I got an email that today that my 8" (diameter, 2032mm focal length) Celestron Nexstar 8SE telescope should be here tomorrow. I ordered it last mid December but it has been backordered since before that due to all of this Covidiocy silliness. I already have a wedge (which makes the mount a true equatorial mount), a guide scope and camera, a reflex finding scope, electronic focusing motor and a focal length reducer/flattener which have been collecting dust since December. I also have a T-ring and tube to mount my DSLR's to the telescope. I have downloaded software to my laptop which will enable me to control all functions of the telescope without even having to touch it!
I also have a rail that lets me mount my DSLR's directly to the mount so I can take exposures of up to an hour or more without getting star trailing. That means I can use the D850 at low ISO's to get very detailed images with essentially no noise.
It is overcast here right now, but it is supposed to clear by late afternoon today and be clear the rest of the week. Let the astrophotography begin!
Any of you remember this beast?
It is the 2000mm f/11 Reflex Nikkor which came out in the early 1970's, and was a very limited availability, special order only, lens. It took about 6 months to receive one once your order to Nikon was placed. I think Nikon made at most a couple hundred of them. If you can even find one now, they are going for around at least $30,000, it is insane. When they came out, they cost less than 10% of that. At $30,000, it now costs over 20 times what I am paying for this telescope, including the computerized, go-to motorized mount and half dozen eyepieces which can give me up to about 300x magnification as well as some specialized filters designed just for astrophotography. The telescope is a little bit faster; f/10 vice f/11, which is really not significant but I am sure it is sharper and with less coma since the design is much more modern and with far better coatings than the late 1960's design for the Nikkor. All of the reviews I have read and watched are extremely favorable!
I also have a rail that lets me mount my DSLR's directly to the mount so I can take exposures of up to an hour or more without getting star trailing. That means I can use the D850 at low ISO's to get very detailed images with essentially no noise.
It is overcast here right now, but it is supposed to clear by late afternoon today and be clear the rest of the week. Let the astrophotography begin!
Any of you remember this beast?
It is the 2000mm f/11 Reflex Nikkor which came out in the early 1970's, and was a very limited availability, special order only, lens. It took about 6 months to receive one once your order to Nikon was placed. I think Nikon made at most a couple hundred of them. If you can even find one now, they are going for around at least $30,000, it is insane. When they came out, they cost less than 10% of that. At $30,000, it now costs over 20 times what I am paying for this telescope, including the computerized, go-to motorized mount and half dozen eyepieces which can give me up to about 300x magnification as well as some specialized filters designed just for astrophotography. The telescope is a little bit faster; f/10 vice f/11, which is really not significant but I am sure it is sharper and with less coma since the design is much more modern and with far better coatings than the late 1960's design for the Nikkor. All of the reviews I have read and watched are extremely favorable!