I came here by random chance and stayed for like 2 hours analyzing every detail lol. I am not even related to your profession and I had no idea about this process, but it's just admirable the time, dedication, effort, and energy you put through to astonish us with such outstanding results
This is one of the best astrophotography how-to videos on RUclips. It’s like a entry level course on astrophotography with an extra, advanced image processing class added as a bonus. He shows how to create amazing photos with equipment most photographers already have or can get used for a reasonable cost. The only exception to this is Photoshop, which is the focus of the last 20 minutes, but you can do much of what he describes using GIMP. Truly an excellent “must see” for anyone (like me) who wants to take their astrophotography to the next level.
Thank you for the kind words Jill! I'm glad you liked it. Since you mentioned GIMP, I wanted to make sure you knew that I have a Part 2a, 2b, and 2c to this video showing other software. In Part 2a, I cover the DSS+GIMP combination: ruclips.net/video/K5b9PVwSB6Q/видео.html. And in Part 2b, I cover Siril + GIMP (esp. useful for non-Windows users): ruclips.net/video/ambUmZLOeSs/видео.html Clear skies! Nico
Can you see the passion sparkling in his eyes during the short introduction speech about time travel... Man this gave me chills. Being guided through my first steps in astrophotography by a so talented and so passionate person is just fantastic. Thank you for this !!!
I've been a photographer for forty years and never knew anything about this! You've just added another goal I'd hope to achieve before I eventually fall off this little rock. Fascinating stuff and brilliantly explained.
@@one1onetime935 Well I've been a supplier of images to a UK picture library so had my photos featured in books and magazines. I've also had a sideline doing commercial and wedding photography successfully for a number of years. Another sideline I had was working as a photographer for a regional newspaper, again for a number of years. Aside from that I've won awards in camera clubs and fete's, taught photography, and of course been involved in photographic trips to various countries. How about you? There are many areas in photography that photographers specialize in such as portrait, macro, landscapes, street, commercial, architecture etc. etc. Just because someone hasn't explored one specific area doesn't mean they are "not a photographer". I doubt that Robert Capa, Vivian Maier, Don McCullin, Sebastiao Salgado or Ansel Adams have ever tried astronomical photography, but that doesn't stop them from being some of the greatest photographers that ever lived.
Sir I'm from india and due to our education system which concentrates mainly on marks and exams rather than applications and practicals, I find very little time for my hobbies,People like you and your work inspires me...
Abey ldwe kya har jagah education system ko blame kr rhe hai, krne wale sab krte hai. Tere jaise log khali blame kre hai. Baat to aise kr rha hai jaise kisiki koi hobby hi nai hai lol. Sachmein bohot bada wala C hai tu. Ldwa
Another one of the many great video tutorials from Nico of Nebula Photos! I have just one remark, which has nothing to do with the main content of the video but just with the rotation of the galaxy image by 180 degrees. Nico is right, of course, when he says that there is no "up" direction in space, but that doesn't mean that the preferred orientation of Andromeda is completely arbitrary. The reason why you most often see it as in Nico's final image is that it give the impression that we're looking down at the disk of the galaxy from above, rather than looking up at it from below. That's just what our brains like so see, since we see objects that way more often. It's easier to recognize that the prominent dust lanes are in the foreground when you see it that way.
Great step-by-step tutorial. I accidentally shot Andromeda when I was messing around with long exposures last Sept with a Canon 5D2 and a 28mm f2.8 just before getting a bone marrow transplant. I was blown away when I realized how visible Andromeda was later on in Lightroom. Hard to believe that its home to a trillion stars. Thanks for showing us how possible it is to capture such awesomeness!
Man, that was mind blowing stuff. I really am speechless. The amount of time you took to first learn it yourself, then apply it in practice, not even taking into account the countless hours you spent on perfecting your technique, and then having the patience to make a detailed video for us. I've got mad respect for your passion sir. Thank you very much. I'm gonna try it after I find a suitable location for a dark sky.
Same here, though making it harder for myself given that the only camera I have fit for the job still uses film (can't afford a DSLR just yet) but hopefully in the autumn when we have more than an hour of night to work with here I will be able to get some decent shots :)
@@NebulaPhotos Hey quick questions, is it necessary/recommended to do all three calibration frames for each astro imaging? And do dslrs like this run out of space quickly from the amount of pictures that are taken? Oh and is it necessary to go through the light frames that have problems and delete them just like you did?
@@AstroBethTeal Yes, I recommend either using all three calibration frames or none at all. If you are worried about space, you can always get a bigger SD card - they are pretty cheap these days. The same goes for space on the computer, you may want to get an external hard drive if you don't have one for the processing part. No need to go through the light frames if you are sure you had a clear night and everything went to plan. Clear skies!
Great little white cover for the flats. I'll need to ask someone to make me one like that!! Excellent video and can't wait to try this out. Just got to get some clear skies now!!
This guys is amazing.Clear, calm, engaging and loaded with information presentation. It is hard to find a professor who would deliver at this level. Great. I am excited about doing it myself.
I jumped to the end at the start to see what kind of output you were able to achieve with stacking alone and then I had to watch the rest to find out at what point in the process you made a deal with the devil lol. From straight out of DSS and the initial stretch to the final image is an insane glow up! I’ll definitely be revisiting this to polish up my color balance and gradient minimizing techniques. Awesome work!
Hi, another great video! Thanks for the tutorial. I am 13 years old but astrophotography has been one my most enjoyable hobbies. Thanks to you Nico, I learnt all about calibration, pre-processing and post processing. Now I use a 60mm refractor, but I will be getting a dslr camera very soon. Its only because of people like you that the community of astrophotography is growing. CLEAR SKIES!
Been watching you on and off for advice and white noise when I’m out at night it’s inspiring and it’s something I’m just in love with and I was fortunate asf to finally get into it
Amazing. Probably the best tutorial I have ever seen. This man makes difficult things quite easy, and this man took me into a completely new world of photography. What a nice approach to use cheap equipment and freewares.
This video alone can teach you astrophotography basics. I watched it 5 times and it boosted my astro images by amount i would never believe a 1 video tutorial could. Thank you Nico.
@@NebulaPhotos Oh, alright. Thank you! I'll definitely try that out! I am an aspiring astro-theoretical physicist (currently in high school), and I really enjoy your astrophotography videos...Thanks for sharing all this information online for free!
Let me just say that not only did this video show what I CAN DO without a tracker but, also what I CAN do with the processing. Also, never did I realize what Dark, Light, Bias, and Flat were. You have explained so much for us. Thank you for this. I can't until I apply this to my photos.
I know this particular video is a year old, but i stumbled across this page while glancing thru Astrobackyard and wanted to say Im impressed. Ive been doing this for years with different Canon dslrs, refractor telescopes and an 11" Celestron SCT on a CGX mount. I am the poster child for amateur astronomy with far better equipment than my talent deserves. i have spent years with thousands of different settings and set ups. Some pretty good, some not so much. This channel, and Nico explaining this is amazing. I watch these, and will have watch most many more times because this channel is like taking n astrophotography class in college. Seriously. Ive learned more in the past few weeks than i thought I ever wanted or needed to. The post processing you do and explaining it is invaluable to getting the best images. Thanks a million.
Thanks for the kind words! Even though this video is now a year old, I think it's one of my better ones in terms of organization and getting it down to just the essential info. Yet, when I watch it now, I still see several areas where it could be better. Hope to see you around on the channel. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm an open book. Clear skies, Nico
The most detailed explanation from start to finish hands down. Other astro photographers just show you their pictures but never show the process from beginning, software used, settings, equipment settings etc. You share your passion but also teach others.
Just watched this through twice. You provide far more detail than almost any others I've watched and you do it methodically. Your post-processing methods will do more for my final product than almost all others I've watched. Thank you so much for this free tutorial!!!!!
The amount of effort put into these videos is just insane. Every single detail is covered, any question I had was answered, truly an admirable job. Most reviewers say "I use [x] tool that helps you process images quicker, it's $90" but you actually put in the extra effort to provide tutorials for everyone else who doesn't have those tools, and even for those who don't have photoshop. Can't thank you enough.
Thank you for making this video. As a retired person income is always an issue when considering a new hobby. After viewing this very inspiring video I know that I have the basic ingredients to start my astrophotography adventure on the next clear night! I am now a subscriber with a large smile on my face...HB
Congratulations Andreas, this video is fantastic for two reasons, simplicity and amazing result, great! I learned more in this video than in a thousand others that were poorly explained and impractical. See you soon
Excellent tutorial. This is so helpful, seeing the whole process explained clearly. My camera however just gave me side eye, hearing the plan for 1200 shots tomorrow
Should I always pick the lowest ISO possible under the 2 electron range? The site says my A7RIII drops from 3 electrons to 1,2 electrons at 636 iso, so I could shoot at like 800 iso or lower. I'm just worried I wont get enough light then. My lens is a 105mm f/4 sony lens which I will use in APS-C mode for 180mm. But is the aperture fast enough to let light in at such a low ISO?
@@viktorhogberg9070 try a few test shots that’s what I did anyway to get the balance between noise and light. If u choose a higher iso maybe just take a few more ‘lights’ to take out more noise
OMG you just combined my three main passions into a one hour video: astronomy, photography and Photoshop (I am an Adobe Certified Expert and an Adobe Certified Trainer). You, sir, are amazing and the result was incredible! All I'm missing is the patience... LOTS of patience. Thank you!
I'm completely new to astrophotography and this video is so detailed and answers so many questions I had about taking photos of the night sky. I can't wait to give this a try sometime soon. The amount of time you must have spent understanding both the camera and the stars is commendable. Thank you for your amazing videos!
I saw the video, I realized I have the same camera, my friend has that lens. I think I just found a new hobby. Awesome video. Interesting from beginning to end. Well done.
Wow!! I just stumbled upon this tutorial by accident and man it just made my day!!! Absolutely amazing way of taking us through the steps. Amazingly detailed, no gimmicks, no hoopla no nothing. You not only showed me the technicalities and the whole process in a whole new level of detail but you also showed me how any tutorial should be. My respects to whatever you are doing.
I knew it was a lot of work to get good astro photos, but this just blew my mind. I had no idea it required so much time and patience. Thanks for the explanation and easy to understand processes.
Nicely done! It's always cool to see these types of photos created with minimal equipment. While it's impressive to see multi-thousand dollar setups, it's great to see these types of posts that can still spark interest to folks to give it a try with their basic equipment and it can be done!
Thank you, dear, sir! Very informative and immensely inspiring YT-video! Wishing you all the very best, and please, stay blessed, safe and healthy! Best regards, from Sweden!
I am so stoked, did my first full process lights, darks, flats and bias frames tonight of the Orion Nebula and I am blown away by the result. 199 1.3sec exposures, 99 darks, 50 bias and 50 flats and wow, just wow after Deepsky Stacker did its job. Thank you Nico for a great video showing us how to do this. I was lucky to get a completely clear night tonight in Olympia, WA. I went out at 8:00pm after visiting Stellarium and found the Orion Constellation exactly where I expected it, big and bright. Made a couple of early mistakes like leaving the bhatinov mask on for the first 40 exposures, but after that, smooth sailing. I am very happy with the results, slight tweaking in Lightroom made the colors pop, even with a non astro-modified Canon EOS 7D Mk II. Its a shame we will lose Orion as the year passes. Any recommendations for deepsky images. I really want to do Andromeda and Whirlpool galaxies, but my view is obstructed in my back yard, and when summer comes, I'll have to stay up very very late to get these.
Another great how to Nico. What a difference from the start to the finished article. I'll be waiting on the part 2 using gimp. Great viewing as always👍
Wow, I can't believe the quality of this video! You've been doing an amazing job with growing you channel. Love you work, you really inspire me. glad to know you're also in Boston! 😁
Fantastic tutorial!! Cant wait to try this. I just bought a Canon 5D Mark ii earlier today, second hand (Good condition hopefully). Should be delivered next week. Ive been watching your tutorials all day!! Haha. The Andromeda Galaxy has always grabed my imagination and your videos over these past few months have really got me excited to start astrophotography and go deeper. I thought i had skills in Photoshop, but i think i need to brush up a lot more. Thank you for reignighting my passion for the stars. Thank you.
@@NebulaPhotos Cheers Nico!! You have taught me so much, honestly. Ps: I think the NPF calculator webpage is down or has been taken offline maybe? Im sticking with the 2second standard anyway i think. When im allowed out of the city ( lockdown South Wales, UK) haha. Thanks again mate, awesome!
@@stant3658 It was down for awhile. Now it's back up, but the page is very different than what I show in the video, but the NPF calculator is still there at the bottom of the page. Cheers! Nico
I'm getting my first camera soon and as a photography enthusiast I was wondering what to take pictures of, and i though of going on a hike and take some night photos and you just came along RUclips, Thanks for the inspiration and for guiding me to my new passion, I hope I could use it for living as my dream. thanks
Superb. What a lifeline of activity for covid hit loners trapped at home ! I am a pretty good shutterbug . Definitely going to make a plunge into Astrophotography .
This is incredible, subscribed. I've had a Canon 60D for 10 years and have never tried this. My Sigma 10mm fisheye takes amazing 30 second shots and you can see the Milky Way arm. But I have a Canon 100mm 2.8 I'm gonna try this out with. Your photoshop skills are beyond mine! I learned a lot!
This was such a great tutorial. You managed to touch on points within photoshop that others have glossed over. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
This is an amazing tutorial sir, I didn't skip a second of such a long video for the first time. Thank you so much for the excellent and clear information. I'll try this as soon as I have the courage to stack 100gb of file hahaha.
wow.. this was like attending a full class on budget astrophotography and I plan to use this as a bible to start learning post processing of astro images.. Thank you ! 🙂
Absolutely fantastic tutorial! Makes me run out and take photos right now and then apply all the steps that you talked about in this video. This is the best astrophotography tutorial there is - no questions asked.
As far as astrophotography is concerned? Not much more than today's. The latest optics and sensors are basically the physical limit. If you want to do better, then you have to become a professional astronomer.
I basically spent the summer learning how to do all this and then winter hit and i havent gone out since. I heard about that comet thats passing by and i just had to try and photograph it. I came back here because of how well you explain the basics like the calibration frames. Thhis video has helped me out tremendously. Thank you
Thanks for the great tutorial. I followed along using my Canon EOS R and RF 24-105mm lens set to 105mm and an ISO of 3,200, but only managed 379 light frames. Even so, I was surprised how good the final image looked. I used the Canon Camera Connect app to take each shot so as not to introduce any shake. Just kept my thumb on the button and my R kept taking 2" exposures.
Same here, recently bought a Pentax K3 II with a 55-300mm lens. It has an Astrotracer mode that will shift the sensor to track stars, allowing for longer exposures than traditionally needed to prevent trails. Now to just find the time to do it...
My son is 13 months old and I'm trying to learn all sorts of fun science experiments to do with him when he's older. This one is something I've been personally interested in and I'm excited to get my son excited about space. Thanks for the fantastic videos.
That's a beaut image Nico ... well done ... you've pushed me to actually go try it for myself now ... the production value has increased immensely ... carry on with the content, I love it ... subbed. Just one thing I'd like to add, when at the initial stage of taking the photos and that is always turn OFF Stabilization (if your lens, or camera has it) when using a tripod, otherwise it will still try to adjust the stability and could invoke some shake, or weird artifacts ... Thanks for this great tutorial :) ...
Ah, good point, one should definitely turn off IS for astro. I actually to avoid image stabilized lenses entirely for astrophotography. I've heard that the fact that the lens elements can move can introduce small problems in the image even with the IS off depending on how the lens elements are positioned when you turn it off.
@@NebulaPhotos so my non VR 70-300mm lens should work more reliably for deep sky astrophotography than a VR (stabilized) version, due to the way the elements are held in place? Sounds good.
Thanks Eren! I will definitely practice doing those, and hopefully have a video next summer on that. In the mean time, check out Peter Zelinka's videos: ruclips.net/channel/UCt1iKYekebRPGVGmlCYN44A
I was so deep into this when he said it would take the computer hours to finish and he was gonna leave it overnight in my mind I was prepared to wait or come back the next day
This was an amazing video! Over 1 hours long and I was glued to my screen the whole time. Will definitely try this when we finally get some clear skies. Could you upload your stacked tif so we could try editing beforehand?
@@NebulaPhotos Thanks a lot! Gonna have a go at following your editing. I only use Lightroom for landscapes, so Photoshop will be something new. Cheers!
Regarding the Input-Referred Read Noise vs ISO setting... I have the Sony A7iii and the A7R2, they both drop dramatically at about ISO600 and then are pretty much the same until beyond 25600, is there any point using anything above 800? I mostly do widefield astro, but want to try some deep sky work
With read noise out of the equation, the only thing to consider is dynamic range, which is larger at lower ISOs. So if you plan to take jus one or a few long exposures never go below or above 800. If shooting hundreds of short exposures, dynamic range is no issue since it is recovered through stacking so many photos so you are free to increase ISO if you'd like, it likely doesn't matter too much. I'd probably stick with 800, 1600, or 3200 though.
@@NebulaPhotos thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate it. I'll be doing some experiments with it over the next few nights... I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I can see the "milky way" with my naked eyes right from my back yard.
Your videos are so inspiring for a beginner like me who is just starting out. I’m still in the researching phase of understanding the night sky, Astro and what it all entails. So it’s great to see someone shooting things with the most basic set up. Andromeda is something I can only dream of capturing some day in the future. I do have one question though. I’m in Australia. And looking at apps like Stellarium it seems Andromeda rises only a little bit over our horizon at the moment. I’m not sure if that’s different in the Northern Hemisphere? Does that ( it being only a little over the horizon) make it harder to capture? Is it high above the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere? Sorry about the n00b questions !
No problem, your intuition is correct. Shooting close to the horizon means shooting through much more atmosphere and its not advisable. The southern hemisphere has some cool stuff we don't have though like the southern cross, Carina nebula, and the Milky way straight overhead!
I came here by random chance and stayed for like 2 hours analyzing every detail lol. I am not even related to your profession and I had no idea about this process, but it's just admirable the time, dedication, effort, and energy you put through to astonish us with such outstanding results
haha yess
Me too
same thing happened
same here
You have a lot of time my friend
Thank you for your really helpful and well-structured tutorial. Enjoy a Coffee (or whatever floats your boat) on my expense. Have a nice Day!
Thank you, I appreciate it!
This is one of the best astrophotography how-to videos on RUclips. It’s like a entry level course on astrophotography with an extra, advanced image processing class added as a bonus. He shows how to create amazing photos with equipment most photographers already have or can get used for a reasonable cost. The only exception to this is Photoshop, which is the focus of the last 20 minutes, but you can do much of what he describes using GIMP. Truly an excellent “must see” for anyone (like me) who wants to take their astrophotography to the next level.
Thank you for the kind words Jill! I'm glad you liked it. Since you mentioned GIMP, I wanted to make sure you knew that I have a Part 2a, 2b, and 2c to this video showing other software. In Part 2a, I cover the DSS+GIMP combination: ruclips.net/video/K5b9PVwSB6Q/видео.html. And in Part 2b, I cover Siril + GIMP (esp. useful for non-Windows users): ruclips.net/video/ambUmZLOeSs/видео.html
Clear skies! Nico
Same. My new rebel dslr will be arriving tomorrow. Cant wait to start messing with it!
Can you see the passion sparkling in his eyes during the short introduction speech about time travel... Man this gave me chills. Being guided through my first steps in astrophotography by a so talented and so passionate person is just fantastic. Thank you for this !!!
How much commision did you earn?
I have a feeling you trying to peer in his window
@@sudipmazumder4072 your name rhymes with stupid
Well said
I've been a photographer for forty years and never knew anything about this!
You've just added another goal I'd hope to achieve before I eventually fall off this little rock.
Fascinating stuff and brilliantly explained.
one of the best comment I've ever seen 🥺💓
Digital SLR's are so much better than film for shooting the night sky.
Then were you EVER a " photographer"?
@@one1onetime935 Well I've been a supplier of images to a UK picture library so had my photos featured in books and magazines. I've also had a sideline doing commercial and wedding photography successfully for a number of years. Another sideline I had was working as a photographer for a regional newspaper, again for a number of years.
Aside from that I've won awards in camera clubs and fete's, taught photography, and of course been involved in photographic trips to various countries. How about you?
There are many areas in photography that photographers specialize in such as portrait, macro, landscapes, street, commercial, architecture etc. etc. Just because someone hasn't explored one specific area doesn't mean they are "not a photographer".
I doubt that Robert Capa, Vivian Maier, Don McCullin, Sebastiao Salgado or Ansel Adams have ever tried astronomical photography, but that doesn't stop them from being some of the greatest photographers that ever lived.
Sir I'm from india and due to our education system which concentrates mainly on marks and exams rather than applications and practicals, I find very little time for my hobbies,People like you and your work inspires me...
True.
When we do get time, then there's pollution. Not even a single star is visible from naked eye (I live in Delhi)
@@anhtshrm7014 that is beyond sad
That is really sad...
Abey ldwe kya har jagah education system ko blame kr rhe hai, krne wale sab krte hai. Tere jaise log khali blame kre hai. Baat to aise kr rha hai jaise kisiki koi hobby hi nai hai lol. Sachmein bohot bada wala C hai tu. Ldwa
Don't have to call him Sir I guess. He is not your teacher 😅
I travelled forward in time one hour just by watching this video.
This is the best A-to-Z tutorial I have yet encountered! Congratulations and many thanks.
Glad it was helpful Melvyn! Clear skies, Nico
After watching this video twice with complete fascination I've got myself a camera with 50mm lens, tripod , and laptop... wish me luck 😄
Another one of the many great video tutorials from Nico of Nebula Photos!
I have just one remark, which has nothing to do with the main content of the video but just with the rotation of the galaxy image by 180 degrees. Nico is right, of course, when he says that there is no "up" direction in space, but that doesn't mean that the preferred orientation of Andromeda is completely arbitrary. The reason why you most often see it as in Nico's final image is that it give the impression that we're looking down at the disk of the galaxy from above, rather than looking up at it from below. That's just what our brains like so see, since we see objects that way more often. It's easier to recognize that the prominent dust lanes are in the foreground when you see it that way.
Great step-by-step tutorial. I accidentally shot Andromeda when I was messing around with long exposures last Sept with a Canon 5D2 and a 28mm f2.8 just before getting a bone marrow transplant. I was blown away when I realized how visible Andromeda was later on in Lightroom. Hard to believe that its home to a trillion stars. Thanks for showing us how possible it is to capture such awesomeness!
How'd the transplant go, brother?
@@Hkt1kTurnie Still alive! I'm in remission and living life to the fullest!... Thanks for asking!
@@Ken-co9zd That's great to hear! God bless. Stay healthy 😁
Man, that was mind blowing stuff. I really am speechless. The amount of time you took to first learn it yourself, then apply it in practice, not even taking into account the countless hours you spent on perfecting your technique, and then having the patience to make a detailed video for us. I've got mad respect for your passion sir. Thank you very much. I'm gonna try it after I find a suitable location for a dark sky.
Glad you liked it! Clear skies, Nico
Same here, though making it harder for myself given that the only camera I have fit for the job still uses film (can't afford a DSLR just yet) but hopefully in the autumn when we have more than an hour of night to work with here I will be able to get some decent shots :)
@@NebulaPhotos Hey quick questions, is it necessary/recommended to do all three calibration frames for each astro imaging? And do dslrs like this run out of space quickly from the amount of pictures that are taken? Oh and is it necessary to go through the light frames that have problems and delete them just like you did?
@@AstroBethTeal Yes, I recommend either using all three calibration frames or none at all. If you are worried about space, you can always get a bigger SD card - they are pretty cheap these days. The same goes for space on the computer, you may want to get an external hard drive if you don't have one for the processing part. No need to go through the light frames if you are sure you had a clear night and everything went to plan. Clear skies!
@@NebulaPhotos ohhh I understand, thank you for your explanation. Awesome video! Clear skies to you as well👍🏻
This is the best astrophotography video tutorial out there. You covered almost every aspect needed to create this awesome photos. Thanks so much.
Valeu!
Great little white cover for the flats. I'll need to ask someone to make me one like that!! Excellent video and can't wait to try this out. Just got to get some clear skies now!!
This guys is amazing.Clear, calm, engaging and loaded with information presentation. It is hard to find a professor who would deliver at this level. Great. I am excited about doing it myself.
I jumped to the end at the start to see what kind of output you were able to achieve with stacking alone and then I had to watch the rest to find out at what point in the process you made a deal with the devil lol. From straight out of DSS and the initial stretch to the final image is an insane glow up! I’ll definitely be revisiting this to polish up my color balance and gradient minimizing techniques. Awesome work!
Hi, another great video! Thanks for the tutorial. I am 13 years old but astrophotography has been one my most enjoyable hobbies. Thanks to you Nico, I learnt all about calibration, pre-processing and post processing. Now I use a 60mm refractor, but I will be getting a dslr camera very soon. Its only because of people like you that the community of astrophotography is growing. CLEAR SKIES!
That's great to hear Bill! Clear skies to you too!! Nico
@@NebulaPhotos Thanks for the reply Nico. I really appreciate it.
Been watching you on and off for advice and white noise when I’m out at night it’s inspiring and it’s something I’m just in love with and I was fortunate asf to finally get into it
And I rlly love ur point on what you need everything I have was recycled or hand me downs and it’s been a great baseline for me
Amazing. Probably the best tutorial I have ever seen. This man makes difficult things quite easy, and this man took me into a completely new world of photography. What a nice approach to use cheap equipment and freewares.
This video alone can teach you astrophotography basics. I watched it 5 times and it boosted my astro images by amount i would never believe a 1 video tutorial could. Thank you Nico.
Omg this video is gonna be a lifesaver to my boredom in quarantine
Glad to help! :)
@@NebulaPhotos Hey! would it be possible to do that with a small (~35mm) lens?
@@piyushkolhe4269 Yes, although Andromeda is probably not the best target. I would do a constellation with a lot going on like Orion.
@@NebulaPhotos Oh, alright. Thank you! I'll definitely try that out!
I am an aspiring astro-theoretical physicist (currently in high school), and I really enjoy your astrophotography videos...Thanks for sharing all this information online for free!
@@NebulaPhotos May I ask what would be your favorite target with an 85mm lens?
Let me just say that not only did this video show what I CAN DO without a tracker but, also what I CAN do with the processing. Also, never did I realize what Dark, Light, Bias, and Flat were. You have explained so much for us. Thank you for this. I can't until I apply this to my photos.
Nice! Glad you liked it. So far I do astrophotography with my (mom's) phone. It's amazing.
I know this particular video is a year old, but i stumbled across this page while glancing thru Astrobackyard and wanted to say Im impressed. Ive been doing this for years with different Canon dslrs, refractor telescopes and an 11" Celestron SCT on a CGX mount. I am the poster child for amateur astronomy with far better equipment than my talent deserves. i have spent years with thousands of different settings and set ups. Some pretty good, some not so much. This channel, and Nico explaining this is amazing. I watch these, and will have watch most many more times because this channel is like taking n astrophotography class in college. Seriously. Ive learned more in the past few weeks than i thought I ever wanted or needed to. The post processing you do and explaining it is invaluable to getting the best images. Thanks a million.
Thanks for the kind words! Even though this video is now a year old, I think it's one of my better ones in terms of organization and getting it down to just the essential info. Yet, when I watch it now, I still see several areas where it could be better. Hope to see you around on the channel. Let me know if you have any questions. I'm an open book. Clear skies, Nico
The most detailed explanation from start to finish hands down. Other astro photographers just show you their pictures but never show the process from beginning, software used, settings, equipment settings etc. You share your passion but also teach others.
Just watched this through twice. You provide far more detail than almost any others I've watched and you do it methodically. Your post-processing methods will do more for my final product than almost all others I've watched. Thank you so much for this free tutorial!!!!!
The amount of effort put into these videos is just insane. Every single detail is covered, any question I had was answered, truly an admirable job.
Most reviewers say "I use [x] tool that helps you process images quicker, it's $90" but you actually put in the extra effort to provide tutorials for everyone else who doesn't have those tools, and even for those who don't have photoshop.
Can't thank you enough.
Thank you for making this video. As a retired person income is always an issue when considering a new hobby. After viewing this very inspiring video I know that I have the basic ingredients to start my astrophotography adventure on the next clear night! I am now a subscriber with a large smile on my face...HB
Greetings from Texas USA. Thank you so much for the awesome content! I believe I found my new hobby. Have a great day
A lot of work! I normally don't watch videos over 15 to 20 minutes in length. But I watched parts of this twice.
Congratulations Andreas, this video is fantastic for two reasons, simplicity and amazing result, great! I learned more in this video than in a thousand others that were poorly explained and impractical. See you soon
Excellent tutorial. This is so helpful, seeing the whole process explained clearly.
My camera however just gave me side eye, hearing the plan for 1200 shots tomorrow
Should I always pick the lowest ISO possible under the 2 electron range?
The site says my A7RIII drops from 3 electrons to 1,2 electrons at 636 iso, so I could shoot at like 800 iso or lower. I'm just worried I wont get enough light then. My lens is a 105mm f/4 sony lens which I will use in APS-C mode for 180mm. But is the aperture fast enough to let light in at such a low ISO?
@@viktorhogberg9070 try a few test shots that’s what I did anyway to get the balance between noise and light. If u choose a higher iso maybe just take a few more ‘lights’ to take out more noise
OMG you just combined my three main passions into a one hour video: astronomy, photography and Photoshop (I am an Adobe Certified Expert and an Adobe Certified Trainer). You, sir, are amazing and the result was incredible! All I'm missing is the patience... LOTS of patience. Thank you!
I just saw this video second time. Every time I see this I get to learn something new. Thanks for making such great video 👍
What an absolute walkthrough this was. Just blows me away just how much detail you pulled out of a dark photo.
I'm completely new to astrophotography and this video is so detailed and answers so many questions I had about taking photos of the night sky. I can't wait to give this a try sometime soon. The amount of time you must have spent understanding both the camera and the stars is commendable. Thank you for your amazing videos!
I saw the video, I realized I have the same camera, my friend has that lens. I think I just found a new hobby. Awesome video. Interesting from beginning to end. Well done.
Wow!! I just stumbled upon this tutorial by accident and man it just made my day!!!
Absolutely amazing way of taking us through the steps. Amazingly detailed, no gimmicks, no hoopla no nothing.
You not only showed me the technicalities and the whole process in a whole new level of detail but you also showed me how any tutorial should be.
My respects to whatever you are doing.
Glad you liked it! Clear skies, Nico
I knew it was a lot of work to get good astro photos, but this just blew my mind. I had no idea it required so much time and patience. Thanks for the explanation and easy to understand processes.
Thanks you Nico for your awesome videos that make us dream and put at our reach your vast knowledge and awesome tutorials. Very much appreciated !
Glad you like them Alan! Thanks for the donation!!
you are a cool guy tutoring people for literally 1 hour :)
Nicely done! It's always cool to see these types of photos created with minimal equipment. While it's impressive to see multi-thousand dollar setups, it's great to see these types of posts that can still spark interest to folks to give it a try with their basic equipment and it can be done!
I can't subscribe fast enough!! Fantastic material, fantastic guidance, fantastic energy and personality!!! A blessing of a channel 👍👍
I don't do any kind of photography except for amateur sunrise and sunset shots but I stayed for the full video because it was THAT good.
Thank you, dear, sir! Very informative and immensely inspiring YT-video! Wishing you all the very best, and please, stay blessed, safe and healthy! Best regards, from Sweden!
I am so stoked, did my first full process lights, darks, flats and bias frames tonight of the Orion Nebula and I am blown away by the result. 199 1.3sec exposures, 99 darks, 50 bias and 50 flats and wow, just wow after Deepsky Stacker did its job. Thank you Nico for a great video showing us how to do this. I was lucky to get a completely clear night tonight in Olympia, WA. I went out at 8:00pm after visiting Stellarium and found the Orion Constellation exactly where I expected it, big and bright. Made a couple of early mistakes like leaving the bhatinov mask on for the first 40 exposures, but after that, smooth sailing. I am very happy with the results, slight tweaking in Lightroom made the colors pop, even with a non astro-modified Canon EOS 7D Mk II. Its a shame we will lose Orion as the year passes. Any recommendations for deepsky images. I really want to do Andromeda and Whirlpool galaxies, but my view is obstructed in my back yard, and when summer comes, I'll have to stay up very very late to get these.
Another great how to Nico. What a difference from the start to the finished article. I'll be waiting on the part 2 using gimp. Great viewing as always👍
Thanks Paul! Will be working on the other parts this weekend.
Just caught the end of this premiere. Time for a vat of coffee and full viewing.
Speechless , Excellent work, you make it so simple ,yet it take lot of knowledge to come to this point!!!
This really educates people. Excellent. Thanks from Germany!
Really enjoyed that - brilliant how the software can isolate the actual data, and give you that super image.
Wow, I can't believe the quality of this video! You've been doing an amazing job with growing you channel. Love you work, you really inspire me. glad to know you're also in Boston! 😁
Thanks Richaell! Clear skies, Nico
I've been searching this video for years and i just got it.. thank you
Glad it was helpful! Clear skies, Nico
😳😱
Absolutely gobsmacked!
Superimpressive!
This truly is a great tutorial on many levels. You set the bar high for other people trying to publish worthwhile videos.
This is really incredible. Excellent video (and audio) and I had no idea this was a capability of a ‘standard’ DSLR
Thanks! Glad you liked it!
I'm not even getting my telescope for another 3 months, yet it's 4 am and I just binged this entire video.
Telescope sales went nuts during the pandemic.
Fantastic tutorial!! Cant wait to try this. I just bought a Canon 5D Mark ii earlier today, second hand (Good condition hopefully). Should be delivered next week. Ive been watching your tutorials all day!! Haha. The Andromeda Galaxy has always grabed my imagination and your videos over these past few months have really got me excited to start astrophotography and go deeper.
I thought i had skills in Photoshop, but i think i need to brush up a lot more. Thank you for reignighting my passion for the stars. Thank you.
Awesome! Good luck with your astrophotography adventure, and clear skies, Nico
@@NebulaPhotos Cheers Nico!! You have taught me so much, honestly. Ps: I think the NPF calculator webpage is down or has been taken offline maybe? Im sticking with the 2second standard anyway i think. When im allowed out of the city ( lockdown South Wales, UK) haha. Thanks again mate, awesome!
@@stant3658 It was down for awhile. Now it's back up, but the page is very different than what I show in the video, but the NPF calculator is still there at the bottom of the page. Cheers! Nico
I don't know how I ended up here but stayed the whole one hour and am going to replicate each step that you did. Can't thank you enough
Good tutorial. It explains everything on how images of the Orion, Eagle and crab Nebular were made.
Althought this is the last detail, even how he mentions his sponsor is so gentle and polite, not like those others that pest you... Way to go!
Thank you! The editing was even more expansive than I imagined. Really gave me more confidence in using the editing aspects. Thank you!
I'm getting my first camera soon and as a photography enthusiast I was wondering what to take pictures of, and i though of going on a hike and take some night photos and you just came along RUclips, Thanks for the inspiration and for guiding me to my new passion, I hope I could use it for living as my dream. thanks
Superb. What a lifeline of activity for covid hit loners trapped at home ! I am a pretty good shutterbug . Definitely going to make a plunge into Astrophotography .
This is incredible, subscribed. I've had a Canon 60D for 10 years and have never tried this. My Sigma 10mm fisheye takes amazing 30 second shots and you can see the Milky Way arm. But I have a Canon 100mm 2.8 I'm gonna try this out with. Your photoshop skills are beyond mine! I learned a lot!
Thanks Eric! 100mm 2.8 is a great lens for getting started with untracked deep sky work.
Wow, one of the best andromeda tutorials ever, really great job on this 👍
Glad it was helpful Jonas! Clear skies, Nico
This was such a great tutorial. You managed to touch on points within photoshop that others have glossed over. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
The Bob Ross of astrophotography. Nicely done!
This is an amazing tutorial sir, I didn't skip a second of such a long video for the first time. Thank you so much for the excellent and clear information. I'll try this as soon as I have the courage to stack 100gb of file hahaha.
Once a fan, always a fan! Just love your presentation. Cheers, man!!
I've always been fascinated with the cosmos. This video is awsome
wow.. this was like attending a full class on budget astrophotography and I plan to use this as a bible to start learning post processing of astro images.. Thank you ! 🙂
Absolutely fantastic tutorial! Makes me run out and take photos right now and then apply all the steps that you talked about in this video. This is the best astrophotography tutorial there is - no questions asked.
The amount of dedication you put into making videos like these is just amazing. Hats off!!.
Amazing info i was looking for years.
thank you so much for this! thank you!
I have never thought this to be possible, amazing times. I wonder what next generations wil be able to do.
As far as astrophotography is concerned? Not much more than today's. The latest optics and sensors are basically the physical limit. If you want to do better, then you have to become a professional astronomer.
I basically spent the summer learning how to do all this and then winter hit and i havent gone out since. I heard about that comet thats passing by and i just had to try and photograph it. I came back here because of how well you explain the basics like the calibration frames. Thhis video has helped me out tremendously. Thank you
Im more impressed that youve hearted everyones comment. Your a good dude
so happy! i’ve always wanted to capture Andromeda!
It's such a neat thing to capture yourself!
Wow, you have stepped up with your production and kudos for being more out going and open ! Wish you success with your channel :)
This is a video that I'll be revisiting again and again as I stumble my way through learning astrophotography. So much good information. Thanks!
Isn't observing the past such an amazing thing to be able to do? This was such an informative video. Very well done and thank you for the tips!
Thanks for the great tutorial. I followed along using my Canon EOS R and RF 24-105mm lens set to 105mm and an ISO of 3,200, but only managed 379 light frames. Even so, I was surprised how good the final image looked. I used the Canon Camera Connect app to take each shot so as not to introduce any shake. Just kept my thumb on the button and my R kept taking 2" exposures.
Excellent explanation and backed by lots of research to keep it within everyone's budget
Oh my god!
What timing?
I am getting my DSLR and 300 mil. lens tomorrow!!
Same here, 300mm + Nikon D700. Tomorrow ill give my 1st try! Good luck to you! :D
Good luck tho
Awesome! Hope it's clear for you. Cheers, Nico
Got my nikon d5500 a month ago, and a 300mm zoom lens just a week ago
Same here, recently bought a Pentax K3 II with a 55-300mm lens. It has an Astrotracer mode that will shift the sensor to track stars, allowing for longer exposures than traditionally needed to prevent trails. Now to just find the time to do it...
My son is 13 months old and I'm trying to learn all sorts of fun science experiments to do with him when he's older.
This one is something I've been personally interested in and I'm excited to get my son excited about space.
Thanks for the fantastic videos.
That's a beaut image Nico ... well done ... you've pushed me to actually go try it for myself now ... the production value has increased immensely ... carry on with the content, I love it ... subbed.
Just one thing I'd like to add, when at the initial stage of taking the photos and that is always turn OFF Stabilization (if your lens, or camera has it) when using a tripod, otherwise it will still try to adjust the stability and could invoke some shake, or weird artifacts ...
Thanks for this great tutorial :) ...
Ah, good point, one should definitely turn off IS for astro. I actually to avoid image stabilized lenses entirely for astrophotography. I've heard that the fact that the lens elements can move can introduce small problems in the image even with the IS off depending on how the lens elements are positioned when you turn it off.
@@NebulaPhotos so my non VR 70-300mm lens should work more reliably for deep sky astrophotography than a VR (stabilized) version, due to the way the elements are held in place? Sounds good.
@@williamwalters3796 Yes, you got it
Great video, thanks a lot! Can you make a video about taking&editing milkyway landscape photos?
Thanks Eren! I will definitely practice doing those, and hopefully have a video next summer on that. In the mean time, check out Peter Zelinka's videos: ruclips.net/channel/UCt1iKYekebRPGVGmlCYN44A
That was a really good tutorial. Going to try it as soon as the weather allows it. Exellent work.
I have watched tons of videos on this and this is hands down the best! Thank you!
this was great to make people interested about deep space photography and prove them that it is possible to get great results with regular equipment.
I was so deep into this when he said it would take the computer hours to finish and he was gonna leave it overnight in my mind I was prepared to wait or come back the next day
Lmao
Cant wait!
This was an amazing video! Over 1 hours long and I was glued to my screen the whole time. Will definitely try this when we finally get some clear skies. Could you upload your stacked tif so we could try editing beforehand?
Click on "this Google Drive Link" under the Resources heading: www.nebulaphotos.com/resources/m31/
Cheers, Nico
@@NebulaPhotos Thanks a lot! Gonna have a go at following your editing. I only use Lightroom for landscapes, so Photoshop will be something new.
Cheers!
you changed my experience for my travels with my camera, eternal thanks, greetings from Bolivia
The Photoshop handling is amazing!!
Incredible what you got with a common camera!! But the work is not common, is really hard hard work!!
Wooow!!!!
subbed for just being super positive. I like your attitude!
Thanks! Clear skies Duphe!
Regarding the Input-Referred Read Noise vs ISO setting... I have the Sony A7iii and the A7R2, they both drop dramatically at about ISO600 and then are pretty much the same until beyond 25600, is there any point using anything above 800? I mostly do widefield astro, but want to try some deep sky work
With read noise out of the equation, the only thing to consider is dynamic range, which is larger at lower ISOs. So if you plan to take jus one or a few long exposures never go below or above 800. If shooting hundreds of short exposures, dynamic range is no issue since it is recovered through stacking so many photos so you are free to increase ISO if you'd like, it likely doesn't matter too much. I'd probably stick with 800, 1600, or 3200 though.
@@NebulaPhotos thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate it. I'll be doing some experiments with it over the next few nights... I'm lucky enough to live in a place where I can see the "milky way" with my naked eyes right from my back yard.
Your videos are so inspiring for a beginner like me who is just starting out. I’m still in the researching phase of understanding the night sky, Astro and what it all entails. So it’s great to see someone shooting things with the most basic set up. Andromeda is something I can only dream of capturing some day in the future. I do have one question though. I’m in Australia. And looking at apps like Stellarium it seems Andromeda rises only a little bit over our horizon at the moment. I’m not sure if that’s different in the Northern Hemisphere? Does that ( it being only a little over the horizon) make it harder to capture? Is it high above the horizon in the Northern Hemisphere?
Sorry about the n00b questions !
No problem, your intuition is correct. Shooting close to the horizon means shooting through much more atmosphere and its not advisable. The southern hemisphere has some cool stuff we don't have though like the southern cross, Carina nebula, and the Milky way straight overhead!