astrophotography question from beginner

[malau]

Hi,

If I want to do astrophotography apart from get a t ring (for canon) do I need T adapter as well? What are things I need to have?

Thanks a lot

[multiweb]

:eyepop: You sure will. :lol: But it's lot of fun. If you have a DSLR then I'd test the waters doing a little nightscape and widefield with existing lenses. Get to know your camera and learn basic processing techniques. Next you can have a go at prime focus with a T adapter, but by then the first thing you'll need to learn is guiding with an EQ mount. From there on it's all about breaking the piggy bank. :thumbsup:

[renormalised]

Or taking a new mortgage out on your home to pay for all the equipment you want :) :P

SWMBO better be a kind, compassionate and understanding type of lady, otherwise the lower depths of hell will seem like a Sunday afternoon picnic!!! :) :P

[renormalised]

Seriously, though, once you've caught the bug, there's no cure. At least not one that will readily preserve your life and limb if SWMBO finds annoyance with your new hobby :)

Though, once you do decide to attach camera to scope, your best bet is to start off with a scope of relatively short focal length and wide FoV, so that when you begin to guide your scope to take exposures, the errors which may crop up in your guiding a relatively benign and won't affect your subs too much. Your best bet here is to go for a small refractor, like an ED80 apochromatic rig. They have the best optics for colour correction and such, don't cost the world to purchase and are excellent scopes. Then you need a good mount. never skimp on the mount because if you do, your results will be poor and you'll lose interest very quickly. Best bet here is to invest in at least a HEQ5 or better yet a mount in the EQ6 range. You need something that can handle the combined weight of your scope, camera and the rest of the rig you attach to it. Then you have all the rest of your setup, such as power supply, laptop, autoguider and scope, programs to run the rig, etc etc etc. And, have some leeway in capacity.

A rig like this one...

http://www.myastroshop.com.au/products/details.asp?id=MAS-042N2

would be OK, so long as you stick to using light camera equipment, etc. I would even go as far as to grab the HEQ5 mount instead, but that would add to the cost, naturally.

[renormalised]

Have a look at this setup...

http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tripods/EQ-Mounts/Skywatcher-HEQ5-Pro-GoTo-Mount/96/productview.aspx