How shall I start?

[AstroMatt]

Hello,

 

I am completely new and do own the following equipment, and I wanted to ask you if you could give me some guidelines as to where I should start my astrophotography journey, since I am a bit overwhelmed with the possibilites. I thought you can give me some insight, so that I take the right steps, and keep a healthy learning curve.

 

Canon EOS 80D (which is actually modified for astrophotography)

18-55mm Kit Lens

SkyWatcher Star Adventurer

Some Remote Control and Tripod

 

So where do you think should I go from here? I have also never shot any Calibration Frames or done any stacking, so I was thinking that maybe it would be better to start without them, but I have no idea if it's even possible to take decent photos in this way. And since the weather is so bad these times here (I'm from Germany), I wanted to make sure I plan my first adventure as good as I possibly can and then move forward from there. I thought this might be a good place to ask.

 

Kind Regards

 

 

 

 

 

[TerryMcK]

Hello and welcome to the forum. There are many here who will be able to answer your questions and starting out can feel a little overwhelming but fear not. We are here to help you on your journey.

[Galileo]

if you're anything like me you'll like a good old fashioned book to look at then 'Making Every Photon Counts' by Steve Richards sets out nicely the basics for a good start.

 

Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards | First Light Optics

Edited February 1, 2022 by Galileo

[MartinS]

 As Galileo has pointed out, now is the time to research as much as possible about Astrophotography before the desire to buy your first setup kicks in. Many of us invariably change our equipment early on as we realise what we want to do then adapt accordingly. 

 

Sadly one one size doesn’t fit all in Astrophotography and so it is important you determine what DSO images you want to pursue then research what equipment is needed. It’s a great journey enjoy.