But op used the word camera 3 times and the word phone 0 times...

Thanks, but this was with a real camera on a tripod 🙈🤣

I've done astrophotography with this camera a few times, and used to use my DSLR. I find this camera a bit more difficult to use because it's mirrorless, and the light from the screen gives me problems seeing the stars. I have astigmatism, so it takes me a while to go from bright to dark. Because of that, I use the focus guide to make sure that the stars are in focus. For some reason, this time it's showed them as being in focus, but they're clearly not.

I don't know what changed this time, but it's bloody annoying! >.<

On a good number of newer automatic lenses going all the way out will take you past infinite. Best to zoom in on a bright target star, I usually use live view and zoom in on the display as well. Focus on that star and don't touch the focus the rest of the night.

Next time, switch to manual, and put focus on as far out as can go

Unfortunately, that doesn't work with this lens. It's a Sony a6000 16 - 50mm kit lens, and in manual focus mode, roughly a quarter of the focus range is marked as infinity, and going all the way out goes 'past' the stars. They start off blurred, come in to focus, then get blurry again. I don't know what deep space objects Sony expect people to photograph with the kit lens, but apparently they're really far away 😝

I've used this camera for astrophotography quite a few times, and that's what makes this so annoying. I live at the edge of a dark skies site, so have been able to take photos from my back garden quite regularly. This was my first chance to get to the wetlands though, and get some different photos.

As you say though, the views were amazing, so that's definitely a bright side :)

Definitely!

I struggle to see the stars on the small screen on the camera though, especially in the cold and dark, which is why I used the focus guide. I don't think I'll be trusting it as much in the future though 🙈

This might make you laugh - in manual focus mode on this lens, almost a quarter of the focus range is marked as infinity! I haven't figured out what Sony thinks I need to focus on past the stars yet 🤣

It does have an app, but it only lets me take jpegs rather than raw. As I need to edit the photos afterwards, jpeg is no good for me.

I should have checked the focus after the first photo, but because the focus guide said that everything was ok, I didn't think to. I won't be making that mistake again :(

For images of objects that distant, you need to manually focus into infinity to get good results.

That's what I thought I had done. This camera, the Sony a6000, has a focus peaking mode, where it puts a coloured overlay on top of the object that's in focus. In a situation like mine, where it's difficult to tell with the eye, it tells you what the camera sees as in focus.

Last night it put the overlay on the stars, telling me that they were in focus. I've used it for astrophotography in the past, so I thought that it was correct. I don't know why it didn't work last night.

I could, but the last few times I've done astrophotography with this camera, the focus guide has worked well. I don't know why it didn't work this time, but I'll definitely be double checking it next time 🙈

It is! 😁