Michael's experience in astrophotography

I've been taking photos my whole life; when I started, the world was still black and white ;)

From a small Kodak to an instant camera to my dad's Canon EF (which I still have), and then not so much for years.

At the beginning of 2002, I switched to digital cameras, and now my place looks like a camera shop.

I've always found space and astronomy fascinating. How I'd love to go everywhere like in Star Trek—what would it be like?

I never had a telescope; I thought it would just be another dust collector.

Then, a few years ago, my brother's daughters started playing soccer, and I wanted to take pictures too.

So, I started looking for a camera with a big zoom, from Canon and Panasonic to the Nikon P1000.

The girls got better, both of them playing in the U16 league, and one of them is still active and successful there.

So did I.

Get to the point... yeah, yeah...

The P1000 advertised its moon images as a selling point, and I tried that out... successfully.

That's how I got the idea for a telescope and a wide-angle lens in parallel. Because I wanted to see Saturn, Jupiter, and the Milky Way!

After some time, thinking things over, and going back and forth, I sent an email to the contact form on teleskop-spezialisten.de.

Of course, it was detailed, as is my way, with a whole host of wishes, questions, ideas, etc. That was on a Saturday evening.

I expected a reply on Sunday at 11, something like, "Yes, I can offer that, why don't you buy A or B?" etc. Nope, it wasn't the content, but the feeling it conveyed that led to a two-hour phone call.

Okay, there was some information I only partially understood, but it was that feeling that captivated me.

Here was someone who conveyed, "Hooray, a new person who finds this hobby interesting!" Less about "new customer and revenue," but more about
a new member of the family of camera-wielding community.

So I thought about it, emailed a few more times, refused to make phone calls ;) and by evening it was clear.

YES, I want it. So I ordered what was recommended.

A few days later, sorry for all the questions, my hallway looked like Santa's warehouse.

Goodness me, what was that puzzle, and what was it all for, and why was there something left over after assembly?

Well, then came the exciting part, and Karl was always brave. Michael versus his demands and his technique.
He had the patience of a saint with me, even though I tried it for the umpteenth time, of course, differently than recommended. Stubbornness is a skill.

But every success and picture with "look, there's something to see" was met with "keep going, it'll work out" and the feeling of sharing in his joy.

Because "that's my work too, I delivered it, explained it, motivated him, and supported him."



Michael had the patience of a saint with me, even though I tried it for the umpteenth time, of course, differently than recommended. A few technical things came along, mostly because I achieved success more quickly, and technology helps in the beginning.

Some things were useless, others were just right, and some things were like, "No, don't buy anything else, use what you have properly first."

That's exceptional and fosters trust and customer loyalty.

So now I've written more than it took me to set up and configure all my gear after a long struggle, and that's something, isn't it?

As newcomers, if you've actually read this, then you know that I've made it and that with the help of the people on Facebook and Karl, you can build something during this time.

Yes, there's frustration when, like me, you immediately want to take pictures like the Hubble Space Telescope, even large ones, but every new nebula, every galaxy, and every Milky Way you recognize is worth it.


So now I've written more than I needed to set up and configure my equipment, and that's something. Celestron CGX
Skywatcher 200PDS
AsiAir
PC with Windows 10 Pro
ASI 290MM on 600mm guiding tube
ASI 120MC-S
Starsense Autoguider

and:
StarAdventure Pro

Canon 750Da
Canon EOS R
Sigma 70-200
Sigma 150-600
Sigma 14-24 f2.8
Walimex 10mm 3.1
Canon 10-22mm
Irix 15mm f2.4