My uncle said to skip the fancy gear and just use a basic DSLR for the Perseids

He told me last August that my old Canon T3i and a cheap tripod were enough to start, so I tried it from my backyard in Flagstaff. I got a clear shot of three meteors in one frame after about an hour, which I never thought I could do without a big telescope. Has anyone else had a simple piece of advice totally change how you approach taking space photos?

3 comments

3 Comments

adams.faith1mo agoMost Upvoted

Totally agree with @brianhernandez about the gear trap. My friend spent a ton on a fancy star tracker and a new lens before she even knew how to focus manually in the dark. Meanwhile, I stuck with my old Nikon and a kit lens for a year, just learning how to actually set a long exposure and adjust the ISO without the picture looking grainy. By the time I did upgrade, I knew exactly what I needed it to do. It makes you learn the basics you'd skip over with all the auto settings on a newer camera.

brianhernandez1mo ago

Read a blog post that said chasing perfect gear is a trap for beginners. The writer argued knowing your basic camera inside out beats having a fancy one you don't understand. Your uncle's advice totally proves that point, doesn't it?

lee73328d ago

That thing you said about learning how to focus manually in the dark really hits home. That's exactly the kind of skill you only pick up when you're stuck with basic gear and have to figure it out yourself. Most people don't realize that the hardest part of astrophotography isn't the camera, it's knowing how to actually use the settings in pitch black conditions. Your friend probably would've gotten better results with her old kit lens and a little patience than jumping straight to the fancy stuff. It's like learning to drive a stick shift first, once you get it, automatics feel like cheating.