Interview with Felix Heisig

Hello fellow stargazers, in today's interview we'd like to introduce you to Felix Heisig.

Hello Felix, how did you get into astrophotography?

Hello Rudi,
First of all, thank you so much for letting me participate in this interview series. I'm very honored.

Like most people, I've been interested in astronomy since childhood. I didn't have a telescope back then, but when I earned my first money, I bought one. However, it quickly gathered dust. Visual observation was rather disappointing. Looking at Jupiter in black and white was nice at first, but it soon became boring. As for astrophotography, I was told it was very expensive and only for professionals. So, that was that. There was no Facebook or similar social media back then to connect with others.

Then, until 2015, I basically just watched documentaries and looked at pictures. In September 2015, while we were in Croatia with our campervan, I saw a guy with a camera standing half-submerged in the water, holding glass panes in front of the lens. I'd never seen anything like it before, and my curiosity was piqued. I went over, and he explained long exposures and ND filters to me, showing me pictures. It was incredible what was possible. I'd never seen anything like it. I was so fascinated that I immediately unpacked my Nikon D5100, which until then had only been used for snapshots. I made my first serious attempts at using the camera outside of automatic mode. I read a lot, experimented, and took photos like crazy. I really enjoyed it.

Then I joined various Facebook photography groups and relatively quickly saw my first photo of the Milky Way. Wow, it's possible without expensive equipment! I absolutely had to be able to do that too. So, I read a lot more, watched videos, asked questions, and then made my first attempts. Orion with a 50mm lens. I could see stars, although they weren't in focus, and Orion wasn't fully in the frame, but I was bursting with pride, and the bug had bitten.

I basically spent every day working on (astro)photography. Either I was out taking pictures or practicing editing them. The Milky Way, in particular, captivated me. Then, like most people, I had my Nikon D5100 modified and bought my first tracking mount. I can't even remember what it was called. I think it was something like "Nano" or something. That thing was rubbish, or rather, I was too inept. I sold it immediately and replaced it with the slightly larger Star Adventurer. I have to admit, it didn't work right away either. Astrophotography is often frustrating.

I used that for quite a while. Eventually, though, I wanted more. A TS65Q and an Azeq5 arrived. And again, nothing worked at first. Seems to be normal.


These things were a mess. For deep-sky photography, I now use the ASI183 mono mount, the Spacecat mount, an automatic filter wheel, a motorized focuser, and control everything with the Asiair camera. It's very convenient. That's the reason for the small telescope. I want to use it more portably in the future, as I live in a Bortle 5 region and would also like to photograph fainter nebulae.

For Milky Way photography, I use the Sony a7s, also modified, and very often the Tokina Firn 20mm lens. This combination is simply superb.

You can find more of my pictures on

https://www.facebook.com/photonengrafie or on
https://www.instagram.com/felix_heisig/