Step into Astrophotography

[Madanie7]

Hi all,
Can I get some help on taking the step into astrophotography.

I currently have a 5d as well as a 70-200 L Series lens and a good quality Manfrotto tripod. I was thinking of using this kit as a starting point to learn. Will focus on objects like Orion Neb, Pleiades, Andromeda Galaxy etc.

I was looking at the iOptron Starguider pro where I could upgrade eventually to something like a William Optics Z73 or equivalent and still keep this mount.

I will probably never be in a position to outlay huge amounts and I would be happy to really get good at wide-field objects

Is this a decent direction to head in?

Cheers
Brendan

[glend]

Skywatcher has a DSLR mount that you could consider.

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/skywatcher-star-adventurer-bundle-black/

It is marked as on special at $499 On the Bintel home page.

[RickS]

Yes, that's a good way to start without spending too much money. I have the Star Adventurer that Glen mentions and have been happy with it.

Cheers,
Rick.

[Madanie7]

Thankyou.

The Star Adventurer seems to get pretty decent reviews.

Chees :)

[silv]

Is there a reason why you don't want to use your Nexstar mount for direct camera wide field use? You'd only need an L-bracket and off you go. Or put your camera piggyback onto the 6" tube. The AZ-mount limitation in exposure time shouldn't be a show stopper for what you want to do now or in the future.

[Madanie7]

Hi Annette,
Had never even thought of doing that or knew it was even possible.

[silv]

Hi Brendan,

How long the exposures can be before star trailing appears? That depends on your camera lens. The wider the field (i.e. the less mm), the longer you get. Afterwards, with several exposures of 10-30 seconds you can stack a load of photons into one image.

Have a look at the results here. https://www.astrobin.com/search/?search_type=0&data_source=&integration_min=&license=0&license=1&license=2&license=3&license=4&license=5&license=6&end_date=&integration_max=&solar_system_main_subject=&pixel_size_min=&q=Nexstar%205%20se&pixel_size_max=&camera_type=5&camera_type=4&camera_type=3&camera_type=2&camera_type=1&camera_type=0&camera_type=any&start_date=&aperture_max=&aperture_min=&moon_phase_min=&telescope_type=22&telescope_type=21&telescope_type=20&telescope_type=19&telescope_type=18&telescope_type=17&telescope_type=16&telescope_type=15&telescope_type=14&telescope_type=13&telescope_type=12&telescope_type=11&telescope_type=10&telescope_type=9&telescope_type=8&telescope_type=7&telescope_type=6&telescope_type=5&telescope_type=4&telescope_type=3&telescope_type=2&telescope_type=1&telescope_type=0&telescope_type=any&moon_phase_max=&page=2
As you can see, on the left hand side you have several search options. I just typed in Nexstar 5 SE... Sure, the people are not using piggy back camera+lens but use their scope. But they do stack frames of 10-30 seconds to a beautiful image. Just look at Orion... :)

Piggyback the camera onto a scope is actually easier. Because you have the finder scope and even the GoTo functionality for finding and framing the objects. On a dedicated camera mount like Star Adventurer etc. you don't get the finder scope nor do you have a comfortable way of properly aligning telescope/camera and mount. So that's a difficult and therefore probably frustrating setup for a newbie... especially when you're not a rich newbie.

Cheers Annette

[silv]

For piggy back on a mount and scope like yours Bintel has a $35 mounting bracket https://www.bintel.com.au/product/celestron-piggyback-mount-nexstar-568/

A different way would be a tube ring with a 3/8 screw. But.. that would put a lot of additional kg on top of the tube far away from the balance centre. Maybe Bintel can advise which mounting option is best for the weight of your camera and lens.