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Old 14-02-2021, 09:43 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Startrek is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Sydney and South Coast NSW
Posts: 5,990
Welcome to IIS
First thing to confirm is will you be observing from home or a remote location ?? If you are going to observe and take images from a remote location then ignore below as my suggestions are mainly aimed at observing and imaging in the backyard
Most folk start off in the hobby observing the night sky and not think about Astrophotography for quite a while , so I was going to suggest an 8” dobsonian reflector telescope ( Skywatcher or Bintel GSO ) which has the capability with the appropriate eye pieces to observe most deep sky objects , planets and the moon. The Skywatcher dobsonians also come in a Goto version which can locate and track the object across the sky. For a standard non Goto 8” dob you looking at around $900 and for Goto version around $1800 and it comes with some eye pieces and a moon filter etc...
However if your starting out observing and considering long exposure Astrophotography within a year or so of starting out , then the dobsonian idea is probably the wrong path to go down even though you will learn so much about the night sky using it , I started off with a 10” dobsonian which I had for 2 years before I jumped ship and started Astrophotography. I still observe using a 12” Goto dob
With Astrophotography I recommend an equatorial mount ( EQ mount ) on a tripod which you will have to learn how to set up and polar align whether you observe or take images
Here’s some suggestions for both visual and Astrophotography set ups for under $4k
Skywatcher 6”f5 newtonian telescope on a Skywatcher HEQ5 EQ mount
Skywatcher 8”f5 newtonian telescope on a Skywatcher EQ6-R mount
Or alternate 6” f5 and or 8”f5 Bintel GSO newtonian telescopes on Skywatcher mounts
Eye pieces Plössl 10mm , 25mm and 30mm superview Various brands Bintel , Skywatcher plus a moon filter or some planetary filters
All the above telescopes will achieve focus ( prime focus ) for Astrophotography using a DSLR with T ring adapter ( Canon or Nikon ) or a dedicated astronomy cameras cooled or uncooled using appropriate adapters. In addition you will probably require a Coma Corrector for imaging ( you can get away without using it for visual )
NB: Newtonian Reflector telescopes require Collimation or alignment of primary and secondary mirrors using a laser collimator and / or Cheshire alignment tool ( I use both )
Both 6” and 8” reflector telescopes have adequate aperture and focal length to observe and image most deep sky objects, planets and the moon
There’s so much more I could talk about but that’s enough for now
Hopefully other members chime in and offer some advice and recommendations as well
Good luck and most of all, enjoy your journey in this incredible hobby
Martin
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