Weasner's Astrophotography Tips and Techniques Page

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

Last updated: 20 April 2020

This page contains information on astrophotography with the ETX or just about any telescope. For many examples of astrophotography, see the Astrophotography Gallery Archive. For information on accessories used for astrophotography, see the Accessory Reviews - Astrophotography and Accessory Reviews - Showcase Products pages.
Besides the older tips listed below, see my Cassiopeia Observatory Links page for more astrophotography tips.

Basic Information

Astrophotography Tips (08/11/13)
How I Do Astrophotography (03/08/12)
Afocal photography using your Telescope (11/15/11)
How To Do Astrophotography (videos) (06/08/11)
Astrophotography Types (03/31/11)
Full and Proper Kit (PDF) (04/19/11)
Optimizing for CCD Astrophotography (07/06/05)
Focusing Adapter (11/23/04)
Venus Transit & Sunspot Series Ideas (04/11/04)
Preparing for the 2004 Venus Transit (03/22/04)
Photographing Satellites (11/23/03)
Deep-Sky Imaging with Digital Cameras (S&T) (07/27/03)
A Basic Primer on Astrophotography (10/11/02)
Digital Camera Astronomical Imaging FAQ (03/18/03)
Digital Camera Astrophotography discussion group (10/11/02)
Getting Started in Astrophotography (03/15/01)
Sky & Telescope "Astrophotography & CCD Imaging" (04/14/02)
Astrophotography Web Sources (02/7/01)
Original Astrophotography - Basics page (02/07/01)

Software Tips and Info

Classic Astrophotography (01/31/09)
Image Processing for Astrophotography (08/21/08)
Webcam Utilities (08/17/08)
Dither: to improve imaging resolution (07/11/07)
More Image Processing Tips (01/26/07)
AutoStar Suite Drizzle Alignment (04/17/07)
Astrophotography w/DSLR Cameras (review) (08/08/06)
Photoshop FITS Liberator (02/15/05)
Photoshop for Astrophotographers (book review) (09/15/03)
Registax Tutorial (11/18/03)
Registax Guide (Word doc) (09/15/03)
Image Processing Software Tips (05/23/02)

Some Technical Tips

Point-n-Shoot Camera Mod (12/31/11)
DSLR Photometry Tutorial (08/10/11)
Homemade iPhone afocal adapter (09/04/10)
"Hat Trick" Technique (01/19/10)
DSLR Sensor Cleaning (03/15/09)
Astrophotography Lecture (02/15/09)
Nifty "Hat Trick" Shutter (11/30/08)
Meade DS-2114 Schmidt Camera Mod (11/27/08)
Hartmann Mask Template (08/31/08)
Apple iSight modification (07/31/08)
Camera Mount (02/14/08)
DLSR and Parfocal Eyepiece Adapter (11/13/07)
Piggyback and Counterweight (10/11/07)
Another Piggyback Mounting Tip (07/04/07)
Webcam Fan (09/04/06)
Hartmann Mask modification (08/04/06)
Battery + Inverter + Camera AC Adapter (12/09/05)
Simple Camera Timer Program (12/05/05)
Piggyback Swivel Head Adapter (09/13/05)
Mounting the DSI to a SLR Lens (01/05/05)
LPI Focal Reducer (12/31/04)
Yet Another "Hartmann Mask" (12/23/04)
Low Profile Counterweight System (10/10/04)
Another "Hartmann Mask" (05/27/04)
Another Focus Aid (12/14/03)
Another Homemade Counterweight System (11/23/03)
"Hartmann Mask" Focusing Aid (08/19/03)
Using a Webcam (06/15/03)
Homemade Counterweight System (04/14/03)
Another Homemade Camera Adapter (04/05/03)
Vignetting Check (03/12/03)
Piggyback SAC Imager (02/13/03)
Easy Piggyback Camera Adapter (11/30/02)
Guidescope (11/06/02)
Prime Focus Astrophotography with Filters (10/15/02)
Getting Started Guide (Digital Cameras) (PDF) (10/11/02)
Commercial Adapters (10/11/02)
Homegrown Digital Camera Telescope Adapters (10/11/02)
"Hybrid" Astrophotography (03/25/02)
Another Piggyback Camera Adapter (03/08/02)
Simple Counterweight (08/10/01)
Homemade Camera Adapter (05/08/01)
Homemade Piggyback Camera Adapter (05/08/01)
Homemade Camera Mount (04/09/01)
4504 Camera Mount (01/19/01)
Counterweight System (01/13/01)
Inexpensive E-Cam Mount (02/11/99)
Photography Tips (02/9/99)

Digital SLR Cameras

My Nikon D7000 DSLR (06/22/11)
My Nikon D70 DSLR (10/20/07)
Canon DSLR (08/15/13)
Minolta DSLR (11/13/07)
Nikon DSLR (03/19/13)
Olympus DSLR (08/07/08)
Pentax DSLR (11/24/08)

Digital Cameras

Canon (03/24/10)
Casio QV-10 (03/30/97)
Casio (04/04/04)
Fuji (09/23/07)
HP (06/04/05)
Kodak (01/30/08)
Konica (07/23/03)
Leica (02/08/04)
Minolta (04/22/04)
Nikon (06/30/13)
Olympus (12/04/06)
Panasonic (04/11/09)
Pentax (03/22/02)
Polaroid (01/11/04)
Ricoh RDC-4200 (10/31/98)
Samsung (02/14/06)
Sony (07/31/13)
Toshiba (02/29/04)
Vivitar (05/23/04)
Inexpensive ones (02/26/03)
Cell Phones (11/11/11)

35mm Cameras

Miscellaneous Cameras (02/08/02)
Canon (10/22/02)
Minolta (01/29/03)
Nikon (01/05/05)
Olympus (12/27/06)
Pentax (12/19/08)
Pentax Spotmatic (11/30/96)

Video Cameras

Using a Webcam with a Telescope (08/31/13)
Security Video Cameras (08/08/13)
Webcam Imaging Guide (12/08/10)
QuickCam & Unconventional Imaging Astronomy Group (02/20/04)
ToUcam Guide (Word doc) (09/15/03)
Webcam Astrophotography Site (09/18/03)
Quickcam, ToUCam, Webcams, etc (08/08/13)
Apple iSight (10/31/07)
Camcorders (11/27/07)

Other

M42 Lenses for Astrophotography (01/04/13)
ETX-80 Astrophotography Experiences (05/04/12)
Fix for LPI/DSI Use with Windows 7 (08/27/10)
AutoStar Suite & Windows 7 (10/23/09)
ETX-90 as Guidescope (04/26/09)
Meade Deep Sky Imager models (08/04/13)
Meade Lunar Planetary Imager (06/05/12)
LPI Drivers (04/11/09)
DSI Tutorial DVDs ($) (05/11/08)
DSI and Microsoft Vista (02/05/08)
Meade Deep Sky Imager Pro Review (06/22/05)
Another DSI Review (01/21/05)
LPI and Microsoft Vista (05/25/09)
LPI & DSI USB power (02/23/05)
ETX Finderscope mod for DSI use (03/10/05)
LPI with Mac OS X (11/26/11)
LPI Under Linux (08/04/06)
Mike Covington's LPI Notes (04/07/04)
Some LPI Specs (11/17/06)
LPI Modification (02/15/07)
Anttlers Optics Lunar Planetary Camera (08/16/04)
Mintron Starlight Imager (11/04/07)
Astrophotography with CCDs (10/07/04)
Meade Electronic Eyepiece (11/08/10)
Sonfest SAC Imagers (04/30/11)
Orion Imagers (12/24/11)
Celestron NexImage on ETX (11/12/10)
Imagers with SLR Lenses (09/11/07)
SBIG Imagers (04/20/08)
USB 2 Adapters (04/24/08)
Autoguider (08/13/08)

Go to the ETX Home Page.