I'm a keen photographer who has recently got bitten by the astro bug.
My interest at this stage is Nightscapes, and finding interesting terrestrial subjects to tie in to the night sky.
At this stage a telescope isn't on my radar and I'm thinking of a mount something like a HEQ5 to start with, as I will be loading up to 5kgs on it with a Nikon D800 and a heavy lens. I like to have a bit of leeway with the stated weight specs plus from previous experience I know that I'll soon be lusting after some sort of modest 'scope.
OK, first dumb question.
For basic astro shots longer than 30 secs I know I'll need to do some tracking. From my internet searching it seems that I'll need at least a RA motor and controller. Will I need to do a polar alignment for basic star tracking if my camera set-up is level ? I do understand that for GoTo set-ups this is mandatory.
Next dumb question.
With a GoTo set-up, if you make sure your tripod/mount is level, and dial in your co-ordinates (from your android app) can it not then give you the settings for finding the SCP ? ie move horizontal axis 9.6° west or whatever ?
Well , I did warn you that they were dumb questions.
Cheers