NEOWISE Comet (C/2020 F3) — How to Photograph? DSLR Tips.

Neowise Comet (C/2020 F3) is (was?) a retrograde comet, discovered on March 27, 2020, with the NEOWISE space telescope, which became visible from the Earth with the naked eye near the perihelion in July 2020. What does it mean to astronomy fans and astrophotographers around the world? A photography feast! This comet is so bright (magnitude 2.9 at the peak) that it is visible to the naked eye in the night sky. If you still have time, grab your photography gear (and a pair of astronomy binoculars to gaze at the comet) and take this one-time opportunity to photograph the brightest comet since the Hale–Bopp comet in 1997!

How to Photograph the NEOWISE Comet Using a DSLR/Mirrorless Camera?

The best thing is that you don't need any specialized cooled CCD astronomy camera to capture the comet; you don't even need an astrophotography telescope (yet you can use one too)!

Also, you don't have to be a professional - or even beginner - astrophotographer to capture this celestial beauty. It's brighter than the Andromeda galaxy, and you can catch it with a standard, widefield, or telephoto lens with ease!

Space and Astronomy Weekly by Paweł Białecki from Astro Photons

Set your camera on a tripod.
Point it at the comet.
Set the focus to infinity.
Set a proper exposure time — 20 - 30 seconds for a widefield lens, 10 seconds for a standard lens (50mm - 55mm — the so-called nifty fifty), and 3 - 4 seconds for a telephoto lens. If you want to use a telescope, I would definitely mount it on a tracking mount, not on a tripod.
ISO depends on your camera — experiment.
Release the shutter, and enjoy your images!

NEOWISE Comet at 35mm (APS-C — 50mm Full Frame Equivalent) — The Standard Focal Length

C/2020 F3 NEOWISE Comet at 35mm focal length (Fujinon 35mm f/1.4) — C/2020 F3 NEOWISE comet photographed in Bogatynia, Poland (Europe — Northern Hemisphere) using a standard lens — field of view similar to the human eye. Fuji X-T20 camera and Fujinon 35mm f/1.4 @ f/2 lens mounted on a Fornax Lightrack II equatorial mount. 4 seconds, ISO 200, single exposure (Velvia simulation).

NEOWISE Comet at 135mm (APS-C Sensor) — Using a Telephoto Lens

Neowise Comet (C/2020 F3) — My final image (cloudy, but better cloudy than none — astrophotography in my area is an infinite battle with clouds) of the NEOWISE Comet C/2020 F3. Stack of 15 x 10s, ISO 800, Rokinon/Samyang 135mm f/2 @ f/2.8 on Fuji X-T20, and Fornax Lightrack II. Cropped.

A quick shot at 135mm lens, uncropped using the fantastic Rokinon/Samyang 135mm f/2. Look how bright this comet was on July 13, 2020! It's not even the night — I took the picture at nautical twilight (single shot).

Conclusions

You can photograph this comet using any lens you have in your bag — from 8mm fisheyes to 400mm telephoto zooms (and even with teleconverters). Just be careful with exposure times using those longer focal lengths — you want your stars (and the comet, of course!) to be pin-point sharp, not some lines!