Hi,
I've been doing astrophotography for a few months now and taking pictures of the milky way is not enough for me anymore.
I tried taking pictures of Lovejoy comet...I wish I had better gear at that time
... I want more now
I'm currently using a Nikon D800. In the future, I might switch to ccd cameras if I want better quality.
Do I have to switch to Canon for AP ? It seems to be the favorite for AP.
Canon has been traditionally used due to lower noise and for releasing astro versions of their cameras. Subsequently software for capture and processing has been geared more toward canon raw files and O/S. I note that Backyard EOS now has a Nikon version which is great for capture.
No you don't need to switch.
So I've been searching for quite some time now and also looked at Forrest Tanaka videos on youtube which are very usefull. I want to take pictures of DSOs (90%) but it's a bonus if I can do planetary photography (10%)
DSLRs can handle both planetary (video) and DS photography.
The other consideration is that most good planetary images are taken with large aperture telescopes (starting at 10" - the wider the better generally speaking).
I would like something easy to carry. I don't mind if it's a bit heavy as long as it's not a 2 mans job and fits in the SUV. Easy to setup.
For the mounts:
- Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ6 GT or NEQ6 Pro. Any difference ?
AZ is better for visual work (AZ EQ6 does both NEQ6 Equatorial only).
- Atlas Pro EQ/AZ
- CGEM 925 or CGEM 925 Pro. Any difference ? (
I've got no idea sorry)
- CGEM DX 1100 EdgeHD
(no idea of celestron products sorry)
an EQ8 or g11?
The NEQ6 Pro and AZ-EQ6 GT (same question for CGEM 925 and CGEM 925 Pro), are they the same ? Looks like the same spec but different names.
I'm looking at ozscopes as they are currently on sales and Bintel.
I'm sceptical about picking Celestron because the review are not that great and the customer service is bad.
I picked these mounts because I think it can be useful in the future if I buy a second OTA.
I also checked the G11 but the setup can be frustrating so I took it out of the list. It's also heavier and a lot more expensive than the others.
I'm still very confused about choosing between refractor or SCT.
Have you considered a Newtonian and a Ritchey Chretien?
I want the objects I'm photographing to fill the frame of my camera.
SCTs have longer focal length so I guessed that is the type I have to choose but I saw different opinions saying that it's not meant for DSOs AP.
We can use a focal reducer which makes it faster, right ? So where is the problem ?
Refractors are generally used for widefield, a SCT are more often found in planetary (but not always).
I don't want to crop my pictures. A little bit is okay but I won't crop 50% of the picture for example.
You should try and match your camera to your telescope. http://www.astromart.com/articles/ar...?article_id=73 here is an article I quickly googled.
For refractors, it would be 100 to 150mm APO. Too expensive above.
For SCT, the SCT C9.25 or C11. I read that the 11" can be too heavy (not really sure about that) and the 9.25" is the sweet spot for the mounts I listed.
If I buy a telescope (e.g SCT 9.25), does it always come with a mount or is it sold separately ?
You can buy separate I could save some money to spend elsewhere. I won't need the extra mount as I will buy another one.
Or I can buy, for example, the CGEM 925 which comes with a mount already and save a little bit.
Case by case basis
What else do I need to buy ? Let me know if I miss something or add too much
- tripod ?
- autoguider
A guide camera and either a guide scope or an off axis guider. you will need good guiding with a SCT. the advantage of an OAG is less flexure.
- guider scope. Some people use a refractor as a guider scope. Why doing this ? More accurate ? But you add more weight to the mount.
- power supply
- focuser ?
- T ring + T ring adapter for dslr
t mount t-ring
- laptop
- anti dew measures
- Upgraded focuser with stepper motor
I haven't looked at all the extras I need for AP because I'm focused on picking the mount + OTA first.
The budget is about $10k but I can be flexible. I think it's already a very good start.
I will also be printing the pictures in big for family, friends, me.
Hope this thread can also be useful for other people
Thank you,
Cheers,
Mqrko.