Quote:
Originally Posted by RyanJones
You’ve started in the best way possible by getting advice first so you’re off to a great start. Astrophotograpy is a mine field and I’d say most of us could talk for hours about where to start and where that will likely lead you. The equipment You’ve listed is a great start but very quickly you’ll be making the next decision of where to go next. If you’re into nightscapes and as far as you want to go is wide field DSO regions then it will probably serve you well for a while. If you’re interested in going deeper into nebula and can see yourself even eventually going down the avenue of a dedicated Astrocamera then you may want to start with a more capable mount. That doesn’t mean that you have to spend mega bucks but it means looking at a sturdy equatorial mount that can be guided. You can even pick up a good second hand one to use while you cut your teeth. It will be overkill for just a camera and lens but it will at least serve you well for a while. As far as scopes go keep your focal length short and your f ratio at around f/5 or f/6. Fast scopes are great but they create a lot of dramas. Dramas that will only frustrate you out of the hobby.
For the record, this is not the path I took, it’s the one in hindsight I should have taken.
Good luck and keep asking questions
Ryan
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Thank you Ryan! I'll bear that in mind as well. I struggled to find anything telescope related, let alone stand alone tracking mounts, second hand. What is available new, from what I can see, is at around $2000 + for an equatorial tracking mount. I would love to get one of those, but the trouble is I can get a beginner setup for that price. I guess it is something that I will eventually upgrade to. However, I don't want to invest that sort of money before I have cut my teeth as you say, learnt how to shoot, learnt how to edit, learnt how to stack properly, and all the rest of it. I can't wait to get going. I'm already taking moon shots through my telescope using my phone, and that's bringing me a lot of joy. I'm still learning how to best use my phone's camera settings though. What I really want to do in the short term is to be able to get a 'true colour' shot of the moon, that would be amazing!