beginner in astrophotography. colour or monochrome ccd??

[lookus]

hi . i have a 200mm mak/cass (focal length 2500mm f ratio 12.3) on a heq5 mount. i am interested in astrophotography and i am considering a ccd camera. but my question is do i get a colour or monochrome ccd. i understand that couour is easier but monochrome has higher resolution. but does it also depend on the scope? and is one better for planets and one for deep sky?

i would like to ask the fine people here which type of ccd camera you think would be the better option for my setup.

any opinions are much appreciated and highly regarded.

thank you.

[Alchemy (Clive)]

you are starting at the pointy end, as a beginner i would start widefield with a digital camera or color ccd and work up from there.



hope im not being mean its just an honest opinion

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

imaging at that focal length will be challenging...one shot colour for planets may be Ok but for Deep sky maybe you should look at something like a DSI while you learn about autoguiding , perfect polar alignment -a big step up from visual-nd so on

[TJD (Trevor)]

get the easyiest one to use mine i think is ment to be easy but it is realy realy realy realy realy realy realy realy hard its like a 120 page essay due in a week its realy hard but good luke hope you choose the write one

ps good luck

[lookus]

thanks for all the replies. much appreciated.
big thanks to brendan for the pm. explaining possibilities and limitations in more depth.

so with my focal length it seems imaging will be difficult, but not impossible and with some limitations. ie planetery possible but DSO more difficult.

i was originally considering the meade dsi II colour camera. i can get it for under $500, which i am prepared to spend, also the colour camera seems easier to use without spending hours in photoshop or something similar.

would this camera be suitable for planetery images and is it possible to then get a field flattener/focal reducer and/or guide scope to then be able to shoot DSO aswell?

your ongoing help is much appreciated.

[dannat (Daniel)]

yes you can get a 0.5 or 0.6 or f6.3 reducer depending on brand

[Bolts_Tweed (Mark)]

Also worth considering if you really want to try planetary imaging is something like the Meade LPI imager. Cheap - about $160 or so. Have a look at the solar system images pages for idea on the ability of this and other smaller 'video' type imagers. I have a DSLR and a CCD but i still use my LPI for planetary. You already have the focal length so if it is all set up properly you should get results first up with the LPI while it may take quite a while to get deep sky quality first up.

I notice you are on the GC - Star Optics at Mermaid sell them for about this price.

My advice would be to get some results first up using the LPI to keep you going (even lunar) and then all the frustration involved with deep space imaging wont put you off the hobby. Trust me starting DS imaging even all the new digital gear avilable is nowhere near as easy as experienced astrophotographers make it sound if read those forums.

Good Luck and enjoy yourself - thats the key to success.

MB

[gazza83 (Gary)]

Have you had a look in the imaging section of the forum? There is good discussion of the NexImage/ToUcam and the ImagingSource cameras which are some of the more realistically priced cameras for us beginners!

BTW, how do you find your scope and setting up the EQ mount?

Cheers

[lookus]

Originally Posted by gazza83

Have you had a look in the imaging section of the forum? There is good discussion of the NexImage/ToUcam and the ImagingSource cameras which are some of the more realistically priced cameras for us beginners!

BTW, how do you find your scope and setting up the EQ mount?

Cheers

have been reading the forum. my question probably should have been posted there.

i am loving the scope though. setting up the mount is no problem, although i have yet to do a proper polar alignment via the mount reticle. i am finding that all quite difficult to understand. my biggest problem is having to spend so much time on my knees with a kinked neck trying to locate stars through the finder scope. i am looking into adding a laser finder to help get me close before kneeling on the cold damp ground to hone in on the target. yes. i must say that seems to be the only part about star watching that i dislike.

[Terry B]

Originally Posted by lookus

have been reading the forum. my question probably should have been posted there.

i am loving the scope though. setting up the mount is no problem, although i have yet to do a proper polar alignment via the mount reticle. i am finding that all quite difficult to understand. my biggest problem is having to spend so much time on my knees with a kinked neck trying to locate stars through the finder scope. i am looking into adding a laser finder to help get me close before kneeling on the cold damp ground to hone in on the target. yes. i must say that seems to be the only part about star watching that i dislike.

The joy of star hopping.
I used a rubber backed camping rug on the ground to reduce this. (now I have goto and an observatory so don't suffer with wet knees)