Improve the quality of your astrophotography with this automatic lens warmer

Improve the quality of your astrophotography with this automatic lens warmer

Arduino Team – September 20, 2022

Night photography, and more specifically astrophotography, requires a very long exposure. To get a good picture of the stars, you can leave the shutter open for several minutes. This gives nature enough time to produce dew on your lens, which can ruin the photo. The solution is a lens heater, but running that heater all night can consume a lot of power. That's why Andrew Brocklesby designed this automated lens heater that only activates when needed.

Heated wristbands are common and affordable equipment for photographers. They slide over the lens frame and use electrical resistance to generate heat. Like the rear defroster in your car, this heat helps remove the condensation that forms when moist air comes in contact with a cold surface. Brocklesby's apparatus takes into account that condensation only forms if the ambient temperature and humidity are at specific levels. If not, there is no need to activate the lens heater and waste energy.

This device contains an Arduino Nano board, an SHT31 temperature and humidity sensor and an OLED display. These mount to a custom PCB that handles the connections and power distribution. Thanks to the SHT31 sensor, the Nano can monitor the ambient temperature and humidity. When they reach a level conducive to condensation, the Nano activates a standard USB dew strap through a MOSFET. The OLED display shows information about current conditions. All of these components fit into a 3D-printed enclosure that Brocklesby can connect to a power source like a USB power bank or his car's 12V outlet.

As you can see from his sample images, this camera helped Brocklesby capture some amazing photos.