#1  
Old 16-03-2009, 08:12 AM
toryglen-boy's Avatar
toryglen-boy (Duncan)
Scotland to Australia

toryglen-boy is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1,645
Astrophotography Equipment for beginners

Howdy !!

Ok, so i am well impressed with some of the pictures here that you good people are coming up with, and after years of being a visual observer since i was about 12, i finally fancy dipping my toe into the water, that is astrophotography.

So my question to those in the know is this, what equipment can be used, as a begginer for good results? i guess i am asking 3 main questions :-

Whats the least and cheapest mount i can get away with? (i dont have the money for a HEQ6) for acurate guiding on long exposures?

Whats a good scope to use to begin with? a 4" refractor maybe?

Whats a good camera (i know i already asked this, please feel free to ignore) to begin with, and whats a good method for begginers?

hope this is in the write forum, i am sure the mods will move it otherwise!!

thanks for listening to my inane drivel

Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 16-03-2009, 12:20 PM
dugnsuz's Avatar
dugnsuz (Doug)
Registered User

dugnsuz is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hahndorf, South Australia
Posts: 4,261
Whats the least and cheapest mount i can get away with? (i dont have the money for a HEQ6) for acurate guiding on long exposures?

I started out with DSLR camera and lens on an EQ3 mount (motorised RA drive only) which allowed 30-60sec exposures depending on accuracy of polar alignment. Next came the EQ5 GoTo mount with autoguiding capabilities and astroimaging opened up to 5-10minute exps!!! All of the pics in my signature link below were taken with this mount.

Whats a good scope to use to begin with? a 4" refractor maybe?

ED80 all the way - cracking scope for the price, like this one...
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=42421
Otherwise, try camera lenses to start with.

Remember, as you increase the focal length of the scope (+ weight of accessories/camera etc) you also increase the need for a more stable and accurate mount.

Whats a good camera (i know i already asked this, please feel free to ignore) to begin with, and whats a good method for begginers?

Anything Canon - modded or unmodded!! Probably a 450D for the live view capability - I have found that invaluable for focusing. I wish I had it when I first started. If you use lenses though, the camera will autofocus on brighter stars which is very helpful too!

Cheers
Doug


Last edited by dugnsuz; 16-03-2009 at 12:35 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 16-03-2009, 01:12 PM
toryglen-boy's Avatar
toryglen-boy (Duncan)
Scotland to Australia

toryglen-boy is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Canberra
Posts: 1,645
nice one mate

Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 16-03-2009, 09:05 PM
dugnsuz's Avatar
dugnsuz (Doug)
Registered User

dugnsuz is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hahndorf, South Australia
Posts: 4,261
No worries Duncan - just don't believe the hype that you need an EQ6 as a minimum entry into astrophotography (very helpful for progression into the hobby though). A DSLR is a major help though - very forgiving of one's mistakes!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 16-03-2009, 09:56 PM
Chippy's Avatar
Chippy (Nick)
Phoenix has landed

Chippy is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 315
Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
A DSLR is a major help though - very forgiving of one's mistakes!
Hi Doug,

I'm just curious what you mean by this. In what way is a DSLR very forgiving of mistakes? Are you refering to manipulation of raw files..

Regards,
Nick.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 17-03-2009, 08:58 AM
dugnsuz's Avatar
dugnsuz (Doug)
Registered User

dugnsuz is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hahndorf, South Australia
Posts: 4,261
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chippy View Post
Hi Doug,

I'm just curious what you mean by this. In what way is a DSLR very forgiving of mistakes? Are you refering to manipulation of raw files..

Regards,
Nick.
No Nick - the trial and error aspect of DSLR v's Film I meant. With a DSLR you can view results instantly rather than having to wait until a film is developed to fix any potential errors in image acquisition.
Doug
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 18-03-2009, 01:20 PM
White Rabbit's Avatar
White Rabbit
Space Cadet

White Rabbit is offline
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sydney
Posts: 1,411
Whats your budget?

I have an HEQ5pro mount and an 8" newt on it. I just bought a canon 1000d and I'm loving it.

In my experience your better off getting what you want and doing it drip by drip. I have a ETX125, I got sick of the poor tracking on it and bought the HEQ5pro mount and used the 125 on it for a while. Then I bought an 8' dob from bintel with out the base for about $400 about 6 months later. six months later I bought the camera for $800.

It worked out really well because the new pieces of kit tie you over until you can afford the next bit of kit. For me learning how to use the HEQ5 took for ever, mainly because the weather was so crap for weeks when I first got it. I went a couple of months not even bothering with it. Vitually all drift alignment tutorials are for the norther hemisphere and it confused the life out of me.

YOu can buy an Heq5 (not the pro) for $999. I think the only diff between them is one is goto the other isnt. If you have laptop you dont need the goto hand box anyway. Theres plenty of software out there that will run it. To tell you the truth the Synscan hand box is a bit crap anyway, the meade one is much bettter. Slap your old scope on it and off you go. Later on you can upgrade the scope if you need to. While your learning how to align it all properly save up for a decent camera.

I went the DSLR because you can use it for non astro stuff as well, $800 gets you a very nice camera.

I dont know what your expierience level is but unless you know how to drift align you wont be taking any pictures. And it takes while to get the hang of it.

Let the spending begin.

Buying stuff is half the fun lol.

Sandy
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 18-03-2009, 02:04 PM
Ric's Avatar
Ric
Support your local RFS

Ric is offline
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Wamboin NSW
Posts: 12,405
My first images were of star trails with a Box Brownie on a fixed wooden mount when I was about 10.

I used to press and lock the exposure button and spend the next half an hour trying to stop the dinosaurs from walking past the camera.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 18-03-2009, 02:48 PM
jase (Jason)
Registered User

jase is offline
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Posts: 3,916
A computer and image processing software. While these maybe a given, they're often neglected as forking out a couple of thousand just on code makes a few people cringe (and possibly run away for the learning curve is steep). Equipment is one side of the story.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 18-03-2009, 04:47 PM
Terry B's Avatar
Terry B
Country living & viewing

Terry B is offline
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Armidale
Posts: 2,789
You also have to ask yourself what you want to achieve with taking photos.
Will you be happy with an image that looks good on your screen to show friends or do you want to win prizes in competitions?

Once you have taken pics of the common bright objects with the wide field scope (~80mm refractor) where do you want to go?
To get prize winning images like you will see here (not by me ) requires dedication, expensive equipment and lots of time.
A cheaper option is to take science images like variable star estimates, supernova searches, comet astronomy, spectroscopy etc. Depends on your interests.
It's very nice to spend the dollars and get the stuff to take some pretty pics but you need to think what you will do after you've taken 25 pics of eta car and the orion neb.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +10. The time is now 09:04 PM.

Powered by vBulletin Version 3.8.7 | Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Advertisement
Bintel
Advertisement
Testar
Advertisement