Advice on buying a Telescope.

[Samb0123]

Hey There,

I need advice on a good Starting Telescope to buy to attach my Nikon D5100 to.

I would assume its a bit like buying a Lens and I see no point starting off with just a Wide Angle lens as the Telescope would be able to see more!!

Lets put this Telescope as an example as it seems to have quite good advertising which I look at seeing I don't know much about Telescopes.
http://shop.australiangeographic.com.au/telescopes/starview-telescope-150eq.html

and I also believe there are two types of Telescope Lenses Refractor and Reflector is there a particular lens type I should be looking for?

I will be also buying a Intervalometer Remote and Red Headlight (I have read that a white headlight can affect your night vision in such activity)

[BeanerSA]

So your prime interest is Astrophotography?

[Samb0123]

I wouldn't say its my Prime Interest yet! Areas of Photography I do like is Night Photography in General. I do enjoy the stars ect, I don't like people photography as much as the above but I will do it. Also Interior Design Photography is another area I throughly enjoy. but at same time as said I see no point skimping on just a wide angle lens like I did on my Camera which I a semi regret and sometimes wish I did have a full frame one.

[BeanerSA]

If you want to take any photos of the sky, the telescope, or kind of telescope, isn't really as important as the mount.

You could, just buy a mount specifically for taking widefield shots of the night sky, for example http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tripods/SkyWatcher-Star-Adventurer/SkyWatcher-Star-Adventurer-Bundle/1904/productview.aspx and you're good to go.

If you want to take long exposures of planets, or deep sky objects (DSO's) then a better quality/higher load rated equatorial mount is going to be the starting point. http://www.bintel.com.au/Mounts---Tripods/EQ-Mounts/81/catmenu.aspx

Then, the choice of telescope comes into play. Bang for buck, reflector telescopes provide the most light gathering ability per dollar. Refractor scopes are much more expensive for the same kind of aperture. The pros and cons of each one are outside my area of expertise.

If all you want to do is look at objects in our night sky, a reflector telescope is a popular choice and range from simple manual dobsonian mounts through to expensive computerised fork mounted reflector scopes.

[dannat]

have you taken any photos whilst tracking the movement of the sky with a prime lens? you ight want ot try this first -a lot of work goes into processing/stacking images- you might want to try this first with a good camera lens [eg 100mm 135mm,] first & see how you go

have you contacted the ballarat astro society to see some members who image already & how they go about it

[raymo]

Firstly, the scope at Geographic has no motor drives, so you would be
limited to short exposures; secondly, it's mount is not sturdy enough
for astrophotography. Thirdly, I strongly suggest you buy from a
specialist Astronomy retailer, as product knowledge and after sales service are very important. Dannat's advice is spot on. Learn a bit about
astrophotography, and then buy a rig with some knowledge of the type
of gear you need.
raymo

[04Stefan07]

As mentioned earlier if you want to get into Astro imaging then the most important part of the setup is the mount. It's usually a high investment if you want to get a decent computerised one but you can spend much less and get a manual one (requires more work to capture images however).

I learnt the hard way and started Astro imaging with an SLT mount. It was wobbly and not really designed for imaging (but you can make some adjustments like I did to make it much more sturdy). At the time I could not afford spending more than 1k on a mount. I recommend you buy a used mount if you can find one here on the forums (I bought mine on here and saved around $400 the RRP).

If you are serious and want to make this a long term hobby I think buying a proper computerised mount will benefit you and is something that will last for years and years.

[Samb0123]

Thanks for the advice guys, I haven't contacted the Astro Society yet Today I did send off a form regarding joining a local photography club/group. I am hoping their is an Astro Photographer somewhere in Ballarat while seeking and learning about the equipment is all good if I find someone well equipped it could be a good thing too.

This means I might be able to get a bit of practical experience with them see in person how everything works (there is youtube I know but there is still something about being there) and then I also may be able to experiment with different things.

[Visionary]

I will second Stefan's comments re: Ice In Space Classifieds. Recently I secured a beautiful Mizar (Japan) manual mount for $195. Just as in photography, the Made in Japan stamp carries a load of authority & quality. Another valuable tool is this forum itself. As I am also a Newbie, when I have questions I simply bounce those questions onto the forum and in no time at all I have the correct answers returned too me. Correct answers will save you a fortune in "Newbie Errors". Astronomy has at real "bite" and once you are bitten you can't get enough and the potential for purchasing errors is huge.

[Hoges]

You can take good photos through a relatively cheap lens. But you need a good mount to do it. And you'll also need to accurately polar align it too. I took this shot of the Horsehead nebula through a 135mm Tasman lens (Pentax K50) I bought here s/h for $90, but it's mounted on a HEQ5 mount housed in what dubiously passes as my observatory. I've only ever visually seen the Horsehead once and it took a 24" newtonian monster scope to see it for me so it goes to show you don't necessarily need a big lens/scope.

This is 4, 4 minute exposures stacked in a program called Deep Sky Stacker (you can also use photoshop).

[Czechmate]

Really impressed!!

[Czechmate]

Nice!!

[Bernie.o]

Back in the good old days long before pre GFC I had the good fortune to pick up a Meade 8" LX90 as my first scope. Was awesome as it had an early autostar star finder. Having only scant knowledge prior it meant that my own astro sessions were rich in info and variation; also impressed my fam and friends;) Going for a second hand one could be the go when budget is tighter. Smaller aperture for the $, but better fun and learning IMO... Also my nephew hooked up his DSLR to it and took some great pics.