Smartphone Planetary Photography Guide

iPhone, Android, or other mobile devices capturing through telescope eyepiece. Learn how to get the best results with your setup.

Typical Settings for Smartphone
Common capture parameters for smartphone

Frame Rate

30-60 fps

Format

MP4 (H.264/H.265)

Resolution

1080p or 4K

Challenges
Common issues when using smartphone
  • -Video compression introduces artifacts
  • -Limited manual control over exposure
  • -Difficult to align with eyepiece
  • -Lower resolution than dedicated cameras
Pro Tips
Get better results with these tips
  • -Use a phone adapter for stable alignment
  • -Record at highest quality setting (4K if available)
  • -Use ProCamera or similar app for manual settings
  • -Keep videos under 30 seconds for best results

Recommended Algorithms for Smartphone

Median Stacking
Best Choice
The safest choice - naturally rejects outliers and artifacts

First-time planetary photographers - safe and reliable

Sigma-Clip Stacking
Statistical outlier rejection - for scientific-quality results

Removing cosmic ray hits that appear as bright dots

Weighted Quality Stacking
Your sharpest frames contribute most - ideal for variable seeing

Nights with variable atmospheric seeing (most common scenario)

Smartphone Guides by Planet

Choose a planet to see specific smartphone processing guides:

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