I really enjoy the research part. Nice to gain the knowledge and pros/cons before getting something like that. You may find you want something completely different. Every once in awhile I see an expensive scope on craigslist, I may jump on one someday. I' ll be very interested in how you make out with the scopes
Astrophotography
- Thread starter Don Kuykendall_RIP
- Start date
I really enjoy the research part. Nice to gain the knowledge and pros/cons before getting something like that. You may find you want something completely different. Every once in awhile I see an expensive scope on craigslist, I may jump on one someday. I' ll be very interested in how you make out with the scopes
Hi Don,
That telescope is not suitable for astrophotography. It has the wrong kind of mount. The mount pictured in the ad is an Alt-Azimuth mount. What you need is a telescope with an equatorial mount so it can track the stars as they move across the sky. Also, even if that mount were an equatorial mount, it is not heavy enough to carry the telescope + a camera without vibration.
Like anything else, before you can run, you need to walk. Starting out trying to photograph small faint galaxies is very difficult. There is much to learn. You need to align your telescope to the pole accurately - the longer the focal length, the more accurate your alignment must be. You will need to learn the star drift method for aligning your telescope. You also need to learn how to use the telescope. Before you can photograph something, you first need to find it
. This is not as easy as you would think and takes knowledge of the heavens as well as practice. You can use a GoTo mount, but these are expensive - expect goto functionality to add $1500 to $2000 to the price of the telescope mount.For something like a faint galaxy, you also need to constantly guide the telescope as alignment is never perfect. Generally, this is accomplished by piggy-backing smaller telescope on your main telescope and using the second telescope for guiding. There are auto-guiders you can use, but again they are expensive.
Finally ( well actually not finally, there are many other things to consider ) if you're serious about astrophotography, you're better off buying a special purpose astrocamera instead of using your DSLR. They're lighter and usually have facilities for cooling the sensor to reduce noise.
A good starting point would be to get a fast prime lens - something 300mm or up and f/4 or faster, and piggy back it on your telescope. Using this setup, you can get very good pictures of some of the brighter nebulae and the Andromeda galaxy while you hone your astronomy skills.
This site: Astrophotography Techniques has some basic information. This forum site: Cloudy Nights Home would be an excellent place to post your question. There are many very knowledgeable people on it that will be happy to help you.
I'm not trying to discourage you here, it's just that it is very easy to be misled by advertising into buying equipment that doesn't work very well, frustrates you and wastes your money.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Hi Don,
That telescope is not suitable for astrophotography. It has the wrong kind of mount. The mount pictured in the ad is an Alt-Azimuth mount. What you need is a telescope with an equatorial mount so it can track the stars as they move across the sky. Also, even if that mount were an equatorial mount, it is not heavy enough to carry the telescope + a camera without vibration.
Like anything else, before you can run, you need to walk. Starting out trying to photograph small faint galaxies is very difficult. There is much to learn. You need to align your telescope to the pole accurately - the longer the focal length, the more accurate your alignment must be. You will need to learn the star drift method for aligning your telescope. You also need to learn how to use the telescope. Before you can photograph something, you first need to find it
For something like a faint galaxy, you also need to constantly guide the telescope as alignment is never perfect. Generally, this is accomplished by piggy-backing smaller telescope on your main telescope and using the second telescope for guiding. There are auto-guiders you can use, but again they are expensive.
Finally ( well actually not finally, there are many other things to consider ) if you're serious about astrophotography, you're better off buying a special purpose astrocamera instead of using your DSLR. They're lighter and usually have facilities for cooling the sensor to reduce noise.
A good starting point would be to get a fast prime lens - something 300mm or up and f/4 or faster, and piggy back it on your telescope. Using this setup, you can get very good pictures of some of the brighter nebulae and the Andromeda galaxy while you hone your astronomy skills.
This site: Astrophotography Techniques has some basic information. This forum site: Cloudy Nights Home would be an excellent place to post your question. There are many very knowledgeable people on it that will be happy to help you.
I'm not trying to discourage you here, it's just that it is very easy to be misled by advertising into buying equipment that doesn't work very well, frustrates you and wastes your money.
I had already figured out that the scope I mentioned was not good for what I wanted. Again the reason for all the questions was to make sure I did not waste my money on something I could not get the end results I am after. Although I do not want to spend a ton of money I am willing to spend what it takes to get the results I want. Also hard work and study is one of the reasons I want to get into this. It is one way of keeping my brain active.
So here's the thing, I've been into astronomy since I was a child - have 3 telescopes and a degree in Astronomy. There is frankly too much to learn to learn it through a forum like this. If you're serious about photographing faint galaxies, you're probably looking at $5K+ in equipment and many hours learning how to use a telescope. I would recommend going to the Cloudy Nights site and asking for recommendations on good books to read on the subject. For equipment, take a look at:
Best Reflecting Telescopes, Reflectors, Binoculars, Spotting Scopes, Microscopes, Astronomy Accesssories, Astronomical Components- Parks Optical
These guys make some of the finest telescopes around. Don't bother with the Astrolight series - those mounts are too light weight. Look at the "Superior System" telescopes. Any of the telescopes in that line would make a fine platform for astrophotography. Celestron & Meade also make good telescopes, but only their higher end models are suitable for astrophotography - the less expensive models are really only for visual use.
Went through the site. They seem to be making good telescopes, but these are pretty heavy. I think most of their higher end systems are meant to be mounted permanently, rather than be portable.
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Sure do how can I help....first need to know what type astronomy u wanna do...I.e.....planetary or deep space objects(DSO) also do u ever plan on terrestrial? Different types of scopes invert some reverse and some are from perspective. Next would be budget.my email is [email protected]
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
AC016
Senior Member
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Also you can take pics through a telescope lens either hand held or with t-ring to tele-extender(holds eyepiece in alignment) all of which is called afocal as opposes to prime focus which uses a t-ring to mount to telescope.if questions buzz me
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Just an FYI cloudynights.com and astromart both have classifieds...astronomy people usually take care of their gear.be weary of buying on eBay...craigslist can be OK too.and when u get on cloudy nights forums....don't feel bad there are a lot of more experience folks in there and there is a DSLR section.IMHO a DSLR has a much higher resolution than Most dedicated astro cams with a wider fov.the only downside is image noise..astro cams are sometimes cooled to prevent that
I used to have a telescope and did some astrophotography - I sold the kit after I got married as it spent too much time gathering dust. As already mentioned, an EQ mount is essential for anything near 30 seconds. I used a CCD camera, and basically recorded MPEG clips, which were then broken into frames and stacked (Registax - RegiStax- Free image processing software)
For anyone who is slightly interested, it is well worth getting even a basic set up - I still remember the moment I first saw Saturn's rings with my own eyes using a £350 telescope! (Celestron SLT130 - No EQ mount, but enough for our solar system)
For anyone who is slightly interested, it is well worth getting even a basic set up - I still remember the moment I first saw Saturn's rings with my own eyes using a £350 telescope! (Celestron SLT130 - No EQ mount, but enough for our solar system)
How did that trip work out? I am guessing the larger club probably has a dark sky site for members, which could be an extreme advantage. The Dallas club Texas Astronomical Society seems particularly impressive. $40 annual dues gives you access to their dark site in southern Oklahoma, about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from North Dallas. You are going to need dark skies.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
How did that trip work out? I am guessing the larger club probably has a dark sky site for members, which could be an extreme advantage. The Dallas club Texas Astronomical Society seems particularly impressive. $40 annual dues gives you access to their dark site in southern Oklahoma, about a 1.5 to 2 hour drive from North Dallas. You are going to need dark skies.
Ended up not being able to go. Had my first cold/fever in 30 years that week. It is a monthly meeting so will try again next month.
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Light pollution is a problem from a lot of major city's..is best to get away or at least a low lying area will help block light.clubs are nice for comeraderee(spelling?)& learning what people use and get good results from.and Steve we all get hooked on Saturn Jupiter and the moon.
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
Astronomy is fun.but can always be hampered by clouds...I.e.you can spend 5,000,000$ but if your clouds don't clear u have a paperweight.so be aware of your typical weather patterns in ur area.and no matter what u buy there's always another part to buy...lol
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
That is how I found them to begin with. They meet the third Tuesday of each month so I have the date saved.
Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Leaning toward the NEXSTAR 6SE COMPUTERIZED TELESCOPE for now. Will do some AP for bright objects but is easy to use. Seems like it will be a good scope to learn with. The price is not bad so not a lot lost if I end up not using it a lot. With the D7100 my low light capability is better than average so I should be able to get exposure times low enough for now so the mount will not be a deterrent.
Can mount be upgraded at a later date? From what I have seen the equatorial is a better choice for AP. Either way I will need a computerized mount.
Can mount be upgraded at a later date? From what I have seen the equatorial is a better choice for AP. Either way I will need a computerized mount.
patrick in memphis
Senior Member
the nexstar series are nice scopes however the mount they come on is whats called an alt/azmuth mount.unless you buy a wedge that mounts under base to tilt axis it will never truely follow the stars instead it turns and either goes up or down every few seconds there fore not giving you smooth tracking.the wedge will correct for that. or you could look for something with an eq (German equatorial mount) mount that would precisely match the stars with your long/lat. for smooth tracking. you also need to keep in mind what you hope to view/image.large diameter scopes allow much greater light collection for deep space objects (dso's) and far off planets. however just about any telescope will allow you to see planetary or lunar.The pictures that you see on the pc are typically shot with filters and never look like what you see in the scope.when i look at nebulas they look like grey gas clouds but when you stack the photos and process them thats when they come to life.viewing objects is easy,imaging them is not.then you have to obtain and learn software.it really is an art form that is not really appreciated but by a few.all thigs considered then you have to wait for clear sky's.if its too warm the atmospheric boils become a prob if to cold you have to use dew heaters..there's always a new challenge.but when you get those pics you feel like you did something really great, and no one can take that from you.some times you have to think about the fact that he light you see in the telescope is older than the earth, or our universe, and wonder what other great people in our history have been so blessed to enjoy the sights