First attempt...

[chrisc]

Hi everyone,

Yes, boring photos of the moon by someone who's never done it before. Sorry... sorry... sorry... You'll just have to be the hapless victims of my excitement... and I suspect imminently shrinking bank balance.... *sigh* :-)

Instrument: 130mm f/5 simple Newtonian

Method: Handheld afocal dodginess while trying not to bump anything

Camera: Canon IXUS-70 (7.1mp compact non-SLR)

Location: Canberra suburbs on a cloudy and (evidently) moonlit night.

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Soon to (a) collimate my scope, (b) permanently polar-align the mount, (c) learn to use and calibrate the RA motor drive and (d) add a better eyepiece, a Barlow, and polarising and low-pressure-sodium-killing filters.

Any suggestions for a relatively cheap way of getting into prime focus astrophotography would be appreciated (torn between webcam, dedicated astro-CCD products, and a cheap digital SLR)?

Cheers!
Chris

[Quark]

Hi Chris,
Congratulations on your first images, they are better than the first images I took. The equipment you will need for prime focus astro photography depends on whether you want to image deep sky or the Solar System. Not sure whether the words, relatively cheap and astrophotography, gel that well together.

I think the key is to look at what other people are producing and the sort of gear they use, to get a better idea of what might suite you. Its a steep but most enjoyable learning curve, have fun.

Regards
Trevor

[CoolhandJo]

Hi Chris,

They are pretty good shots. To answer your question I started with the Meade DSI, then moved to DSI II, then onto DSI II pro. These cameras seem to be good for zoning in on objects. That is, not wide filed, although you can do some wider fields on say an ED 80 with reducers. These cameras also take pretty good planet shots but suffer from interlacing (lines in between the image). Having said that they still produce some good detail. I have since purchased a Canon 350D and am yet to go "first light", but reading up on it these DSLR's produce best for deep space wide field imaging, but require a bit mo0re skill for planetary shots due to shutter movement etc. My advice, however humbily offered, would be to maybe start out with both types of cameras as they are relatively inexpensive (when comapred to higher end dedicated ccd imagers), however I am sure that others on this forum, who are infinately more experienced than I, may be able to offer different advice. you can see the evolution of my imaging here http://s594.photobucket.com/albums/tt21/coolhandjo/
Oh, and I suppose we must mentioned guiding, eq mount, and focusing as important attributes to any strategy you go for.