A Beginner Astrophotography Kit

Let’s talk about the bare minimum of what you will need to photograph the Milky Way.

Astrophotography doesn’t require all that much equipment and it’s likely that you already have most of the items in this list. I usually only pack these select few items in my camera bag when I go out to photograph the Milky Way and rarely bring anything extra. The simpler the kit, the less you will need to worry about. So here are the essentials with some of my recommendations to those just starting out:

1. Digital SLR or Interchangeable Lens Camera Body

beginner-astrophotography-kit-camera

Most people reading this article will probably already have a digital SLR or some other interchangeable lens camera. Luckily a camera is the most expensive thing you need for astrophotography aside from a lens. The very best bang for the buck will be a digital SLR with a 4/3, APS-C or full frame sensor size.

The choice of brand really doesn’t matter all that much. If you’re just starting out, I almost always suggest the two biggest brands: Canon or Nikon. Both of these companies make excellent cameras and each has huge swaths of devoted users and expansive online communities to help you along. That said, any of the other major brands are excellent. Sony, Pentax, Fujifilm, Olympus, Panasonic, or Samsung: they all make great cameras and pretty much any of them will work great.

When picking a camera, I particularly prefer cameras with tilting displays so that it’s easier to see the screen when using it low to the ground.

I’m currently using a Sony a7S.

Best of the Best: Sony a7S, Canon 6D, Nikon D610
Affordable Excellence: Fujifilm X-T1, Canon 70D, Canon 7D, Nikon D7100
Beginner on a Budget: Canon T5i, Nikon D5300, Sony a6000

2. Wide Angle Lens

Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 UMC Fisheye II

The Milky Way is really really big.  Like huge. The easiest way to capture it is to use a wide angle lens that will allow you to frame a large portion of the sky. On APS-C cameras, stick with a lens with a focal length of 24mm or shorter. On full frame cameras: 35mm or shorter, and on 4/3 sensors: 17mm or shorter.  The shorter the focal length, the wider the field of view.

That 18-55mm kit lens that probably came with your camera? That lens is just fine to start with. When zoomed out to 18mm, it has a pretty wide field of view and should be able to capture a significant portion of the Milky Way.

For even better results, you’ll probably want a “fast” lens with a low f/number rating. I usually recommend lenses with an f/number rating of f/2.8 or lower. The lower the number, the larger the aperture of the lens and the more light that it can collect for exposing the dim stars in the night sky. Check out my guide on how to pick a lens for milky way photography to learn more about fast lenses. My favorite lens for full frame cameras is still the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4.

Best of the Best: Sigma 18-35mm/1.8, Sigma 35mm/1.4, Rokinon 24mm/1.4, Nikon 14-24mm/2.8
Affordable Excellence: Tokina 11-18mm/2.8, Rokinon 12mm/2.0, Rokinon 10mm/2.8Rokinon 16mm/2.0, Rokinon 35mm f/1.4
Beginner on a Budget: Rokinon 14mm f/2.8, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye, Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 Fisheye II

3. Tripod

beginner-astrophotography-kit-tripod

Anyone thoroughly interested in photography should invest in a decent tripod. For astrophotography it’s essential. You only need one, and it’s likely that a good tripod will outlast all of your other camera gear.

There are probably a million tripods to choose from, but there are a few things you should look for when choosing one for astrophotography:

First, I recommend tripods paired with a ballhead. Avoid tripods with panheads at all cost, they’re a pain to frame your shot and have a more limited range of motion than a ballhead.

Secondly, the tripod should be stiff and stable. Make sure that you’re not too close to exceeding the recommended load capacity of the tripod and consider one made of carbon fiber rather than aluminum. Carbon fiber is stiffer and lighter than aluminum so it’s a great material for tripods. Carbon tripods have also come down in price drastically and are now rather affordable.

Finally, make sure it’s not too heavy. This is the last but arguably the most important consideration in a tripod. If you’re buying your first tripod, I recommend keeping it lighter than 5 pounds. Seriously. Anything heavier will likely be too big and heavy to carry. You should have no hesitation to bring your tripod with you everywhere you go. The lighter the better. I currently use the tiny Sirui T-025X which weighs less than 2 pounds.

Best of the Best: Anything from Really Right Stuff
Beginner on a Budget: Dolica Proline, Dolica Carbon
Compact Ultralight: Sirui T-025XManfrotto BeFree Carbon

4. Headlamp

beginner-astrophotography-kit-headlamp

You’ll need your hands free to handle your camera in dark conditions, so definitely pick up a headlamp. You’ll use it to help with focusing, you’ll use it to help find buttons on the camera, and you’ll need it to avoid tripping over bushes and rocks and critters at night.

Make sure your headlamp has a red “night vision” mode. Once you are initially set up, the red mode will help you retain your night vision for seeing in the dark better and won’t interfere with other stargazers in your group.

I wholeheartedly recommend Petzl Headlamps. I have had headlamps from both Black Diamond and Energizer fail on me at night but I have never had a Petzl fail, knock on wood. They’re weatherproof, bright, efficient, and comfortable. It’s possible to switch directly into red mode on most of their headlamps so you don’t blind yourself when turning it back on and they all have amazing battery life. When they’re batteries run low, they warn you with an indicator light and they automatically switch into a power saving mode to keep the light going for additional reserve hours. I personally use an older version, the Tikka XP2 for all of my astrophotography shoots.

Best of the Best: Petzl Tikka RXP
Affordable Luminosity: Petzl Tikka XP
Beginner on a Budget: Petzl Tikka +

Optional Items

The items above are all you need to start making astrophotos, but there are a couple extra things that can help you out:

Intervalometer

An intervalometer is a remote timer that plugs into your camera. It lets you do two things: make exposures longer than 30 seconds and shoot timelapse sequences. They’re cheap at around $20 and can come in handy with astrophotography.

Cheap and Reliable: Neewer Intervalometer

Star Chart App

As you’re getting started with astrophotography, I recommend using a smartphone app like Stellarium or Sky Guide to help you find the Milky Way. If you’re in a dark enough area, it should be easy to find with your eyes, but an app will make it a much simpler a task.

iOS: Sky Guide, PhotoPills, Stellarium
Android: Stellarium

A Final Check

Make sure your camera battery is charged, your headlamp has some fresh batteries, and you have a couple memory cards handy.

Let’s Get Started!

Once your kit is together, you’re ready to shoot!

Head on over to Astrophotography 101 for lessons on exposure, processing and other astrophotography tips and techniques.
First Time? Check out the How to Photograph the Milky Way lesson.

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Learn Astrophotography

Astrophotography 101 is completely free for everyone. All of the lessons are available on the Lonely Speck Astrophotography 101 page for you to access at any time. Enter your email and whenever we post a new lesson you’ll receive it in your inbox. We won’t spam you and your email will stay secure. Furthermore, updates will be sent out only periodically, usually less than once per week.

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Believe it or not, Lonely Speck is my full-time job. It’s been an amazing experience for us to see a community develop around learning astrophotography and we’re so happy to be a small part of it. I have learned that amazing things happen when you ask for help so remember that we are always here for you. If you have any questions about photography or just want to share a story, contact us! If you find the articles here helpful, consider helping us out with a donation.

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Thanks so much for being a part of our astrophotography adventure.

-Ian

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100 Replies to “A Beginner Astrophotography Kit”

  1. Hi Ian, it is a great website you got here, spent the whole day roaming around. I got the Nikon D5300 today but I am really confused about the lens. Confused among Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 ($319), Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II ($449) and Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 ($351) . Which one would you pick ? Thanks in advance.

    1. I would personally go for the 11-16/2.8. It has the same range of focal lengths as both other lenses combined and still has the short end (11mm) and an f/2.8 aperture.

    2. Thank you so much, really appreciate your prompt response. I know Tokina will be the most versatile one but I thought I will use the kit 18-55 and 55-200 nikon lens for normal photo shoots and this one will be my landscape photography lens only. From the comparison at dxomark.com it seems Rokinon/Samyang 14mm f/2.8 scored higher compared to Tokina in total score(21 vs 18) and significantly higher(18 vs 13) in sharpness. Am I getting it wrong? Also, is the 1st gen of Tokina 11-16 as good as the 2nd gen? I found some used ones of the 1st gen for around $379. Thanks again. Keep up your great work.

      http://www.dxomark.com/lenses/brand-tokina-samyang/mounted_on-Nikon_D5300-919/launched-between-1987-and-2016/lens_use_case-lens_superwide/sensor_brand-Nikon#hideAdvancedOptions=false&viewMode=list&yDataType=global

  2. Ian, I was read your web recently.. I m interested for sony a7 and will buy this stuff next week, but still confused to choose between sony fe 16-35 or voigtlander heliar III 15/4.5..

    What is your sugestion lens I should buy?

    I wondering one lens for Landscape and astrphoto, Portability and weight is important for me..

  3. Hi Ian,
    thanks a lot for the effort you put into your web page. I am an entry-level photographer and like to start learning astrophotography. I have a Sony NEX-6 but no dedicated fast wide angle lens. But I own a old 50mm F1.4 lens which I use with an adapter. Due to the large aperture I would like to give it a try to take multiple images, like in panorama shooting, and stitch them together. My question: Do you, or someone from the community, think that this is worth a try at all? Does anybody have experience with shooting astrophotographs with lenses of comparable angle of view?
    Thanks,
    Dennis

  4. Ian ,
    I am going to buy a Sony a6000. My main interests would be landscape photography and night photography. Could you recommend a sense that would suit both my needs? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Darragh

  5. Thank you for such a detailed article! This helps a lot. I was wondering if you had any advice on using a 24-70mm f/4 L lens on a canon 7D? I have a Rokinon 10mm on it’s way in the mail, and I’m deciding which other lens to get for night landscape/astrophotography. I have my eye on the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 lens. But I’m pulled to the 24-70mm for the versatility in zoom. I am not quite sure what f/4 means however, and if that means it’s not good for astrophotography. I’m preparing to make the best of it in Iceland soon. Would you have any suggestions or an opinion on a second lens for my 7D? I would appreciate the help. Thank you, again.

  6. Hey Ian!

    I wanted to get your thoughts on a comparison between the X-T1 and the a6000. You have put the X-T1 in a bracket above, and I am curious as to why. Thanks!

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