Starting from scratch

[Ryz (Ryan)]

Hi guys

Apologies if im not posting in the right area. Haven't posted for a while and thought id go away for a bit to try and bed down exposure basics before trying my hand at A/P.

Know that my Skywatcher DOB + T-Ring isn't going to get the job done, but still have the drive to have a real crack at A/P but would benefit from a bit of guidance before opening up the cheque book when I may not need to.

Can anyone suggest where I go from here? Have a Nikon D5300, And 8" SW Dob, I need a new scope and gear that will allow tracking?...

Apologies if my comments are mind numbing stupid..

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Hi Ryan,

what sort of astrophotography do you want to do?

You can probably do some lunar and planetary photography with the dob but if you want to get into deep-sky A/P you will need an equatorial mount.

If you have a decent wide-angle lens for the Nikon you can also try your hand at nightscape photography.

[Ryz (Ryan)]

Cheers Pete

Got a 11-16mm lens recently, are you suggesting tripod and wide angle lens will be good for nightscape photography?

Saturn/Moon will be achievable with DOB?

Down the line, would definitely like to do some deep sky stuff, but as far as gear goes I know that that can become a money pit...

[Retrograde (Pete)]

Originally Posted by Ryz

Cheers Pete

Got a 11-16mm lens recently, are you suggesting tripod and wide angle lens will be good for nightscape photography?

Saturn/Moon will be achievable with DOB?

Yep - the 11-16mm lens should do quite a reasonable job of nightscape photography using just a normal tripod. Set it up at 11mm pointing at the Milky Way near the horizon and shoot for less than 30 secs at around 1600 ISO (or above) and see how you go. You will probably need some processing in photoshop (or equivalent program) to really bring out the details but practising this will stand you in good stead if you want to progress to deep-sky later.
Mike Salway has a guide on his blog accessible from here:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=106879

As for the dob I don't have any experience but there is a thread here which willl give you an idea of what you can achieve:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-201-0-0-1-0.html

Good luck!

[Ryz (Ryan)]

Cheers Pete, looks very useful

Perhaps hold off any any new gear at the moment then?

[Retrograde (Pete)]

You're welcome.

Originally Posted by Ryz

Perhaps hold off any any new gear at the moment then?

I think the basic rule with astronomy equipment is that you need to know what suits your needs to avoid making a potentially expensive mistake. A Planewave on a top-of-the-line mount is no doubt fantastic gear (which I dream of owning one day) but would be frustrating and almost usless to a complete beginner.

I'd suggest reading and learning as well as practicing your nightscape & lunar/planetary photography for now and as your knowledge/experience grows you'll get a clearer idea of where you want to go with your astrophotography and what the best equipment will be for the next steps.

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

the 8" dob and t-ring will give a wide field of view which is great for the moon but Saturn and the planets will be quite small. to get some more 'zoom' a lot of people use this combo:

http://www.bintel.com.au/Eyepieces-a...oductview.aspx

http://www.bintel.com.au/Eyepieces-a...oductview.aspx

5x can also be used for visual use too with eyepieces.

a good way to do planetary with a non tracking dob is to record in video and guide manually the dob by looking through the eyepiece. smooth movements are required though!

if you think of getting into deep sky photography you could probably mount your existing dob tube onto a german equatorial mount - something like a HEQ5 or NEQ6.

cheers

[Ryz (Ryan)]

Cheers Russell

Just to clarify are you mentioning using the camera up the eyepiece itself? When I last got out the DOB found it extremely difficult to get a picture with a point and shoot up to the eyepiece....even with a steady hand.

Irrespective of astrophotography as well, feeling when I start using the DOB again (haven't used for better part of 6 months due to moving and trying to get photography basics downpat) that ill outgrow it in a short time...

Should I look at getting an 'entry level' scope that has a motorized mount and better for deep sky? (if such a thing exists?....)

[rustigsmed (Russell)]

Hi Ryan,

Feel free to get my details off Ben and we can chat over the phone or you can check out my setup / to see how to do things.

Rusty