Hello all,
I'm only just starting out with astrophotography and I've realized my 10" dobsonian is not a good telescope for this. To that end I'm looking at getting a new scope. I'm really new to this so any advice is really helpful!
Budget: ~ $3000 if possible. Target for my photography: right now I'm thinking planets, but I know I will want to go nebulae and galaxies. Given the choice I'd say optimize for nebulae.
I think an RC, whilst a great AP scope, would be a bad choice to start out with. Too long a focal length for a beginner IMO....
I would get the best mount you can afford (stretch as far as you can here), and an ED80 style refractor or similar. Easy to cut your teeth, and very good for nebulae. Easy to add a guide scope along the way too.
Hello Lee,
Thanks for your reply. I did consider
the Orion ED80T http://www.bintel.com.au/Telescopes/...oductview.aspx
But I thought the RC was a better scope at a slightly lower price?
I hear what you say though, that perhaps it is not a great beginner scope.
In summary - yes, I think an NEQ6 and ED80 would be a better starting place in AP.... you'll quickly find out the scope will be the cheapest component in any case. I would think the learning curve for a beginner on an RC would be pretty steep....
If you go to http://astrobin.com/ you can search for the type of telescope or mount to see what type of pictures people are taking with that equipment.
For ~ 3k and nebula, the Orion ED80T CF seems a good bet. Either the SkyWatcher HEQ5 Pro or NEQ6 in case you wanted to upgrade to a heavier scope in the future. That should leave a few hundred left over for accessories!
Just search astrobin with "Orion ED80T" and see the images.
If you goto Bintel, grab the HEQ5 mount, the SWED80, an Atik Titan (OSC version) camera plus the Orion mini autoguider package. That'll set you back $3276.
That would make for a good first timer's setup for that price.
If you could add another $1000-$1100 to your purchase, you could get the Atik 314L+, which is an excellent camera. Get the OSC version. You can always get mono cameras later once you have enough to buy the filters, filter wheels and such for them, plus gained experience with using CCD cameras. Another way to get into astropics is buying a DSLR like the Canon 60Da, which is designed for taking these pictures. It comes built for astrophotography and you can pick one up for $1100 online. However, they're not so great on planets, but the Atik Titan will do really well on both planets and DSO's.
Thank you all for your suggestions! It is really helpful.
Carl, your suggestion is really quite interesting to me, as I already have a DSLR and camera mounts.
Of course, my main question is, if I go with the SWED80 and use my existing DSLR I could probably afford to get the NEQ6 mount. Is that a worthwhile investment, or am I better off to go with the HEQ5 and save that money for other equipment down the line?
Most people on this forum and other Astrophotographers generally look after their gear very well and only sell up when either trading up or become time poor when family pressures or circumstances get too much.
And in my experience, the IIS forum members are a decent and trustworthy bunch. You'll save 30-50% off new prices and make some great contacts. I'm still in touch with everyone I bought gear from and love the helpful advice freely offered and given.
My suggestion on gear is as as suggested in the other posts, get the best mount you can afford, EQ6 or HEQ-5 and an 80 or 100 mm refractor, guide scope and eventually, a modded Canon DSLR (almost all other DSLR's are a pain to use for AP) or a CCD One shot colour camera.
Advice?
Grab the best mount you can afford basically and get it 2nd hand from someone known on here. You will save a bundle and usually get extras as well as some valuable knowledge.
As for a scope, start out with a basic refractor. I am happy to lend you my ED80 for a couple of months so you can see if that is the kind of scope you would like to buy. Maybe post a wanted add for an eq6 or similar.
and get it 2nd hand from someone known on here. You will save a bundle and usually get extras as well as some valuable knowledge.
