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Old 08-10-2019, 11:28 PM
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Bluknghtv (Daniel)
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scope for galaxy season

well I have my eon 130 refractor, now I want to get some good shots of galaxies. Not sure what scope would suit with my canon 5dsr. I was looking at the 12" SW quatro or the 300/1500 f5 Black diamond. The quatro an f4 at 1200mm. Thoughts on any else?
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Old 08-10-2019, 11:44 PM
Wavytone
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Take a look at who's doing what, and the gear they use - in this forum on IIS http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=7

The reason I refrain from mating a camera to my scope is that so many people are banging away at the usual bright suspects that IMHO it has become pointless. And many of them have better gear than you or I can possibly afford.

Think about that aspect, before you leap in.

On a more positive note - another website to look at is http://www.astrobin.com as the details of the camera, scope, exposure and often the mount are available.

Note - your DSLR is really only entry-level in this game - the serious types are using cooled camera heads made specifically for attaching to telescopes (ZWO, FLI, Starlight Xpress and others).

I'd also suggest your refractor is a fair start, add a field flattener and you have a start at colour imaging, a lot of galaxies are within reach of that. Master the software workflow first (focussing, many frames to reduce noise, then the post-processing). Once you have that under your belt consider buying a better (cooled) astro-camera to match your scope.

This however is the start of a very slippery slope, financially. If you are lusting after serious fast aperture the Riccardi-Honders or Celestron Hyperstar scopes are the competition and it gets worse... more exotic big stuff can do f/1.5. I know guys who have spent north of $50k and more on this so be careful where this leads.

At the big end of town the technology is still evolving fast - an FLI Kepler 6060 camera, for example, that can match or exceed a typical cooled CMOS camera from 40,000 USD to a quarter million or more depending on the grade and QE of the chip. For now, guiding still wins. In ten years? Maybe not. But what it does mean is that any amateur plunging serious $$$$ on gear is inevitably going to find it is outdated very quickly.

And to what end ? Hmmm ?

Last edited by Wavytone; 09-10-2019 at 12:26 AM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 07:17 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Im a beginner with 2 years experience and bang away at anything from close up lunar terrain to magnitude 9.5 galaxies with my 8” f5 Bintel newt and second hand Canon 600D (the scope only cost me $450) I image both at Bortle 8 Sydney and Bortle 3 Narrawallee
Not exactly expensive gear !!!
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Old 09-10-2019, 07:34 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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Sorry , forgot to show some of my galaxy images with this scope over the past 12 months
Cheers
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Old 09-10-2019, 07:51 AM
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Bluknghtv (Daniel)
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yes need to catch up one day startrek when you down at Narrawallee. I'm at Burrill Lake. I've been doing astrophotography for a while now and can process, as I'm a photographer. Not pixinsite as yet that will be the next deep dive after I supertune my sw azeq gt mount. Can't spend more money atm just for the program. I was thinking a 9.25 edge however at small aperture I'm not sure. I do like the 2000 odd mm but thinking a light bucket would suit these smaller galaxies. My eon at f7 is okay but its only 910mm. I have a bintel 2x barlow which causes it to be f14. A power mate is the next item as well as a reducer as some nebula I would like to get wider on

there's a reflector here in the classifieds for $400 bucks which seems okay
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Last edited by RB; 16-10-2019 at 06:48 PM.
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Old 09-10-2019, 08:29 AM
Startrek (Martin)
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For $400 it’s a good deal on a 10” , just be cautious about your payload on that Az EQ mount
My 8” f5 with camera , guide scope , mini auto focuser , finder , dew heaters and cables weighs in at nearly 14kg on my EQ6-R mount which is just about its limit for sub arc sec guiding. My EQ6-R has a total payload rating of 20kg ( AP rating of recommended 65% which is 13 to 14 kg )
The 10” with bells and whistles would be up around 17 or 18kg ??
Just a heads up
Payload weight and good balancing is paramount for good guiding and obviously chasing after faint fuzzies
Cloudy Nights has some good posts on 8” and 10” newts for AP
I was originally going for a 10” but chose the 8” and glad I did , the 10” is a big beast on a tripod mount , ok if on a fixed pier
Good luck with it !!
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Old 09-10-2019, 06:00 PM
morls (Stephen)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wavytone View Post
The reason I refrain from mating a camera to my scope is that so many people are banging away at the usual bright suspects that IMHO it has become pointless.
...And to what end ? Hmmm ?

It's great fun
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Old 09-10-2019, 09:11 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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I just thought of an important imaging accessory
If you decide on a 10” f4 or f5 newt or any newt f6 or faster you will definitely need a coma corrector for imaging
I use a Baader MPCC Mk 111 which screws into my Canon T ring adapter and works extremely well , couldn’t image DSO’s without it
Cheers
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