Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamJL
I do shoot a lot from a Bortle 7 site, and if I go down the path of a filter, then that would likely force me to get something to guide with, right? My understanding is my exposures will drop significantly, if I get something like the Optolong L-Enhance.
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The filter is going to cut a portion of the unwanted light out of the shot. It will also allow you to take longer subs which then would benefit from guiding certainly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdamJL
The reason I thought of a camera was because I like shooting emission nebulae (who doesn't) and I am missing a lot of that from the shots I've taken. I know my cameras can be modified, but I'd rather not do that and just get the right tool for the right job. Generally I'm not a fan of using one tool for many tasks.
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I had the same problem when I started out on a DSLR, I decided to get the dedicated astro camera. I guess really the final question is to ask what your budget is and prioritise from there. Here are a few things you could do to upgrade your rig.
1. Autoguiding setup - you could do this for around $500 with basic sort of stuff, or a bit more if you wanted more sensitive equipment, allowing for longer subs and more pinpoint stars.
2. Light pollution filter - this is probably the best way to improve your shots before moving up to a dedicated astro camera if you want to continue to use your current DSLR and give it a try. Here's a great article that will explain it better than I ever could -
https://www.astropix.com/html/i_astrop/dslr_ha.html
3. Dedicated Astro camera - either one-shot colour (OSC) or mono depending on what you want to do. OSC are generally cheaper and more beginner friendly and will be able to pick up more of that HA in emission nebulas than your DSLR. Note that you will still run into problems with light pollution with a OSC camera, however this can be mitigated through the use of a LP filter. Mono will allow you to do narrowband imaging (as well as colour), but it is more expensive due to camera cost and needing filters for LRGB and Ha/OIII/SII. It's also more complicated in terms of the process of acquiring and processing subs. However, this is a fantastic method for 'cutting through' light pollution to reveal nebulas (but in results in false-colour images). Either way, I'd suggest a camera will a thermo-electric cooler to help reduce noise levels.