My Astrophotography Setup For Deep-Sky Imaging with a DSLR

[@bobbeanbags]

Loved this! Thanks for showing your whole process and explaining everything very clearly.

[@segua]

You are so incredibly thoughtful for explaining all this, tonight was my first night looking at the sky with C6SE, so incredible. Thank you for this.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Rocky80943]

I was here to watch the stars but ended up seeing those cute cats who stole the show and turned out to be the real 'stars' in this video😍

[@shawnharvPhotography]

They're adorable! Glad you thought the same

[@stefanschneider3681]

Oh, maybe I forgot not mention! I LOVE THE NEW HOBBY! It started with my little pocket camera on an simple Tripod getting pictures of the ISS passing by - and nothing hast stopped my since, no 10 weeks of cloudy nights, no terrible guiding struggles, no days of trying to get my stacking-software doing what I wanted it to do ... because that ONE MOMENT, when things finally fall in place, the first crisp sharp pictures of the moon, the first view of the Orion Nebula and later on the first useful image of such a far object like the whirlpool galaxy, the ONE MOMENT is just priceless and worth all the effort!!

[@TheIcegoblin]

That was a really decent video, instructive and no 'fluff' (other than your cat😁) Thank you for posting

[@RaysAstrophotography]

Great work Celestial Photography. Good image too! I agree with you, you always need a backup object!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thanks Ray! Getting better and better each time out! I've been watching your RASA videos lately and I've pulled the trigger on buying one :D Your recent video showing how to do calibration frames did it haha. Thanks!

[@RaysAstrophotography]

@@shawnharvPhotography oh! My Ghosh! Congratulations!!

[@MonteOlsen]

Nice video and thanks for including your troubleshooting. It helps!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

No problem! I'm glad it helped.

[@NickLandry]

Very cool! I just ordered the NexStar 8SE, I'm just getting started. I won't go to a full setup like yours until I'm more comfortable with everything, but I took notes and I'm definitely gonna get a mount like the SkyWatcher EQ6-R someday when I want to do more advanced stellar photography.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thats the way to do it Nick :) Start off with the alt-az mount, get hooked, and then look for an equatorial mount. I was able to get some great images with that mount and my 6SE. Good luck, and I'd love to see your end results!

[@markyakubovsky3380]

Love it Bro... I just bought the 6SE on Friday, and as I started looking at reviews I saw so many people bashing it's abilities to do AP. I haven't used a scope since I was a kid in the 80s so I am behind the curve. Your videos have been so helpful. Not sure yet if I will save for an EQ mount or try a wedge, but with a reducer and EQ mount it looks like it won't be too shabby- I am so glad too, because I hate buyers remorse- lol Thx for sharing

[@shawnharvPhotography]

I dont think you'll have buyers remorse with the 6SE. It can capture some pretty awesome DSO's if you put some time in. The wedge or EQ mount will definitely be a game changer when using this telescope. Good luck! :D

[@bkcuriosity]

The iris is a tough one, with all of the dust being dark and dim, but you did a commendable job.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thank you! I'll be trying this target again with my new asi294 sometime in the future :)

[@brianhoffman3091]

You noted the significant vignetting of the f6.3 focal reducer with your 6SE scope. Until a few years ago, Celestron only listed its 8" and larger scopes as "compatible" with the reducer. I wanted to use one with my own 6SE and this concerned me. I think you have identified the reason. While the reducer works with the 6" and smaller Celestron CATS, it shows significant vignetting due to the substantially narrower light path from the secondary mirror to the rear of the scope. I'm pretty sure if you put your reducer on an 8" model with the exact same setup you would see way less vignetting since the light path is a good deal wider.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

I've always thought about getting an 8" tube and putting everything on it. Maybe one day haha

[@deniseevans4240]

Ok, loving this so far, I've been searching for good match for me and what I need in a telescope and sold on the 6SE. But, not 100% until I see what it can see, and especially how it will be with some astro-photography, thanks so my for your time making us a video;)

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Glad I can help! The 6se has been a great scope to get introduced into astrophotography 👍

[@Fatal_Inertia]

Have you considered the hyperstar/astronomy camera combo? Would bring you down to F/2 like a ritchey chretien style scope

[@leopoldrasic5946]

Great video and awesome setup. Thank you for sharing.

[@astrophotonics9470]

Nice job on Iris, Your Cats actually stole the show lol

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Haha yeah the cats always steal all the attention

[@DOLfirst]

Setup,👍. Photo results, beautiful.

[@Nottsboy24]

Great results indeed ☺

[@robertesensee3494]

Excellent video. I am looking at starting this kind of photography and your video explained a lot to me. Well done! New Sub alert!!!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

That's great to hear! It's an awesome hobby to get into. Enjoy!

[@Thunder_Dome45]

I started with a setup almost exactly like that. If you want to skip the search for the port the mount is using you can use the binoculars icon on eqmod settings and it will search for the port. I don't know why it doesn't just do that when you try to connect to the mount automatically. I never understood why you have to find the port each time.

[@charliemotts]

In your list of gear you don't include that cool bracket used to hold both your guide scope and the viewfinder. What is that make and model? I need one for my 5SE. Thanks.

[@PafMedic]

Hi Shawn,I Have a Question,For My Guide Scope and Camera,I Went With The Skywatcher Evoguide 50ed,and The Zwo120mm mini..I Can Also Shoot With The Evoguide..My Issues.How Would I Go About Mounting s Star Finder On It...and How Do I Mount The Scope On My Se..Not Both At The Same Time,lol..😂❤️Thank You In Advance

[@shawnharvPhotography]

your best friends for helping to attach things to the SE telescopes (and what I use now) is the Celestron 93609 Piggyback Mount, and D Series or V Series Dovetail Adapters.

[@PafMedic]

Celestial Photography ,Thank You

[@louboom5711]

Great video! I didn’t catch the part where you talked about your guiding.

[@natofreak93]

How can I use a Nikon D60 Camera on it? Is the 93633 A Adapter enough, or do I need the celestron 93402 T ring adapter? :) Or do I need both?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Both adapters are needed. The celestron 93402 T ring would be swapped out for the nikon version though. the celestron 93402 T ring is for canons.

[@SKANDaR0875]

Can you show the optimum setting for the eos camera, when combined with SE telescope

[@facarvalho]

Hi, I have Celestron Nexstar 6se and I am planning to upgrade the mount (probably Sky-watcher eq6 just like yours), and also I will need the guide scope. I already have a great imaging camera. I'd like to know if you are happy with those choices (mount & guide-scope), or regret something in any way. Those thing are really expensive, specially for me living in Brazil, and I wanted to take the right steps. Also, what is the max exposure you're getting with this setup? Thanks in advance!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Hey Fernando, I'm very happy with my setup so far. The mount is perfect for the 6se and will also be useful in the future if you get a heavier scope. The guidescope is a good choice, but I wish I didn't get the orion camera with it cause I replaced it with the asi120. But the guidescope itself is great for the 6se. You could get a 60mm guidescope, but that's a bit more expensive. As for max exposure, the most I've done is 5 minutes but I'm sure you can do more. I just haven't pushed it that far because of the light pollution I have in the city. Good luck and Clear skies!

[@iangilbert1454]

Great Video...What settings did you use on the camera..I have an 8se sct which I use for viewing and have taken some shots of moon, sun and planets but I struggle with settings for DSO's as i'm really a novice with AP..any tips would be useful, it's so hard to find any practical help with camera settings.

[@videoman77365]

Did you say you had the Celestron NexStar Telescope- 6in if so are you using the Celestron 6.3 reducer?

[@tszasz]

Great video and I loved the final images! I was just curious if you would have the time to answer a question of mine. I noticed that you had an alternative mount than compared to what comes with the 6SE. I also have a 6SE and I was wondering if you have ever used that for your astrophotography and if your methods were the same if you did use it!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

The 6se came with the alt-az mount which is a great starter mount, but it doesnt compensate for the field rotation. So over night, your object will slowly rotate. You can still use it to get great astrophotography shots, but you would need to keep your exposures pretty low. Probably anywhere between 10 to 60 seconds. Definitely possible. Good luck!

[@tszasz]

@@shawnharvPhotography Awesome! Thanks so much

[@MikeLikesChannel]

Excellent demo. Some of that software looks like it's straight out of 1992 🤪

[@PropPlanePat]

Hi, sorry for digging this video up but Im just starting my journey and found this super helpful. Do you know if this process will also work with the original Celestron mount vs the EQ6?

[@soundrams1]

Hi, a very informative video. I am planning to go for a 6SE, with a wedge, FR. The price difference between 8SE and 6SE is about $600 today. I am debating if 6SE would be good enough for astrophotography or should I just go for 8SE. I am in a highly light polluted area. Your thoughts ..

[@pritamcommunications2537]

THANKS I HAVE LEARNED SOME THING NEW TODAY I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE COMPUTER YOU HAVE USED FOR CONTROLLING THE TELESCOPE AND I LOVED YOUR VIDEO THANKS FOR THE VALUABLE INFORMATION :)

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thanks! The Mini PC I use is from beelink. I made a video on it. Check it out as I go deep into its details: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpTUmYdueahgpZY Its a great little computer

[@ghawiiiart1133]

I have so many questions being new. What are these flats and darks you speak of in the video? What software do you use? Is this video still relevant since OP 2019? Thank you for this video!

[@hdsinner]

Very cool. What are the flat frames used for? My wife & I are just getting started with the 5SE on with it's GoTo mount and wedge, and the ZWO533Pro. Total noobs but we both wanted to do this for christmas.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Glad you like it :) The flat frames will remove any vignetting in your images. This is typical with the SCT style telescopes.

[@hdsinner]

@@shawnharvPhotography thank you! So much to learn but I'm going through your vids now and picking up bits here and there from you.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

@@hdsinner Let me know if you have any other questions. Im happy to help as best as I can.

[@felisfelidae8578]

Hello! Hope I find you well. Great video and awesome pics! Will you please mention what parts are between the camera and the Telescope? I would like to have a setup like yours. My mount is not as nice as yours (I have still the one that comes with the scope). My SCT is a 8SE scope and the camera a rebel t6. Hope in the future I can get a mount and guider as yours. Thank you!

[@TanoMac73]

I've a Nexstar 8SE and also have the Celestron focal reducer (FR). I find it interesting that you say you can recollect more light and perhaps detail for iris by using the FR. But wouldn't it also mean that the nebula would appear.much smaller in its wide field? How big is the iris nebula? I am asking this because last night I imaged the Eight-Burst planetary nebula and boy it was small even without the FR, and very dim from my suburban skies. Just trying to see if I can take some tip of yours to help me out achieve better asteophotographs

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thats correct. Shooting without the reducer would get me closer to the object, but I would be shooting at f 10. I would need to spend a lot more time on the object before being able to pull out detail. I need to get back to this object one day :D

[@ettorefagioli1012]

Hey man! Could you please answer some question that I had while I was watching this video? 1 today I fell in love with astrophotography and I saw that one of the best selling telescopes on Amazon was the celestron nexstar 8se. Is it Worth the price? (for astrophotography and watching stars only) 2 I have a Canon 600D. Is it too bad to start? 3 why do you shoot plain photos at the end of the shooting? 4 what kind of mount do you use for attaching the camera to the telescope? 🔭 I'm just curious, I would be very grateful if you could give me some advice!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Hey Ettore, Id be happy to help answer your questions. And thanks for watching the video! Astrophotography can be very addicting haha. 1) The 8 inch nexstar is a great telescope. My version is the 6 inch, and I've been extremely happy with it. You might be able to find that telescope on sale at a local telescope shop. Start there, though amazon prices are usually great too. 2) Your camera would be a great camera to start with. You will need a T ring, and the celestron camera adapter to attach it to the telescope. 3) For planets and the moon, I take video and then stack the best quality frames in a final image. Its a great way to gain quality and reduce noise. 4) The celestron mount that comes with the nexstars is a great starter mount. You can easily shoot stars, the moon, planets and some nebulas. If you purchase an equatorial mount in the future, it would allow you to take even longer exposures which is great for deep sky objects. But that can be a future purchase. I hope this has helped! Good luck and clear skies!

[@mauro180bit6]

Can a celestron next star 130slt be monted on eq6 r pro? Beatiful video.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Ya it should have no problem holding that weight.

[@mauro180bit6]

@@shawnharvPhotography last question: can i put that newtonian on the mount without tube Rings?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

@@mauro180bit6 If your newt tube has a dovetail bar, you should be fine without rings. The mount can handle both type of dovetail bars.

[@IovisWill]

Good morning, my Nexstar 6se doesn't work well... when I'm configuring it for alignment, one star or two... it doesn't matter, when I use the direction buttons the telescope reaches a maximum and a minimum... .and I don't know why. I think I've tried everything, but it doesn't fix the problem. Please I need help. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

[@mtaylor1983]

Great video, thanks for all of the info! One question: your details have links to two different T adapters for the camera, but it looks like you only use the one in the video. Can you confirm that I wouldn't need this additional adapter? Or did I miss it somewhere? Thanks!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Hey Monica, Glad you liked it! If you want to connect a canon camera to the telescope, you will need both pieces. The long one will give you the 55mm of backfocus needed, and the short one is for connecting to the cameras lens connector.

[@sirmeowcelot]

nice scope, outstanding cat.

[@BrokenPik]

good job, Don't forget to make a 100 Bias frames for Flats calibrations...

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Ya I need to start making bias frames! This is next on my list of things to learn 😊

[@UNDERST0RY]

Do you find the SE mount wobbles much from gear or air movement?

[@eightythreeFALL]

When you were first setting everything up did you use the 3 star alignment still?

[@Melodik_Musik]

What kind of computer monitor screen is that I have an 8se and I’m looking to upgrade that next step I see the tripod and the Orion and camera with the programs that run it finally a video that I can link things together any advice for trying to get nebula photos what do I start upgrading with to start that process

[@g00degg]

I am contemplating on buying a Nexstar 6SE but just wondering why you didnt use the stock mount?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

The stock mount is great for planetary, star clusters and moon images. But if you want to do long exposure astrophotography with nebulas and stuff, you will need an Equatorial mount.

[@backyardstargazing5740]

@@shawnharvPhotography I believe Celestron does sell a wedge you can that would help with the tracking but since I am new to this I am just going from what I read and not first hand experience.

[@MarvelousLXVII]

Great video from a fellow cat and astronomy lover.

[@simtime7591]

great video that, including the errors and how to fix them, most would have edited them out.. its a tricky business this astrophotography.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thanks! Keeping the errors is half the learning. Tricky business indeed!

[@Nottsboy24]

Nice results ☺keep up the great work 👍

[@CarolinaSkyAstronomy]

Very nice captures

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thanks! I saw you recently captured Jupiter. It looks great! I think that will be my next target :)

[@giraoshaw]

Hello, amazing video! Just had a quick question, should I upgrade my 5" Orion ct (was bundled with a manual equilateral [buying a celestron advanced vx mount this week] mount for 600 on amazon) to a 6" or 8" celestron nextstar sct? At the moment I cannot do deep sky astrophotography but plan on to, so I'm wondering which one will be a more future proof purchase. This video alleviated some stress and doubts I had about the 6" act. Thank you.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Hey Gira, Im glad you liked the video! :D I would say the 8 inch is used more for deep sky astrophotography, though the 6SE is right up there. What I do when Im buying a new telescope is go to www.astrobin.com/search/ and then type in Celestron 6SE, 8SE, etc. You will be able to see really good examples of what that telescope is capable of doing. Also, check out the differences between the 8Se and 6SE here: www.astronomyscope.com/celestron-nexstar-6se-vs-8se/ They really break down all the specification side by side. My opinion would still be to get the 8SE if you can spare the extra cash. Should work well with your new mount as well.

[@pduffy421]

Brilliant video and so cool to see you mount a Nexstar 6 on a SkyWatcher mount.

[@yasnac7576]

What make was your sketch board you were using doing you whites?

[@thomasthomas2073]

nice setup see have to be in good shape Garry all that stuff out :-)

[@timdavis2028]

Nice work. I also have the eq6 r pro mount and am happy running it with EQMOD. Just curious, have you considered bypassing the hand controller? Seems to work well for my setup. Also, it looks like your iris nebula could have used some dithering to remove the lines in the photo. Good job on the video.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Hey Tim, I use the hand controller to be able to hook my mount up to my computer via USB. I know there is a newer version of the eq6 that has a USB port on the mount. Is that how you do it? Is there a way to get rid of the hand controller all together? And thanks for the tips on dithering. I have yet to start experimenting with dither and will definitely try it out. Thanks,

[@timdavis2028]

@@shawnharvPhotography I purchased "Skywatcher Telescope Control Cable FTDI USB to RJ45 Serial Converter Cable EQ6-R AZEQ6 AZEQ5" from Amazon for $15. It works great and completely removes the hand controller from the equation.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

@@timdavis2028 I'm buying this now! Haha Thanks again!

[@jennwatson6836]

I have been enjoying your vids. I have the same scope and really like it except for getting it aligned properly to then do any tracking with it. Would the guide scope and software help with that, using the base it came with? I have a dslr that I used with it to take shots of an eclipse a couple yrs back. Looking to upgrade the base at some point, but can’t buy all my wants at once.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

If you have a wedge for the alt-az mount, using a guide scope would be beneficial. Without it, you would be dealing with field rotation and I dont think you can track objects when thats involved. Once you get an EQ mount (cheap or not), auto guiding will really shine :D

[@gagankhurana8577]

Hey there, im thinking to start with celestron 4se and canon 1100. As it will be my first setup im not sure how do it is going to be. Any suggestions on that will be highly appreciated.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Nice telescope! Start by looking at the moon and planets. Get use to the Alt-az mount and then start looking for other deep sky objects :D Good luck!

[@theastrophotographerjudah9421]

What was that screen you were using? Is that an actual computer, or is it just another screen attached to your laptop, like they with video cameras?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

The monitor was sitting on top of the PC behind it. The Mini PC can be found here: Beelink AP34 pro Mini PC - amzn.to/2GreXZ1 And the monitor looks to be sold out. It was a 7 inch version. They have a 13 inch now: UPERFECT Portable HDMI 7" Monitor - amzn.to/2MNnre1

[@vegutopia]

Hello Need one advice, is canon eos m50 mark ii camera compatible with nexstar se8?

[@PeterClarke55]

I use a astrolynx cable direct from my mount to the pc and I leave pc direct alone, less cabling.

[@shawnharvPhotography]

I'll need to pick that up! Someone else recommended that as well and it would definitely help with cable management 😊

[@rudycajuso29]

Great images. Well done.

[@aapablaz]

Hi, i have one question about how you mounted the guide scope....I cannot see it very well, it is centered? if not how do you balance the axis? if it is centered, how did you do it? it looks like you are using a piggy tail......can you please explain? thanks!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

I had a hard time getting the guidescope centered. The best way I did this was to use the Celestron 93609 Piggyback Mount-NexStar 5, 6, 8

[@shacopwnage]

What is that tool called that you use at 3:50 to clean the scope? I noticed some dust on my 6se but I’ve been too afraid to clean it since I don’t have a proper tool!

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Yea its always daunting touching the glass. I use the celestron lens cleaning pen. Has a brush on one end, and a soft felt on the other.

[@siddhi4126]

Hi so we dont need to use lens with the camera to capture pictures correct?

[@tconnell1121]

where did you get a cable to control the shutter on your rebel T3?

[@victorjennings3004]

would a Canon EOS 1D mk2 be anygood for astrophotography please

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Yea I dont see why not. It has Manual mode where you can adjust exposure, aperture, etc. The only downside I see is that its a larger camera and probably more heavy. But as long as you have a solid mount, you should be fine!

[@robertpapancsev8891]

The 6SE original mount is not good for photography?

[@-alkun5697]

Nice👍😍

[@Nottsboy24]

Sure is nice ☺

[@the_twowheel_turtle934]

Hey man great video and pictures, also nice looking rig! So basically you use Ascom in conjunction with Stellerium to point the scope to the object that you want and after that is that the guider scope, guiding camera and PHD kick in right? Thanks and good luck

[@shawnharvPhotography]

That's exactly right. And capture is done with astrophotography tool.

[@the_twowheel_turtle934]

Interesting... thank you👍👍

[@stefanschneider3681]

Hy there. Ich would like to thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON that takes the time and effort to produce a video like yours, they are SOOOO helpful! Since this is impossible I post a HUGE THANK YOU here and hope some of my other favourites will read it too (I‘d like to mention „Astrobackyard“ as my personal top hero, and Chuck how plays the perfect role of being „a little stupid“ hence being VERY CLEVER, but there are so many others). But why is it that almost always there is an animal included? A dog, cats, even chipmunks? Could it be that ... maybe ... the nights outside might sometimes be ... a little LONELY 😳? ... That this hobby might sometimes be A LITTLE BIT, JUST A LIIIITLE BIT frustrating and a pet helpful to calm down? ... Or is every other wife / girlfriend / boyfriend or whatever always sitting next to you, warming your feet, bringing you hot tea, calming you down when YOU AGAIN make the same mistakes except mine 😂😂😂? Just wondering ... Again: Thanks for taking the time und effort to turn an almost 24-hour-effort into a short informative video. Sincerely, Stefan from Switzerland

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Thank you! And you're right about the pets haha. They're happy spending late hours up with us astrophotographers. They definitely make it more entertaining and less lonely.

[@phoenixalexander8310]

can i shoot on the T6?

[@matthilton8959]

What is the mini pc and screen you are using?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Mini PC: Beelink AP34 pro Mini PC - amzn.to/2GreXZ1 All of my equipment is linked in the description :)

[@matthilton8959]

Celestial Photography do/could you then access this remotely from a laptop fir example sat indoors then?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

@@matthilton8959 Thats exactly right. When its winter, you'll definitely find me indoors using it remotely with TeamViewer.

[@matthilton8959]

Celestial Photography being a bit of a useless computer user. Is that easy to do?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

@@matthilton8959 TeamView makes it very easy to link the mini PC to my laptop. Any PC to PC will do. You just need to install it on both machines to work. You can even do it between mac and PC.

[@Slack9811]

Ram of your mini pc? And cpu?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

the mini PC comes with 6 gigs ram and 60 gigs SSD. But I upgraded the SSD to 200.

[@disagiato277]

What telescope did you use?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

This was the Celestron 6SE telescope

[@disagiato277]

Thanks

[@kennytran2860]

How do I get the cat

[@montygore]

Hi. very informative. Might speak a little slower. Hard to catch on video. Thank you

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Sorry about that. I notice it as well and try to remember haha.

[@valentinotera3244]

Too much cables and softwares hability. lol that's depressing for me to starting.

[@henriklarsson7835]

I agree, wonder if there is an easier way to get started with astrophotography....

[@davidstewart5452]

great video looks too expensive for me your gear..awesome though. like what a real astronomer would use..ill take a look at still photography with tracking..accumulate the pics ..when processed.... seen some nice pics..im on a pension budget

[@richardmelkus7844]

Einfach noch schneller reden 👎

[@ГеннадийГенн]

hello, what is the exact weight of the telescope with dovetail only?

[@RobSimmons654]

I have the same setup.. but have massive vignetting with the focal reducer. Does the t-adapter extension help with that?

[@shawnharvPhotography]

Yea I do get a good amount of vignetting with longer exposures, so I keep them relatively lower. And flat frames also help remove the vignetting, so im always sure to include those when processing an image.