Astronomy Photographer of the Year: Equipment Analysis

We analyzed 828 images shortlisted for the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition in the past six years to learn what equipment was used.

Want to know what cameras, lenses, telescopes, mounts, and star trackers are used by the best astrophotographers in the world?

We’ve got the data right here!

See below for a summary of the findings and read on for a more detailed analysis.

About This Research

This analysis is produced by information generously provided to Skies & Scopes by Royal Museums Greenwich. You can see details of the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition and exhibition here.

In total, we have looked at 828 astrophotography images shortlisted in the competition from 2018 to 2023.

Each image is then categorized as one of the below:

1. 315 Landscape Astrophotography images (including aurora)
2. 284 Deep Sky images (galaxies, nebulae, etc)
3. 229 Planetary images (including solar and lunar)

Breaking up the images into these categories is necessary as different equipment is typically used for different types of astrophotography imaging.

If you want to learn more about how we did this analysis, please see our methodology here.

Now let’s look at the results and admire some of the images, including the overall 2023 winner here:

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Canon, Nikon and Sony Dominate DSLR and Mirrorless Cameras

Looking at just DSLR and Mirrorless cameras, it is clear that Canon, Nikon and Sony lead the way – combined they account for 97% of all cameras in this bracket:

Canon is the number one brand over the six years of data we looked at overall.

However, when we narrow this down to just the past two years we can see that Nikon and Sony have overtaken them:

Looking at the later data on models, this seems to be the result of Sony and Nikon’s newer mirrorless models being more popular than Canon’s.

Mirrorless Camera Use Increases Every Year

The trend towards mirrorless cameras increases every year:

In 2023 it was up to 58% Mirrorless vs 42% DSLR. From the chart above you can see a clear pattern.

This reflects the growing shift in photography of mirrorless cameras becoming more popular than DSLRs.

Mirrorless models have become more affordable in recent years and are smaller and lighter.

Full-frame Cameras Are Top

When we compare sensor size, we see that full-frame sensor DSLR and mirrorless models are much favored over APS-C:

This is because full-frame sensors are better suited to landscape astrophotography where they can capture a wider expanse of the night sky and perform better in low light.

This is highlighted if we narrow it down to just landscape astrophotography images, where is it 92% full-frame versus 8% APS-C.

The Canon EOS 6D Rules

The most successful models over the past six years are (in this order):

1. Canon EOS 6D – DSLR
2. Nikon D850 – DSLR
3. Canon EOS 5D Mark IV – DSLR
4. Nikon D750 – DSLR
5. Nikon D810A – DSLR
6. Sony A7 III – Mirrorless
7. Sony A7R III – Mirrorless
8. Nikon Z6 II – Mirrorless

To confirm the above finding, these all have full-frame sensors.

The Canon EOS 6D has long been a favorite of amateur astrophotographers and is aging now but this evidence shows that it can still be used to great effect and is still being used in shortlisted images in 2023:

In recent years the mirrorless models have been more frequently used, with the top five in 2023 being:

1. Canon EOS 6D – DSLR
2. Nikon Z6 II – Mirrorless
3. Nikon D850 – DSLR
4. Nikon Z7 II – Mirrorless
5. Sony A7S III – Mirrorless

For more insight on cameras using this data, see our articles on:

• The Best Cameras for Astrophotography
• The Best Mirrorless Cameras for Astrophotography

14mm Lenses Are Most Successful

Comparing lenses used is more difficult since different focal lengths will be used to suit different images.

Here we have looked at the focal lengths below 50mm used in landscape astrophotography images.

As you can see, 14mm is the most commonly used focal length, followed by 24mm and 35mm:

Fast Aperture Lenses Are The Best

When looking at aperture, the faster the better for astrophotography as faster indicates better light-gathering capacity – essential when shooting in low light.

F/2.8 is the most commonly used aperture:

This is at least partly a consequence of lenses at f/2.8 being more affordable than faster aperture lenses at f/1.8 and f/1.4.

Sigma Are The Most Successful Lens Manufacturer

When comparing my manufacturer/brand of lenses used, Sigma is top, followed by Tamron and Rokinon:

There is not a lot of data on individual lens models as these are rarely named by the photographer – only the focal length and aperture are given.

However, there are some named models and the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art lens is frequently cited.

It is particularly well suited to landscape astrophotography with a full-frame camera with its wide angle (14mm focal length) and efficient light gathering (f/1.8 aperture).

The Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens is also popularly used and makes a great alternative to the premium Sigma Art model, with the downside being a slower aperture.

For more detail on any of this, see the Best Lenses for Astrophotography.

ZWO Cameras Rule For Planetary and Deep Sky Imaging

Turning now to dedicated astronomy cameras (CCD/CMOS).

We see that ZWO is by far the most successful brand, accounting for nearly half of all dedicated astronomy cameras used in the last six years:

To understand ZWO cameras more, see our ZWO Camera Comparison Guide.

ZWO Has The Best Planetary Cameras

The most successful planetary cameras are the:

• ZWO ASI174MM
• ZWO ASI290MM
• ZWO ASI178MM

These are monochrome, uncooled, CMOS cameras with fast frame rates and modest resolutions – the attributes wanted in a camera for planetary imaging:

This data includes solar, lunar and planetary, but we can break this up to see which models come out top separately

The top solar cameras are:

• ZWO ASI174MM (18%)
• FLIR Grasshopper3 (16%)
• ZWO ASI178MM (11%)

The top lunar cameras are:

• ZWO ASI174MM (30%)
• ZWO ASI178MM (15%)
• ZWO ASI120MC-S (11%)

And the top planetary cameras without lunar and solar are:

• ZWO ASI174MM (25%)
• ZWO ASI290MM (19%)
• ZWO ASI462MC (6%)
• Player One Astronomy Saturn M-SQR (6%)
• FLI ML16200 (6%)

One thing that was notable was that Player One Astronomy cameras were very successfully used for planetary imaging in 2023, whereas they had never been used in any year prior to this.

For a deeper dive, see our article on the Best Planetary, Lunar & Solar Cameras.

ZWO and FLI Have The Best Deep-Sky Cameras

The most successful deep-sky models are the:

• FLI ProLine PL16803
• ZWO ASI1600MM Pro (note: this model is discontinued)
• ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
• ZWO ASI2600MM Pro

These are cooled, high-resolution cameras that are well-suited to deep-sky imaging:

The FLI Proline PL16803 is a CCD model that tends to be used in observatory settings with professional-level Planewave and ASA telescopes.

The ZWO models are more often used by amateur astrophotographers with backyard setups.

If you want more information on any of this, see our article on the Best CCD and CMOS Cameras for Astrophotography.

Celestron is The Most Successful Telescope Manufacturer

Overall for all images using a telescope, Celestron telescopes are most commonly used, followed by Takahashi and Sky-Watcher:

There are differences in the market for these telescope manufacturers, with Celestron and Sky-Watcher offering a range of affordable models in the reach of amateur hobbyists, and Planewave and ASA being premium observatory-level models that are much more expensive.

Celestron SCTs Lead For Planetary Imaging

Looking specifically at planetary imaging, Celestron’s range of Schmidt-Cassegrains are the most successfully used telescopes:

The reason the Celestron SCTs are well-suited to photographing the planets is that they have long focal lengths. This enables you to get close into the planetary object being imaged.

For more on this, see the Best Telescopes for Planetary Imaging.

The Takahashi FSQ-106 ED Is The Top Deep-Sky Telescope

For deep sky imaging telescopes the top brands are:

1. Takahashi
2. Planewave
3. Sky-Watcher

And the most successful telescope types for deep space are:

1. Apochromatic Refractor
2. Imaging Newtonian
3. Corrected Dall-Kirkham (CDK)

The most successful model overall is the Takahashi FSQ-106 ED:

It is a quadruplet apochromatic refractor telescope.

Apochromatic refractors are telescopes that are optimized for widefield deep sky astrophotography by correcting the chromatic aberration that occurs with regular refractors.

See the Best Telescopes for Astrophotography for more insight on this topic.

Sky-Watcher Is The Most Successful Mount Manufacturer

Sky-Watcher is the most successful mount manufacturer – 33% of all images used a Sky-Watcher mount.

They are followed by Astro-Physics, Celestron, Software Bisque, Astro Systeme Austria (ASA), Planewave, and iOptron:

The vast majority of planetary images use Sky-Watcher or Celestron mounts.

Whilst Sky-Watcher mounts also lead for deep sky images, and mounts from Astro-Physics, Software Bisque, Planewave, and Astro Systeme Austria (ASA) are also frequently used.

Software Bisque, Planewave, and ASA provide premium observatory-grade mounts and setups.

The Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro Is The Most Used Mount

The Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro is the most used mount overall:

The Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro has become more popular in the last three years, as have the ZWO AM5 and iOptron CEM70.

For planetary imaging, the most used models are the:

1. Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
2. Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro
3. Sky-Watcher HEQ5 Pro

For deep sky imaging, the most used models are the:

1. Sky-Watcher EQ6-R Pro
2. Software Bisque Paramount ME
3. ASA DDM85

For more on this, see our article on the Best Telescope Mounts for Astrophotography.

German Equatorial Mounts Lead, but Harmonic Mounts Coming Up

It is well known that equatorial mounts are best suited to astrophotography and German Equatorial Mounts have been used in the majority of images overall:

Notably, in 2023 this falls to 53%, with Direct Drive and Harmonic mounts increasing in popularity.

This is at least partly the result of a new range of affordable harmonic mounts entering the market in recent years from companies like ZWO, iOptron, Hobym, and Rainbow Astro.

The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer Is The Most Successful Star Tracker

iOptron and Sky-Watcher are the most successful star tracker brands -accounting for 78% of all star tracker use over the six years.

The Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer is the most successful model overall with the iOptron SkyGuider Pro in second:

The Fornax LighTrack II and Move Shoot Move star trackers have become much more commonly used in the past three years (although still behind the iOptron SkyGuider Pro and Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer).

See the Best Star Trackers for Astrophotography for more on this.

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More Information – Astronomy Photographer of the Year

Thanks to Royal Museums Greenwich in London, UK who host this competition every year and provided me with the data to examine.

You can visit the exhibition and buy the book with all the shortlisted images on the museum’s website.

If you want to learn more about how we did this analysis, please see our methodology here.