Read an article saying DSLRs are dead for backyard astro - got me fired up

I caught a blog post last week from a guy named Tom at 'SkyWatch Weekly' who claimed that smartphone cameras have gotten so good that there's no point buying a DSLR just for night sky photography. He even said a Samsung Galaxy S24 can pull in Orion's nebula better than a Canon 60D did five years ago. On one hand I see his point for quick shots, but on the other hand my old Nikon D5100 with a 50mm lens still captures way more detail in the Milky Way than any phone I've tried. What do you all think - is the traditional DSLR setup still worth the hassle or are phones actually taking over for backyard stargazers?

2 comments

2 Comments

david73913d ago

Had the same debate with myself last year. Grabbed an old Canon 600D off a friend for cheap. Phone shots of the moon look fine, but try getting Andromeda with an iPhone. You just can't. The sensor size difference is massive. Phones are great for quick snaps, but they hit a wall fast with faint objects. Stick with the DSLR if you already have one.

mary_patel5912d ago

Actually used to side with the phone camp on this one. Then I tried stacking a dozen shots of the Lagoon Nebula with my wife's Pixel 8 and got nothing but noise, while my old Nikon D90 with a cheap zoom lens pulled in real color and shape. Phones are catching up fast for bright subjects, but for backyard deep sky work, a proper camera still wins.