Astrophotography can be a money pit, so it makes sense to consider which upgrades will give most bang for your buck. I’ve tried to put this list in order based on what I personally find most useful, but everyone’s different so don’t taken the ordering too seriously!
1. Remote automation
Nothing will improve the quality of your astrophotography, unlock new options, and make your imaging life easier than remote automation. It allows you to be physically distant from your set-up (i.e. controlling everything from your warm living room), and set up for all-night imaging runs to gather lots of data. I use an ASIAIR Plus (review here).
A huge bonus with remote automation is that it unlocks plate solving. This is a method by which your remote automation system can find any target you want in the sky by taking photos, comparing the results with a database of star locations, and then (assuming you’ve got a compatible mount, which most modern astro ones are) will move your telescope automatically so it’s pointing in the right place. This is a brilliant system and once you’ve tried plate solving you’ll never want to use anything else — especially if you’ve got lots of light pollution drowning out views of your targets.
I talk more about remote automation, including some options, in my post about how to get long integration times.
Cost: depends on your approach, but under £350.
2. Cooled astrocamera and dual-band filter
I’m counting this as an upgrade because it’s common for people to start out with a DSLR. A cooled astrocamera lets you lower the temperature of your camera sensor, which reduces noise levels. I run my ASI2600MC at -10 degrees C. This also means that you can take a library of calibration frames in advance (Darks in particular) set to the temperature that you use. This saves you a lot of time.
A modern CMOS astrocam will allow you to use short subs. Check out my post on how to get long integration times for more about this.
Good astrocams also have heaters that keep the sensor from icing up during very cold nights, potentially saving you from a wasted night’s imaging.
As for the dual-band filter, I talk about that more in OSC vs Mono in a City. They open up the world of narrowband imaging to OSC camera users. I use an Optolong L-Ultimate (review here) and an Askar D2 (review here). Note that if you’re using a Mono camera, a dual-band filter isn’t so efficient for you so you’ll likely want to invest more money in a set of SHO filters instead.
Cost: if you take the OSC route then budget at least £1000. £2000 will get you some very good kit.
3. Pier
I’m all for making the most of any available gap in the clouds to add to your integration times. This helps to combat the light pollution that we contend with in cities. A pier is one of the best ways of achieving this. As a permanent base for your telescope it offers improvements to lugging a tripod out into the garden: being permanently polar aligned and offering a rock-steady base are just two that spring to mind.
I wax lyrical about my DIY pier (a.k.a. Todmorden pier) in these post about how to get long integration times and my astrophotography kit. Click here for an excellent article on how to build a DIY pier.
Cost: £300-400 including accessories for a budget pier.
4. Autoguider
An autoguider is a mini telescope (guidescope) and camera (guidecam) that attaches onto your main telescope. Its job is to ensure that your mount is tracking the sky accurately. If it notices the stars drift even a little, it sends a message to your mount to correct the error. This allows you to take long exposures of many minutes without star trails.
Autoguiders also allow you to dither your images. This is when your mount moves a slight amount between subs and improves the final quality. I’d argue that dithering is essential, especially when taking lots of subs to combat light pollution from a city. The only reason I haven’t placed autoguiding in a higher position in this list is because some mounts have an in-built dithering option. An autoguider is still preferable though.
Off-axis guiders do the same job but need a bit more set-up. They’re better if you have a long focal-length telescope.
I previously used a William Optics 32mm Slide-base Uniguide Scope (review here), and now use a William Optics 50mm Guidescope with 1.25″ ROTO Lock (review here). My faithful guidecam is a ZWO ASI120MM Mini (review here).
Cost: £200-£300 will get you a good autoguiding set-up (guidescope and guidecam).
5. Processing software and a fast computer
Good image processing is vital to any astroimage so you want the right tools for the job. There are quite a few options out there and it’s worth doing some investigating to see what editing software suits you best. I use PixInsight (review here), which is tailor-made for astro processing. It’s very powerful but also quite complex. Photoshop is another popular choice and can be used for all your editing. I use it, along with Lightroom, for certain tasks once I’ve done most of the work in PixInsight. Some people really like StarTools although I can’t quite get my head around it. This is just a selection of what I’ve tried; there are loads more out there. Find software that “clicks” with you and lets you get the most out of your data.
All that processing can be demanding on your computer. If you find it slowing down under the strain then you’d probably benefit from some hardware upgrades. Here’s a trick for if you’re using a Windows machine: during an image processing session, open Task Manager and check your Performance. If your CPU is often running at 100% then a faster CPU would help. If DISK and MEMORY are high then more RAM would speed things along.
Cost: varies hugely depending on what you go for.
6. Mount
The conventional wisdom is that a sturdy mount is the most important part of any imaging system. It’s the foundation, figuratively and literally. A good quality mount will let you track targets very accurately, allowing for long exposure imaging with no star trails.
The reason I haven’t put a mount at the top of this list is because modern astrocameras with CMOS sensors allow for shorter sub-exposures, which takes the pressure off your mount to perform to such a high standard. A pier helps too. I talk more about these factors in this article about how to get long exposure times.
How good your mount actually needs to be depends on the weight it will carry; how long your sub-exposure lengths are; and the focal length of your telescope. It might be that you don’t need as hefty a mount as you initially think, and a lighter option makes set-up and pack-down a lot easier. (A pier negates that issue though). A Sky-Watcher HEQ5 or equivalent from another manufacturer will do nicely for most set-ups.
Cost: About £1000 for a Sky-Watcher HEQ5, which is a decent choice for a lot of astroimagers.
7. Heated dew bands
On humid nights dew can form on your telescope optics, creating a foggy effect that ruins your images. Heated dew bands solve this problem very neatly. They wrap around your telescope and warm it enough so that dew doesn’t form.
You can get them in lots of different sizes to suit whatever telescope you have. Remember to get one for your guidescope too. There are plenty available, along with other dew prevention tools, here.
Heated dew bands need power to operate. If you’re using an ASIAIR unit to control your set-up then this simple adapter allows you to hook up two dew bands that have standard RCA / phono connectors. Some heated dew bands have USB connections so you can connect them to a power bank.
Cost: around £60 should do the trick.
8. Electronic Autofocusser
Your images need to have spot-on focus and there are a few ways to go about this. The budget option is to get a Bahtinov mask that fits over the front of your telescope and gives you big diffraction spikes to help you get your focus just right. These work well, and they’re cheap, so most beginner astroimagers get one to start with. They have a few downsides though, such as needing you there at the telescope to manually focus by twiddling the focus knob. Also, they’re not as effective if you’re using a dual-band filter like the Optolong L-Ultimate, because not so much light reaches your camera and so the diffraction spikes are tougher to see. You can counter this by taking longer exposure times during focussing but it gets fiddly and frustrating.
An electronic autofocusser (EAF) makes focussing accurate and easy. It’s a gadget that couples to your telescope’s focus knob (you need to do some DIY to attach it but that’s normally simple) and then connects to a method of remote automation control, which links with #1 on this list. I use a ZWO EAF controlled by an ASIAIR Plus (review here). It just takes a few button pushes and your EAF will automatically get you perfect focus. You can even set it to refocus over the course of a night, in case temperature changes cause flex in your telescope which then shifts focus slightly.
Cost: under £200, plus a method of control
9. Flats Panel
Flats are a type of calibration frame that removes dark vignetting around the edge of your image as well as visible signs of dust on your image sensor. Taking Flat frames is a hassle. The cheapest way is to attach a white t-shirt over the front of your telescope and take pictures of an evenly-illuminated twilight sky. This can work ok, but a Flats Panel is even better. This is a gadget that allows you to take proper Flat frames whenever you like.
If you’ve got oodles of cash then you can buy an automated Flats panel, but for most of us that’s overkill. Artists’ tracing lights work well, and that’s what I’m currently using. Previously I used a DIY Flats panel that I made myself, which you can read about here.
Cost: about £20 – £30 depending on size
10. Filter drawer
If you’re using an OSC camera then a filter drawer is useful, but not essential. They come in various sizes depending on what you need, but they all allow you to easily swap in a filter without having to unscrew your camera or other parts of your telescope. It’s very convenient if you’re switching between using a dual-band filter like an Optolong L-eXtreme and then removing it to image broadband targets like galaxies. You could swap in a light pollution filter too, if you use one.
If you’re a Mono imager, really you want an electronic filter wheel to make your life easier. But I think that’s overkill for OSC imagers, with our smaller number of filters.
Cost: about £80.
Bonus!
I’ve got two more recommendations to squeeze in. First, if you’re regularly moving your telescope from where it’s stored to your imaging site (in my case, living room to garden) then a carry handle will make the process that much easier. A lot of telescopes have these built-in now, such as my Askar FRA400 (review here) and Askar 130PHQ (review here).
Second, it’s worth making sure your cables are tidy. I use reusable cable ties, and braiding that you cut to size and then and seal the ends with a flame. This will stop cables getting caught as your mount slews your telescope around over a night. It’s also a good idea to label your cable ends as this will help when troubleshooting technical issues.
So that’s my ten (or so) top upgrades. Wondering why a light pollution filter isn’t on this list? It might be good for you, but I haven’t found one that works for me. You can read more about that in Light Pollution Filter Shootout.
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Thank you for your very useful Top 10 Upgrades post. Did you find a model of artists’ tracing light that gave sufficiently flat luminance across the panel? Did you have to use a diffuser sheet to get good flatness?
Thanks for your comment! I use a Gaomon tracing panel, but it’s nothing fancy, just from Amazon. I expect all these tracing panels are made in the same factory and just have different brand names put on them! I dim it right down and find that it works well without any diffuser sheets.
Lee,
I like your list. Just like to point out that Askar has a nice filterdrawer out now. I use it in combination with my ASI533mc pro. Works great and you get three filterholders.
Another upgrade I would recommend is to put a bolt through the front end of you dovetailplate. It should protrude down a cm or two. A blok of aluminium would work as well (I have that). This will prevent the scope from accidentally sliding out of the Dec plate of the mount. It worked for me at least once or twice and will safe you a lot of money. Especially when handling a large and heavy set, the change of misplacing the dovetailplate or clamps that are not grabbing the right spot, is there.
Thanks for the tip! I’ve heard about the bolt-through-dovetail idea before, but haven’t done it myself because then surely the telescope wouldn’t be able to sit flat on its dovetail when stored on a shelf / table — unless I’m missing something?