Required equipment for astrophotography
At the beginning of the occupation with astrophotography interested people are sometimes not aware that this hobby can be very cost-intensive. At discounters there are sometimes quite great bargain offers for telescopes with fantastic statements about the quality and that as an increase almost still in the two-digit price segment. Some buyers of these offers certainly assume that just any telescope is mounted on a camera, and fantastic astro images succeed.
However, optical components that deliver high quality are very price-intensive. In order to give an idea of the approximate costs to be expected by interested persons, the following overview is intended to show a rough price range of how much must be invested for good images as a minimum. Of course, there are no upper limits, and some things can theoretically be made on a do-it-yourself basis. But here it is about what has to be invested without do-it-yourself in order to achieve halfway good photo results without the disappointment becoming too big. This overview shows a recommendation from personal experience. For other astrophotographers such a table would probably look somewhat different.
When considering costs, it is assumed that a laptop is available.
| Designation | Description | Minimum price margin | Required | Optional |
| Telescope | Depending on preference, a smaller refractor or a small Newtonian telescope is recommended for a beginner, with the Newtonian telescope being less expensive and thus used as a reference for price. | 300-500€ | X | |
| Tripod with mount | A stable parallactic mount with Go-To function (approaching the objects) is absolutely necessary. No inferior mounts should be purchased here. The frustration about blurred images would otherwise be very large with these. | 1.000-1.400€ | X | |
| Astro camera | Theoretically, an uncooled color CMOS camera /DSLR would suffice for the start, but a cooled camera is very helpful, and it would be double the cost to switch to a cooled model after a year. Therefore, a cooled color camera is recommended here. (A mono camera with color filters is more challenging as a starting point). | 1.000-1.200€ | X | |
| Guiding camera | A guiding camera is essential. However, small monochrome versions also work here. (Tip: A guiding camera can also be equipped so that it can be used for capturing planets later). | 180-260€ | X | |
| Eyepiece focuser with gear ratio for precise adjustment around the focus point | Refractor and Newtonian telescopes are usually already equipped with an eyepiece focuser. If not, this is needed. With a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, focusing can be done via the mirror, which requires a lot of sensitivity. Here, too, an eyepiece focuser is recommended. | 200-250€ | X | |
| Bahtinov-mask for focusing | Highly recommended for finding the correct focus point. | 15-35€ | X | |
| Reducer, Flattener, Coma Corrector | Such accessories are almost always to be installed and even if it is only a 1x coma corrector for a Newtonian telescope or a 1x flattener for the refractor. In this case, it is important to make sure that the components were manufactured specifically for the existing telescope. | 150-350€ | X | |
| Heated dew shield, heating tape or secondary mirror heating with control to avoid dew formation | From personal experience can be said: Never shoot without a dew shield. If dew forms on the lens or mirror, the shooting session is over for that night.
Refractors usually already have a small extendable dew shield, but it is not heated. Small heating tapes are often helpful here. For a Newtonian telescope, a small heater for secondary mirror and an unheated dew shield on the outside is usually sufficient. Dew shields provide additional protection from extraneous light. For a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a heated dew shield should be used. | 160-220€ | X | |
| Off-axis-guider or guiding telescope | Necessary to guarantee error-corrected tracking of the Earth's rotation. | 100-160€ | X | |
| Duo-Narrowband filter | There are very many emission nebulae to discover. Since pure narrowband filters are not useful on the color camera, a Duo-Narrowband filter can be recommended. | 200-280€ | X | |
| Light pollution filter | Can be used in areas close to the city for better contrast. | 130-200€ | X | |
| Filter drawer for changing filters | In case you want to change the two filters without adjusting the camera again. | 100-180€ | X | |
| Flatfield mask for generating the flat-frames | Is very helpful for creating the flat-frames. There are also approaches like hanging a T-shirt in front of the telescope and shining a lamp in front of it, but the flatfield mask is preferred here. | 120-200€ | X | |
| Distance adapter for adjusting the working distances of the cameras | To set the correct working distances, some distance rings (fixed or adjustable) are needed. | 15-60€ | X | |
| Transport case for accessories | A transport case with foam lining is used to transport the sensitive components. | 80-100€ | X | |
| Transport bag for telescope and / or tripod with mount | It is essential to have a suitable padded transport bag for the telescope. | 50-80€ | X |
For the required parts, the approximate price range is as follows: 3.075-4.430€.
If the helpful optional components are added, the following results are obtained: 3.800-5.475€.