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Old 19-06-2019, 07:24 PM
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MPS (Mathew)
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What is a good beginners DSLR camera?

Hi all
I have been using an zwo planetary camera with so so results so far.....as advertised, for planets great but I have been increasingly interested in capturing DSO objects and the odd cluster. I have a 10' goto dob and an 8' meade LX 65. What would be an ok DSLR to start off with?
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Old 20-06-2019, 08:46 AM
JA
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Hi all
I have been using an zwo planetary camera with so so results so far.....as advertised, for planets great but I have been increasingly interested in capturing DSO objects and the odd cluster. I have a 10' goto dob and an 8' meade LX 65. What would be an ok DSLR to start off with?
Hi M,

There are many possibilities, but to narrow the field somewhat and help others make suggestions:
1. Do you have a budget?
2. Is either New or used OK?
3. Specifically DSLR or is Mirrorless Ok?
4. Any brand pref?
5. Any preference for Full-Frame v APSc size sensors?

Best
JA
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Old 20-06-2019, 10:03 AM
casstony
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The Nikon D5600 is a good option - it's inexpensive and low noise. You could play around with 30 second exposures on the alt/az mounts but you'll need an equatorial mount and shorter focal length to get decent pictures (eg. HEQ5 + 80mm refractor)
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Old 20-06-2019, 12:16 PM
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sil (Steve)
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...so so results so far...
So you expect DSO to be easier? if you're getting poor results with zwo then I suspect its your process not the gear thats to blame. planetary is dead easy. you dont provide enough information etc, would be ironic if you have a great zwo for dso and thats the cause of poor planetary.
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Old 22-06-2019, 07:59 PM
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MPS (Mathew)
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So you expect DSO to be easier? if you're getting poor results with zwo then I suspect its your process not the gear thats to blame. planetary is dead easy. you dont provide enough information etc, would be ironic if you have a great zwo for dso and thats the cause of poor planetary.
Thanks for input. Yeah I agree I think I suck and need to find something better than YouTube to teach how to stack.
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Old 23-06-2019, 09:10 AM
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I think if you go back and answer JA's questions that would be a good place to start. I would add that the SCTs are a hard place to start on DSOs.
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Old 23-06-2019, 11:57 AM
glend (Glen)
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Back to the camera question for a moment, as Tony suggested the Nikon D5600 is a nice camera, but you don't need all the features for AP. The Nikon D5300 uses exactly the same sensor as the D5600, and is a lower cost option.

As far as scopes are concerned, if your going for a DSLR camera, try to get a fast (f ratio) scope, to facilitate shorter exposure times. Chris is right SCTs are a harder place to start. Aim for f4 if you can, which translates to a Newt on an EQ mount, which would be the budget option for DSOs.
You could potentially stick the 10" Dob on an EQ mount but it would need a fairly hearty mount to carry it, you would need a tube ring set as well.
You can buy very fast scopes, like f2, if you have the money, but most folks start with a basic f4 or f5 Newt, say 8" in diametre. It's a good size, will grab DSOs, low cost, but get the imaging version ( which has the focuser positioned for imaging. Stock visual newts don't usually have enough in focus travel for cameras.
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Old 23-06-2019, 08:26 PM
Hemi
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Hi MPS,

What ASI cam do you have currently?

For me the most important consideration is working out your specific use case.

Is the camera solely for Astro and solely for DSO? If your not wanting any daytime use out if it, then my feeling would be to buy a dedicated CMOS Astro camera, if the one you have is not suitable already.

I’m still very much a novice imager, but I broke the process down into steps.

1. Scope and mount stuff: accurate alignment/goto/tracking. Accurate focus.
2. Hardware/software: mount talking to computer. Computer talking to camera. Configuring capture, goto, plate solving software. acquisition of the data
3. Post processing or near real time processing.

I started with a DSLR, as my main hobby is photography, but even so quickly shifted to a Astro cam. The primary driver for this was wanting to learn near real time imaging as an intermediary step (and a genuine interest in it). A dedicated cam and sharpcap is much easier for this than the alternatives (astrotoaster, dslr and backyard EOS etc)

If a DSLR is the definite way forward, with no daytime use, I would suggest a used Astro modified one. They are quite cheap! Otherwise go the whole hog and get the current Sony full frame mirrorless. Greg has made some great posts on these.

Best

Hemi
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