Equipment

My Astrophotography Equipment

A curated overview of the cameras, lenses, trackers, telescopes and accessories I use for landscape astrophotography, deep-sky imaging and night-sky projects.

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Landscape Astrophotography Deep-Sky Astrophotography

Cameras

Cameras for nightscape and Milky Way photography

Full-frame cameras I use for low-light work, tracked panoramas and flexible landscape astrophotography sessions.

Nikon Z6 camera body

Main landscape camera

Nikon Z6

After many years as a Sony user, I decided to try something new. The Nikon Z6 has a sensor very similar to the Sony a7 III, which makes it an excellent low-light camera for landscape astrophotography.

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Nikon Z7 camera body

High-resolution astro camera

Nikon Z7

After switching from the Sony a7 III to the Nikon Z6, I was immediately impressed by the image quality. Later, I decided I wanted more resolution, so I added the Nikon Z7 — the Z6’s bigger brother with 45 megapixels instead of 24.

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Sony a7S camera body

Low-light video camera

Sony a7S

Today I mainly use this camera for my astro vlogs and general video work at night. You can often find it for well under €500 on the used market, which makes it a great entry option — despite a few typical Sony weaknesses like battery life and the well-known “star eater” issue.

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Lenses

Lenses for Milky Way, nightscape and tracked landscape photography

Fast wide-angle, standard and telephoto lenses I use for Milky Way scenes, tracked panoramas, night video and detailed astro-landscape compositions.

TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8 fisheye lens

Ultra-wide fisheye lens

TTArtisan 11mm f/2.8

A compact fisheye lens for extremely wide nightscape compositions, dramatic foregrounds and creative Milky Way perspectives. I like to use it for capturing meteor showers due to the extreme field of view.

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Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens

Ultra-wide Milky Way lens

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art

A bright ultra-wide lens for large Milky Way scenes, dramatic foreground compositions and nights where I want to capture as much sky as possible. The f/1.8 aperture makes it especially useful for low-light work.

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Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art lens

Night video lens

Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Art

My preferred lens for night video on the Sony a7S. The 20mm focal length is wide enough for the night sky, while the f/1.4 aperture helps capture clean footage in very dark conditions.

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Viltrox 20mm f/1.8 lens

Affordable 20mm backup

Viltrox 20mm f/1.8

My backup option for the Sigma 20mm f/1.4. It is affordable, bright enough for night work and useful when I want a simple manual-focus wide-angle setup without bringing the more expensive main lens.

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Sigma 24mm f/2 Contemporary lens

Compact astro landscape lens

Sigma 24mm f/2 C

A compact and sharp 24mm lens for nightscape photography, tracked panoramas and travel setups. It gives a more natural perspective than ultra-wide lenses while still being bright enough.

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Sigma 28-45mm f/1.8 Art lens

Main landscape lens

Sigma 28–45mm f/1.8 Art

My main lens for landscape astrophotography. It is incredibly sharp, very flexible and feels more like a set of fast prime lenses than a normal zoom. For many nightscape sessions, this is the lens I reach for first.

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Voigtlander 50mm f/2 APO-Lanthar lens

High-end 50mm astro lens

Voigtländer 50mm f/2 APO

Probably the best 50mm lens I have ever used for astrophotography. It is extremely sharp, beautifully corrected and excellent for clean stars, high contrast and tighter nightscape compositions.

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Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art lens

Fast short telephoto lens

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art

A bright short telephoto lens for compressed nightscapes, tracked details and more selective astro-landscape compositions. It gives me more reach without moving into a full telescope setup.

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Samyang 135mm f/2 lens

Classic astro telephoto lens

Samyang 135mm f/2

One of the most popular telephoto lenses in astrophotography. It is sharp, bright and excellent for tracked nightscapes, wide-field nebulae and lightweight deep-sky projects with a camera tracker.

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Star Trackers

Portable trackers for longer exposures and cleaner night skies

Tracking mounts I use for Milky Way panoramas, wide-field deep-sky images and portable astrophotography sessions with lightweight camera setups.

Move Shoot Move NOMAD star tracker

Ultra-portable tracker

MSM NOMAD

A compact and lightweight tracker for travel, hiking and beginner-friendly Milky Way photography. I use it when portability matters most and I want a small setup.

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Asterra Z+ star tracker

Smart alignment tracker

Asterra Z+

A modern portable star tracker with smart alignment features designed to make setup faster in the field. Its IMU-assisted alignment workflow is especially interesting for quick nightscape sessions and mobile astrophotography setups.

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Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i star tracker

Classic portable tracker

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i

A proven portable tracker for Milky Way panoramas, longer exposures and lightweight telephoto/telescope work. It is a good middle ground when I need more capacity than a tiny travel tracker, but still want a simple field setup.

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Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi mount

Portable GoTo tracker

Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi

My more capable portable tracker for heavier camera setups, wide-field deep-sky work and planned compositions. GoTo control, guiding support and the higher payload make it much more flexible than a simple travel tracker.

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Filters

Filters for cleaner skies, softer stars and creative nightscapes

Light-pollution, soft-effect and specialty filters I use to control color, contrast and star appearance in landscape astrophotography.

Hoya Red Enhancer filter

Color and contrast filter

Hoya Red Enhancer

A useful filter for reducing warm yellow-orange color casts and bringing out red and brown tones in nightscape scenes. I mainly use it when I want a more natural sky color and slightly better contrast in rural areas with some light pollution.

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Rollei Astro Clear filter

Light pollution filter

Rollei Astro Clear

A practical filter for nightscape photography when artificial light creates a yellow or orange glow in the sky. It helps control unwanted color casts and can make stars, sky gradients and distant structures appear cleaner.

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Kenko Prosofton Clear Pro1D filter

Soft star effect filter

Kenko Prosofton Clear Pro1D

A soft-effect filter for making bright stars and constellations stand out more naturally in nightscape images. I use filters like this when I want the sky to feel less clinical and more atmospheric without making the whole image too soft.

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Optolong L-eXtreme filter

Dual narrowband filter

Optolong L-eXtreme

A strong dual narrowband filter for emission nebulae. It isolates H-alpha and OIII signal, which makes it useful for photographing nebula regions with a modified camera or dedicated astro camera, especially under less-than-perfect skies.

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STC Star Mist filter

Creative star glow filter

STC Star Mist

A creative filter for adding a subtle glow around bright stars. It can make nightscape images feel more organic and less digitally sharp, especially when constellations or bright stars should become more visible in the final image.

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K&F Concept polarizing filter

Landscape contrast filter

K&F Concept Polarizing Filter

A polarizing filter is not a typical deep-night astro filter, but it can be useful for blue-hour, moonlit landscapes and foreground scenes. It helps reduce reflections, control glare and improve contrast before the actual night-sky work begins.

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Accessories

Small accessories that make night sessions easier

Power, control, comfort and field accessories that help keep a landscape astrophotography setup reliable during long nights under the stars.

MSM Z-Plate for star tracker alignment

Tracker alignment accessory

MSM Z/V-Plate

A lightweight accessory for getting a straight and stable alignment on a star tracker.

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Rollei C6i tripod

Medium tripod

Rollei C6i

A medium-sized tripod that offers a good balance between stability, weight and portability. I use tripods like this when I need a reliable base without carrying a heavy professional video tripod.

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Rollei C5i tripod

Lightweight tripod

Rollei C5i

A smaller and lightweight tripod for travel, hiking and simple landscape astrophotography setups. It is useful when portability matters more than maximum payload or absolute stiffness.

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Pixel TW-283 remote shutter release

Camera control

Remote Shutter Release

A remote shutter release is useful for long exposures, timelapses and sequences where touching the camera would introduce vibration. The Pixel TW-283 is a popular and affordable option for night photography.

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Andoer panoramic head for astrophotography panoramas

Panorama workflow

Panoramic Head

A panoramic head makes it much easier to shoot accurate Milky Way panoramas and multi-row landscape compositions. It helps keep framing consistent and reduces problems later during stitching.

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Andoer VH-10R tripod head

Stable tracker head

Andoer VH-10R

A more stable alternative to small tracker plates and lightweight ball heads. I use it in combination with my panorama setup when I want smoother adjustment and better stability in the field.

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Lens mount adapter for Sony E lenses on Nikon Z cameras

Lens adapter

Lens Mount Adapter

This adapter makes it possible to use selected Sony E-mount lenses on Nikon Z cameras. It is especially useful when mixing camera systems and keeping favorite lenses in the workflow.

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Lens warmer dew heater for astrophotography

Dew protection

Lens Warmer

A must-have accessory for long nights under the stars. A lens warmer helps prevent dew and frost from forming on the front element, which can otherwise ruin an entire sequence.

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Anker 26800 mAh power bank

High-capacity power

Anker 26800 mAh Power Bank

A high-capacity power bank for longer nights in the field. It provides enough power for dew heaters, phones, small accessories and backup charging when I do not want to rely a few small batteries.

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Deep-Sky Setup 01

Main monochrome refractor setup for deep-sky imaging

My main deep-sky setup is built around a Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED, a motorized 3-inch focuser, a Riccardi reducer and a cooled monochrome CCD camera with a full LRGB and narrowband filter set.

Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED apochromatic refractor telescope

Main deep-sky telescope

Sky-Watcher Esprit 100ED

The Esprit 100ED is the optical core of my main deep-sky setup. With 100mm aperture, 550mm focal length and a fast f/5.5 triplet apochromatic design, it gives me a strong balance between sharp stars, field of view and portability.

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Riccardi 0.75x reducer flattener

Reducer and field correction

Riccardi 0.75x Reducer

The Riccardi 0.75x reducer shortens the focal length and helps turn the Esprit into a faster imaging system. It gives me a wider field of view and shorter exposure times while keeping the image field corrected for deep-sky work.

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PrimaLuceLab ESATTO 3 inch robotic focuser

Motorized focusing

ESATTO 3″ Focuser

The ESATTO 3-inch focuser gives this setup precise motorized focusing and enough mechanical strength for a heavy imaging train. That is especially important with a cooled mono camera, filter wheel and reducer attached to the telescope.

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Moravian G3-16200 monochrome CCD camera

Cooled monochrome CCD camera

Moravian G3-16200 Mono

The Moravian G3-16200 is my main monochrome deep-sky camera for this refractor setup. Its large KAF-16200 CCD sensor gives a useful field of view and works well with LRGB and narrowband filters for detailed nebula and galaxy images.

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Mounting & Guiding

Stable tracking and guiding for long deep-sky exposures

A precise mount, solid pier and sensitive guide camera are essential for keeping stars tight during long monochrome LRGB and narrowband imaging sessions.

iOptron CEM70 equatorial mount

Main deep-sky mount

iOptron CEM70

The CEM70 is the mount carrying my main deep-sky refractor setup. Its high payload capacity gives me enough reserve for the Esprit 100ED, focuser, reducer, filter wheel and cooled mono camera while still keeping the system stable for long exposures.

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iOptron Tri-Pier for CEM70 mount

Stable mount base

iOptron Tri-Pier

The Tri-Pier gives the CEM70 a much more rigid base than a lightweight tripod. For deep-sky imaging, this stability is important because small movements, flexure or vibrations can quickly show up as soft or elongated stars.

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QHY5III290 guide camera

Autoguiding camera

QHY5III290

I use the QHY5III290 as my guide camera for this setup. Its small pixels and sensitive monochrome sensor make it well suited for autoguiding, helping the mount correct tracking errors during long deep-sky exposures.

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Filters

LRGB and narrowband filters for monochrome deep-sky imaging

My monochrome deep-sky setup uses separate luminance, RGB and narrowband filters to capture detail, color and emission signal with maximum flexibility.

Astronomik L-2 luminance filter

Detail and structure

Astronomik L-2 Luminance

The luminance filter captures the main detail and structure in my monochrome deep-sky images. I use the Astronomik L-2 UV/IR block filter as the base layer for sharp, clean broadband data.

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Astronomik Deep-Sky RGB filter set

Color data

Astronomik Deep-Sky RGB

The Astronomik Deep-Sky RGB filter set provides the color data for my monochrome workflow. Combined with luminance frames, it gives me a flexible LRGB workflow for galaxies, reflection nebulae and broadband deep-sky targets.

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Astronomik 6nm narrowband filters

Emission nebula signal

Astronomik 6nm Narrowband

For emission nebulae, I use 6nm narrowband filters to isolate specific wavelengths such as H-alpha and OIII. This makes it possible to capture strong nebula signal with high contrast, even when broadband data would be more difficult.

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Accessories & Control

Power, automation and calibration for my main deep-sky setup

These components keep the setup reliable during long unattended imaging sessions: power distribution, USB control, remote acquisition, dew prevention and automated flat frames.

Pegasus Astro Pocket Powerbox for astrophotography

Power and USB distribution

Pegasus Astro Powerbox

The Powerbox is the central power and USB hub of my main deep-sky setup. It keeps the cable management cleaner and lets me power the camera, focuser, dew heaters and accessories from one controlled system.

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MeLE Quieter 3C mini PC for astrophotography control

Remote acquisition computer

MeLE Quieter 3C Mini PC

A small fanless mini PC mounted close to the telescope and used to control the imaging session. It runs the capture software, connects to the mount, camera, focuser and guider, and makes the setup much easier to operate remotely.

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Dew heaters and temperature sensor for telescope

Dew prevention

Dew Heaters

Dew heaters are essential for keeping the optics clear during long imaging nights. Together with a temperature or humidity sensor, they help prevent condensation on the telescope and guide scope before it becomes a problem.

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RBFocus eXcalibur automated flat panel

Automated flat frames

RBFocus eXcalibur

An automated flat panel mounted at the front of the telescope. It makes flat-frame calibration much easier because I can capture consistent flats without manually placing or removing a separate light panel.

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Deep-Sky Setup 02

Portable telephoto setup for wide-field deep-sky imaging

A lighter deep-sky setup built around an astro-modified Nikon Z7, a fast 300mm telephoto lens and a portable GoTo tracker. I use it when I want more reach than a landscape setup, but less complexity than the full refractor rig.

Astro-modified Nikon Z7 camera body

Astro-modified full-frame camera

Astro-Modified Nikon Z7

The Nikon Z7 is the camera body for my portable telephoto deep-sky setup. With its high-resolution full-frame sensor and astro modification, it is useful for wide-field nebula regions where extra H-alpha sensitivity and detailed files matter.

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Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM APO telephoto lens

Fast telephoto optics

Sigma 300mm f/2.8 EX

An older but still very capable fast telephoto lens for deep-sky-style images. At 300mm and f/2.8, it gives me a bright, relatively compact optical system for nebulae, large star fields and detailed tracked compositions.

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Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi portable GoTo mount

Portable GoTo mount

Star Adventurer GTi

The Star Adventurer GTi carries this portable telephoto setup. It gives me GoTo control, tracking and guiding support in a compact format, which makes it a practical mount for a camera, 300mm lens and small guiding system.

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Guiding & Control

Guiding, focusing and control for the portable telephoto setup

A small guiding system, precise manual focusing and a simple control computer make the 300mm telephoto setup much more reliable for longer deep-sky exposures.

ZWO ASI120MM-S monochrome guide camera

Guide camera

ZWO ASI120MM-mini

I use the ASI120MM-mini as the guide camera for my portable 300mm setup. It is a compact monochrome camera with small pixels and fast USB 3.0 connection, which makes it a practical choice for autoguiding on a lightweight tracker.

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SharpStar 32mm f/4 guide scope

Compact guide scope

SharpStar 32mm f/4 Guide Scope

A very small and lightweight guide scope for the portable telephoto setup. With 32mm aperture and 128mm focal length, it is a good match for guiding a camera lens system without adding much weight to the Star Adventurer GTi.

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Bahtinov mask for focusing a telephoto lens

Precise manual focus

Bahtinov Mask

A simple but very useful focusing aid for the Sigma 300mm lens. By creating diffraction spikes around a bright star, it makes it much easier to hit precise focus before starting a long deep-sky sequence.

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Laptop or ASIAIR for portable astrophotography control

Session control

Control Computer / ASIAIR

This setup can be controlled with a laptop, such as my Dell XPS 13, or with a dedicated astro controller like an ASIAIR. The important part is having reliable control for guiding, capture and mount operation in the field.

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