Best cameras for astrophotography

November 10, 2021 CX3 154 Comments astrophotography, cameras

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You really need one of the best cameras for astrophotography if you want to take pictures of the cosmos. Sure, you’ll also need a few other bits, like a good quality lens and a sturdy tripod, but the camera should be first on your list of priorities. Luckily there’s plenty of choice available, but you’ll have to think carefully about what you want the camera to do.

Some cameras are so dedicated to astro that they forego the usual body and lens mount in favour of a cylindrical form factor that connects directly to your telescope eyepiece. These have their benefits – noise levels are often lower, their dedicated nature means the colour balance will be spot-on (some are mono, for use with filters and later processing) while being able to take direct control of both scope and camera through a laptop is very liberating.

More common are the DSLR or mirrorless models you’ll find around the necks of enthusiastic amateurs, which are useful for a wider range of photography. Although a few of these have been modified by their manufacturers into more dedicated astro-cameras by removing the IR filter that usually covers the sensor, letting through more of the wavelengths emitted by deep-sky objects.

Sensor sensitivity is worth taking into account when considering one of these for astro use, as a lower noise level, and therefore higher usable sensitivity setting, will gather more light with each exposure. Some advanced cameras have a night sky mode in their autofocus settings, but almost all have a screen on the back that can be zoomed into, allowing for very precise manual focus adjustments. If you’re going down this route, a screen that tilts and swivels will make life much easier, as a fixed screen will always be tilted downward when you’ve got your lens aimed at the sky.

There are two other things you’ll need in your kit bag: one of the best lenses for astrophotography and one of the best tripods. Lenses are key to collecting light quickly and a tripod will keep your camera steady when you’re trying to focus on distant objects. We’d also recommend picking up a lens heater, to avoid things like fog and condensation on cold nights.

But before you start looking through accessories, here’s our round-up of the best cameras for astrophotography.

Nikon D850: Best for all-round performance day or night

(Image credit: Walmart)

A workhorse and detail-oriented powerhouse, this 45.4MP DSLR is possibly one of the best cameras for astro full stop

Specifications

Type: DSLR

Sensor: 45.4MP, Full-frame 35mm

Lens mount: F-mount

ISO range: 64-25600 (102400 expandable)

Viewfinder size/resolution: Optical, 0.75x mag

Video capability: 4K UHD 30FPS

Weight: 915g

Size: 146 x 124 x 78.5 mm

Memory card type: 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-II, 1x XQD/CF Express

Reasons to buy

+Huge stills resolution for extra detail +Native compatibility with F-mount lens range +Reliable and durable weather sealing

Reasons to avoid

–Bigger and bulkier than mirrorless –Low ISO range –Optical viewfinder

The Nikon D850 DSLR is one heck of a powerhouse. The D850 can capture incredibly high resolution stills images with insane detail and still manages to keep noise relatively low. Though released in 2017, this old dog already knows the newest of tricks thanks to its near-future-proofed 4K UHD 30FPS video shooting ability.

It has an optical viewfinder like all DSLRs, which makes it a little more difficult to compose and focus for night sky imaging, but the rear tilting touchscreen more than makes up for this. It has two card slots for SD and XQD/CF Express cards to make sure it can record all that fabulous detail quickly. It is considerably more heavy, bigger and bulkier than astro-specific cameras, or mirrorless competition, but thanks to its rugged construction and excellent weather sealing it will last for many years to come. Full button illumination (also seen on the then flagship D5) means it’s easy to operate in the dark without the need for a headlamp. And thanks to its expandable ISO sensitivity range of 102400 it can practically see in the dark, though image quality will be drastically reduced at this level.