your videos. They have helped a ton. Also love the added humour. Btw, is it you who does the singing within the videos? Duct tape!! Sounds really good :)

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thank you! And that's me 😂

[@icyxxxxx]

Amazing!

[@david_the_bus_spotter_]

What was the camera body?

[@nkululekomafuyeka4104]

am new here

[@GabrielIosaMagic]

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY LENS!

[@AndreaAskraba]

1:20 earned my sub 🤣🌌💓

[@emtech7457]

Did u use any guiding tools?

[@Zakrulan]

Now do it without a tracker.

[@Sodab-u5w]

Dude you’re hilarious lol

[@anonymous_real]

This is meat. Whole meat with extra seasoning. Getting knowledge from experienced photographer is a bless. Stay healthy man, your knowledge would help other newbie out there!

[@BboyGiaN26]

wait, you took pictures with the lens cap on? i got lost there

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yeah so you take multiple images to stack them to remove noise in software like Sequator or Deep Sky Stacker. But you can also take a few photos with the lens cap still on. Those images are just simply photographs of the noise. They are used to remove more noise in the stacking process! They are called dark frames. When taking dark frames, it's important to keep the exact same camera settings as your light frames and the camera has to be the same temperature as your other frames. That's why I always take my dark frames immediately after taking the rest of the photos.

[@BboyGiaN26]

@@deltaastrophotography awsome, thanks for explaining!

[@lancealbon46]

Duct Take, turning “no no no” into “hmm hmm hmm” since 1946 😎👍🏼

[@jakubjanicki4090]

Astro Backyard managed to get a great shot of 2 nebulas using this lens along with a affordable beginner dslr, and I’m impressed with the lens capability

[@eonfroy]

wow, you really made it fun to watch and really easy to understand, thank you and new subscriber:)

[@itisshashankdev]

How to find the best time to shoot? I mean how will i know that my subject will be visible? I hope we can go shooting any day of the month. Thanks great content

[@nigelgroves19]

"The Earth rotates" lol

[@northtexasskies3243]

Would the Canon 55-250 be better? I wanted to try it without a tracker. So a ton of super short exposures. I cant afford the tracker right now so I have to work with what I got

[@anujitmaity0722]

Awesome fun to learn with u

[@deltaastrophotography]

Thanks! It's fun to talk about it!

[@AverageRunnerToby]

it’s a decent beginners lens tbh

[@camilozs3735]

Star tracker!?? 😢😢😢

[@billlauretti7963]

I just gave you your 1,000th "Like", and I'm going out tonight to give it a try.

[@billrussells2521]

My issue with this lens is that I have to stand very far to be able to take a full picture of someone. Wish I could remedy that issue.

[@charlysanchez4672]

DUDE OMG!!!! Can you make it with a Lens Kit? 🥺🥺🙏🏻 with the 18-55 pleaseeee. 🥺🥺

[@deltaastrophotography]

I have made a video with that lens actually!! kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJnYcoBtrJKKprc Here you go!

[@charlysanchez4672]

@@deltaastrophotography OMG!!!! 😱😱😱 Thx bro.

[@towhidhassan8629]

You just earned a sub

[@defyingtheodds1987]

Dude. Yours is the first video I clicked for this tutorial. You’re hilarious. 😂

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

I just picked up one of these lenses up for $70, and immediately thought, what did I do? I have a scope, but kind of wanted something quick, portable, and cheap, but was afraid I may have cheaped out too much. At least I now know I can get something out of it. I'm still relatively new to the hobby, so okay shots are good enough for me, for now.

[@deltaastrophotography]

I think that is going to be a great lens to photograph the Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex with this spring and summer! Especially if you have a star tracker. That's what one of my next videos will be about!

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

@@deltaastrophotography I have an EQ mounted telescope I can piggyback my DSLR on, BUT, I'm thinking about a portable tracker. One of the reasons to get a telephoto lens was to make my setup more portable, and a 40+lbs mount doesn't help that goal. Edit: I not only want to be able to more easily go to darker sky areas, I also want a quicker setup and teardown option at home, when I don't feel like dragging out my full-sized scope.

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@BuckeyeStormsProductions Yeah I don't blame you! What mount and scope do you have?

[@BuckeyeStormsProductions]

@@deltaastrophotography so, I have a hybrid, of sorts. I actually have a few Celestron scopes, a 70mm travelscope, a 76mm reflector, and a 114mm reflector. I picked them either used, or discounted. Honestly, I have less than $200 into all three of them combined! My mount is an old, heavy wooden tripod from a late 80's, or early 90's scope, with an after-the-fact motorized EQ3 which is not goto enabled. I don't know its branding, to be honest. I bought it off someone locally for $50, and given how heavy duty it was (it is built like a surveying tripod, and has an all metal EQ mount) I didn't really question. It works, and holds my scopes firm, and tracks good enough for visual, and basic astro photography. I have a Canon T3i camera with a 18-55 kit lens, and nifty 50 I picked up for $200, and now the 75-300. It's funny, at $70, it is probably the single largest investment I've made into my astronomy/astrophotography hobby up to this point. Haha. Edit: I should say I've probably invested more money in this hobby into good eyepieces, which I can use on any setup I get down the line. I have the idea of doing what I can with what I have, and trying to find deals along the way to upgrade. I'm not in a hurry to get to a desired goal, and therefore not looking to buy myself into a certain level. It's a journey, and I've learned a lot along the way, and have enjoyed myself the whole time, which is the most important aspect.

[@chadj.w.anderson5473]

Dude, you crack me up! Great astro photo video, thank you! 🇺🇸

[@metttal1772]

Hey mate... what star tracker do you use/ recommend. Thanks!

[@heklik]

How do you compute how many dark to take ?

[@deltaastrophotography]

I always just take around 20. Works well for me!

[@Pantimoto]

What in inspiration

[@kevinashley478]

I am not sure if you are talking about the same stars, but I have found that if you find Cassiopeia, looks like a big M, the big point will point you to Andromeda.

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yeah different stars but thanks! That sounds much easier!

[@kevinashley478]

@@deltaastrophotography yeah, I also use the front two stars of the Big Dipper and follow it in a line up till I see Polaris. I have been interested in the night sky my whole life, but it was just last year that I found out that I can take pictures using a DSLR. My biggest set back is that since I live east of the Mississippi, light pollution is a bitch. The best I can find is a high bortle 3 to a low bortle 4, but I have to drive 3 hours to get there. I'm currently saving to get a star tracker, either the 2i or GTi, not sure just yet. Then after I get that sorted and I'm familiar with the setup, then I'll focus on how I can neutralize the light pollution. Or find a way to image that ignores light pollution altogether. Then I can go after my main target, the Heart and Soul nebula!

[@ElCidPhysics90]

Just to be sure, did you polar align before focusing on Jupiter?

[@collinmillwood8566]

Can I buy a star tracker for less than $150 ?

[@deltaastrophotography]

You can get a Move Shoot Move tracker for around $200. That's the cheapest I've seen! If you go to their website and choose the Basic Kit B (rotator + pointer) that's $218.

[@arnav6236]

For anyone looking to buy one the usm mark II is actually a much nicer lense than the mark 3 image quality wise

[@akthethotboi9711]

I use a Nikon nikor 55 to 300 lense it’s amazing I love that lense it produces no chromatic aberration it’s amazing

[@wongpro2196]

Ko bisa ya

[@NomanKhan-lk2rr]

Awesome 👍👍👍

[@R-A-F]

If you put a can of beer on any camera... it looks like a can on camera. I'm off 🙃

[@kelb499]

Dope!

[@georgebrown747]

Thanks Man!!

[@tullyfisher]

Very cool! Amazing shot 👍🏼

[@joelmoncada4774]

You are awesome man !!!!! Great work thanks for sharing and we hope you keep doing what you doing Thanks

[@kpravinkumar]

Great

[@sergiodibella7533]

Great video, congratulation :)

[@Morphior]

What kind of light pollution are we looking at here? Bortle 3 or something?

[@deltaastrophotography]

Yeah Bortle 3

[@Morphior]

@@deltaastrophotography lucky you, the nearest B3 area in my vicinity is like 300 km away

[@sheesbinshahid7082]

Space is full of wonders. It mesmerizes me every time.

[@princesunil26k]

5:38 not the best sir that is the best i ever seen.

[@deltaastrophotography]

@@princesunil26k This was my first video from several years ago. I'm thinking about revisiting this idea and seeing if I can do better!

[@princesunil26k]

@@deltaastrophotography yes if you have time