[Newb] $500 and i want to take photos! Am i dreaming? :(

[ikon]

Hey Guys!

Near total newb here so please go easy :lol:

Been fascinated by the stars since the day my grandad gave me an 8x USSR made pair of binoculars with incredible lenses.. Never looked at the moon the same way. I then bought a $100 refractor a few years back which never really gave me much pleasure (imo the binoculars were better) . So now ive decided to step it up a little and spend around the $500 mark.

My Goals are.

- Check out the Planets
- Take photos of them
- Peraps some easy to see clusters / nebulae

I understand wanting to take photos screws me over in 2 departments.

1. Most likely needing some sort of motordrive / tracking system for longer exposure ? (or can this still be done for say planets, i couldnt imaging needing to expose for more then 30-60 seconds or so.. or is this still too long to take it static? )

2. The weight of the camera attached means an even more solid tripod etc.

Scopes i am currently considering are these 2:

http://www.yorkoptical.com.au/ProductMenus/Telescopes/tabid/42/CategoryID/613/List/1/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/5128/Default.aspx?SortField=Free3%2cUnit Cost

http://www.ozscopes.com.au/newtonian-reflector-telescope-saxon-f13065at.html




Wondering what your thoughts are?

Cheers
ikon!

[dannat]

Firstly as far as the Saxon goes I don't like the single arm mounts -not really designed for photography through a telescope - with just a camera lens I think they may be ok, but the extra magnification of a telescope will show up errors in the mount and you'll get stars which aren't round.

The astromaster looks like its on an eq2 mount - not very sturdy - at the minimum you need an EQ3. (others will say you need even bigger).
Andrews comms (check links section) has a similar scope for $299 (skywatcher or guan sheng) i think..i would maybe ook for a mount like the EQ3 or guan sheng SV1 as a basic starter mount. Keep in mind even with these usually 30sec is the limit of them without adding an extra scope for guiding which these mounts could not support.
Add a motor drive to the mounts for tracking.
For planetary images people use a ccd or webcam. For other deep sky objects use an slr or ccd (though ccd are expensive

[acropolite]

Marty, for even semi serious astrophotography, really need a minimum budget of around $3000 without even considering a camera. Minimum spec for a mount would be HEQ5, or Eq6, any lesser mount and you are sure to be disappointed.

There are alternatives, Jeanette (do a search for user jjjnettie 's posts) gets some very pleasing results with a GStar video camera and a fairly inexpensive mount. Mike has done some great planetary stuff with just a dob and Webcam. A good starting point with a $500 budget would be to get a nice 8 inch dob as a starter scope, you could then mate the OTA with an equatorial mount and some other necesssary bits in the future for some serious imaging.

[luka]

Marty, if you want to image just planets, you can use a dob with a webcam, see for example here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-201-0-0-1-0.html). A dob will also give you great views of other objects in the sky.
Later on, as Phil suggested, you can get an equatorial mount and mount the dob tube on it which will open the way for real imaging.

A 8" dob and a webcam (Philips SPC900NC can be picked up cheaply on ebay) should not be too much over your budget.

[ikon]

Hey guys, thanks for that info. :thumbsup:

I've obviously well overlooked the whole astro-photography thing. I was really hoping to just hook up my Canon 40D and snap away.. this whole ccd/webcam thing isnt really what i was looking to get into !

Perhaps the DOB is the way to go. Invest in a decent 6"+ , Then down the track look at putting it on a decent EQ3, Then perhaps motordrive the EQ3 ??

Ughh its all too hard on the internet.. i think i need to visit a Telescope shop.. might give me a better understanding! :shrug:

[Kal]

I'd also agree with getting a dob initially. For $500 you could get an 8" dob with a couple of eyepieces, and it will really open up the visual side of astronomy.

If you are really keen on photography, then the only reccomendation I could make is to spend the $500 on a motorised equatorial mount, and stick your camera on it and take some widefield photos through your camera lenses. Or simply use your camera and lenses to take photos of planetary conjunctions and the like. Site Admin Mike has made APOD (NASA's Astronomy Picture Of the Day) a couple of times with these types of photos example (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090226.html)