Newbie to astrophotography

[Kyle]

Hello there fellow astronomers!

I have become more and more interested in astronomy over the years, and want to start capturing images myself.
Are there any recommendations/stay clear of/tips etc that would be of use to a newbie?
What i am asking is what gear should i look at buying? I am a technically minded person so dont spare the jargon.. :p
The camera i have is an entry level Nikon D40x with two lenses. Is there really a need to have a telescope or can i use my lenses? I have seen some very impressive images taken without a telescope.
I am told a computerised mount is a must, is this right?
I just dont want to waste moneys on gear that wont help me.
I am local to the newcastle area, going to the country hills is not a problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hopefully there will be some of my attempts of art on here soon...
Kyle

[edwardsdj]

Hi Kyle,

You can certainly take some great images with the D40 and camera lenses. I've been using the D80 for over a year now and have been very happy. Just mount the camera on a good tripod (or rock) and take some long exposures of the sky (say 30 seconds). Keep the apeture fairly open and play with the ISO settings. This is the best way to image a planetary conjunction for example where you need a wide field. The colours of the sunrise/set also come out beautifully using a long exposure even when the sky appears really dark.

Be aware that the D80 is far less sensitive than the Canon gear. I assume this is also true of the D40. They are not ideal deep space imaging cameras.

Also be aware that essentially all digital SLRs include an infra-red block filter that also blocks the hydrogen alpha band: the main emmission line from nebula. Without modification to remove/change this filter, DSLRs are not sensitive to the main emmission from nebula.

In my view, the most important piece of equipment for astrophotography is the mount. The bigger and more stable, the better. People get great results with small scopes mounted on huge mounts. You don't need a GOTO mount but you do need one that is sufficiently computerised to allow automatic guide corrections. It needs an autoguide port.

Anyway, hope this helps.

Have fun,
Doug

[dannat]

What size lenses do you have, with 50mm you can shoot wide field shots - constellations, LMC & SMC, I have a 135mm prime and can fit the sth cross in (but its a small constellation).

Once you want to do deep sky - dso, probably will nedd 300mm lens

I think the the most common mount would be the heq5 - which can be had at the minute for about $1000, search for the thread on heq5 in equipment discussions. This is essentially a telescope mount though - I have seen a camera only track mount from a HK dealer, send me a message if you want the website

To get any detail you'll need the mount to track & the camera will probably need a bulb, to get long exp, not many just shoot 30sec frames, but exposure for some minutes
daniel

[Kyle]

Cheers for the replies, i have the lenses that go with the kit sale, the 18-55mm and a 55-200 mm with vibration reduction (image stabalisation).

[cruiser]

Hi Kyle,

I have a Canon DSLR and lens and they recommend that the image stabilisation on the lens be turned off when the camera is mounted on a tripod or similar to avoid damage.
Not sure if its the same with Nikon but worth checking.

Brett

[cookie8]

Hi Kyle
Welcome to AP:welcome:. I am a newbie as well.After many years of visual I started AP 4 months ago and its lots of fun & satisfaction. A wonderful website you must see for AP without telescope:
http://www.astropix.com/
I just posted my first photos in IIS a few days ago. Do take a look:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=30510
Cookie:)

[Kyle]

Will look into that cruiser, thanks for the idea too, i dont want to ruin my lenses.

cookie: are you able to elaborate on the way you set up for the orion shot? i dont have a scope yet and i want to see what my kit can do. I also notice there is some nice reds in your shots, is your camera modded?

Good shots by the way, but i dont know how to take them yet, so i cant offer any feedback sorry!

Kyle:D

[cookie8]

It was taken with a unmodded Canon400D and its kit lens working at 40mm;ISO800 ; f5.6;180sec ;daylightWB;fog filter added to diffuse the star a bit. The camera was mounted on a cheap motorised polar aligned equatorial mount, unguided.
Cookie:)

[venus]

Hi Kyle, you are most welcome to attend the Newcastle Astronomical Society where there are members that have great interests in astrophotography. NAS has meetings and guest speakers on the subject from time to time. The next meeting will be about the South Pacific Star Party that members recently attended and they will show their photos, it could be a great way to start for you. The NAS website has all the info and maps.... http://www.nas.org.au (http://www.nas.org.au/)
Clear Skies
Lydia Macokatic
NAS Publicity Officer