I’ve been sent a new outdoor laptop for astrophotography, the Acer Enduro N3. (It’s amazing how certain situations in astrophotography result in the necessity for new equipment). I probably could have wasted a few more nights under the stars troubleshooting the issue, but instead decided to channel the experience as a catalyst for a new machine.

The USB drivers are a complete mess on this old laptop. My aging laptop computer for astrophotography I had some issues connecting to the device early on that I am convinced are related to my aging computer with USB 2.0 ports. The most recent of these products being the impressively small and powerful Pegasus Astro Pocket Power Box. With new astrophotography hardware products hitting the market that demand faster and more capable machines, I knew the old Sony’s days were numbered. The computer I’ve used for astrophotography until now was a Sony VAIO with USB 2.0 ports, 2GB RAM, and a severely outdated processor. I currently use an Acer Enduro N3 laptop to control my imaging sessions (Summer 2020) Upgrading My Computer for Astrophotography My decision-making process should be of value to anyone that finds themselves in this situation. When this post was written, I had just upgraded my nearly 10-year old laptop to an affordable Lenovo Thinkpad. As I said, I prefer the full control of a laptop for astrophotography, but you may want to build a kit with something a little more streamlined. In this article, I will describe some of the options available to amateur astronomers right now. The photo below was captured by controlling my Canon EOS Ra camera with the Enduro laptop outside. The latest computer I use for my deep-sky astrophotography sessions is the Acer Enduro N3.Īcer reached out to me to test their new line of rugged laptops in 2020, and I am happy to report that it is a great fit for my imaging location. I enjoy using a laptop for astrophotography over some of the other choices that are available.

Hardware for mac to control telescope