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Alex,
Thanks for using my 6” newt set up as an example for beginners into Astrophotography
I totally agree that the 6” newt is rarely mentioned on forums , in Astro magazines , YouTube clips etc.... as a first or beginner telescope to get into the hobby. The 80mm refractor is the mentioned first and foremost as a beginner telescope to get started with and I suspect the most popular across the world. There absolutely nothing wrong with starting off with an 80mm refractor, they are excellent instruments which produce excellent images with the right camera and accessories.
However my journey was a little bit different, I started the hobby with the intention of just doing visual astronomy only ( Astrophotography was something a long way down the track if at all ) Bought a 10” push , pull , nudge Bintel dob and I was hooked observing the moon , planets and clusters etc...
The penny dropped when one night I stuck my iPhone 5 or 6 ( can’t remember) against the eye piece a took some lunar images. I thought wow this is unbelievable. Kept occasionally using the iPhone in the dob for about 4 months until I went into Bintel one day, saw Don and asked him for an all round scope for visual and some entry level Astrophotography. I chose the 6” f6 GSO Bintel newt and a HEQ5 mount.My wife didn’t use her old Canon 600D much so I borrowed that and I was up and running with 30 sec and 60sec unguided subs. Over time I learned how to guide, bought a coma corrector, bought a laptop , set up my little outdoor workstation and I was well and truly hooked on AP
The images the 6” newt was producing with my DSLR IMO were pretty good but it wasn’t until I bought the 2600MC, 14 months ago that this little $299 newt really came out of its shell with performance. I then bought the 8” f5 newt for down south in my Obs and next year I’m looking at a 10” f5 carbon fibre newt.
Collimating the 6” f6 is an absolute snack and it’s holds Collimation extremely well.
The GSO Bintel 6” f6 newt is a superb Astrophotography scope and better than I ever imagined.
As Alex suggested, here’s some images taken using my 6” f6 newt in Sydney Bortle 8 skies , over the past year or so
Thanks
Cheers
Martin
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