Hi from a newby

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

At the risk of upsetting a lot of people on this forum, can I be so bold as to point out that a SCT is not necessarily the best choice if your prime interest is in astrophotography? I would agree with Ant's suggestion...Why not get as good a mount as you can afford, an ED 80 and a canon 350D as your entry into astrophotography?

Take at look at the presentation made by Chris Venter at the South Pacific Star Party where he says pretty much the same thing;he also has some suggested configurations for various budgets

http://www.dslrfocus.com/support.html

(click on the link to the SPSP presentation to view a copy of his Powerpoint slides)

Once you have a good mount then you can always upgrade your OTA later. A premium apochromat, or if that is out of budget, a Maksutov Newtonian -(just look at the fantastic work Eddie Trimarchi does with his Mak-Newt, plenty of examples in this forum)-would be I suggest better choices for an OTA compared to an SCT

After all Phil Harrington has this to say about SCTs in Star Ware (quote reproduced from another forum):

"What about optical performance? Here is where the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope begins to teeter. Due to the comparatively large secondary mirrors required to reflect light back toward their eyepieces, SCTs produce images that are fainter and show less contrast than other telescope designs of the same aperture. This can prove especially critical when searching for fine planetary detail or hunting for faint deep-sky objects at the threshold of visibility."

"Image sharpness in a Schmidt-Cassegrain is not as precise as that obtained through a refractor or reflector. Perhaps this is due to the loss of contrast mentioned above or because of optical misalignment, another problem of Schmidt-Cassegrains."

I am still waiting to see what the new Meade RCXs can deliver in the hands of amateurs, but in your budget that may be worth considering..

my 10 c worth

[TidaLpHasE]

I did read about the optical misalignment with the LX200's while i was surfing astro sites tonight.

This is getting a bit confusing as i know very little about telescopes full stop, so it's getting harder and harder to understand the differences between models.

I think i should surf around and compare combinations and the images that they take of the same object.

I am itching to purchase a set-up and start experimenting with exposures, and settings.

I need a scope that can be transported and setup reasonably easy, as i have way too much light polution here in the burbs, and will be driving bush often.

Thanks for all advice given, i'm off to research some more astro sites to see if i can compare images with various set-ups.....cheers.
TidaL.....

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Hi Tidal,

Sorry to butt in on the conversation but have you heard about the Star Camp yet?

As you are in Melbourne it's not far for you to come to.
See this link: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ead.php?t=2590

[TidaLpHasE]

Yes i did read about it here, and saw it today on page 96 of AS&T.

It would be a good way to learn some basic tips and also some tips from the pro's

I hope i will have my scope by then, and will pop up for a day.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Pro's? Who . . . us?

Would be great to have you come up. Just a day!! you'll get hooked and stay all 4 nights Lol!

We ALL learn heaps from Star Camps and Star Parties. I hope to.

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Seeker that presentation is great and can go a long way to pointing newbies in the right direction.
I really get concerned when newcommers ask about buying their first telescope with astrophotgraphy as a prime goal. These people should be directed to read the SPSP presentation and see that with anything less than 3k budget you just wont be able to do it properly, and then its with a scope that isnt likely to satisfy visually.

[acropolite (Phil)]

If you have extra in the budget, it might be worth considering the RCX400, being new, there have been a few with teething problems, but they appear to deliver as promised for imaging and I have read quite a few glowing reports. Add to that the RCX has cooling fans, electronic collimation, no mirror shift, ultrawiide EP and inbuilt dew heater.

[TidaLpHasE]

Those pics with the ED80 are great, and what i would be more than happy to achieve.

O.K., if i bought the losmandy G-11, DSI PRO, Canon 350D,
and the needed accessories, what would be the choices of scope i could match with this ?

Scope budget would be around $3-4k

Should steer away from the SCT's ?

I just don't know where to go from here, so many choices and info to consume, it's a choice that i need to have confidence in, so all your opinions are appreciated and welcomed.....

Thanks TidaL.....

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Why get both the DSI Pro AND the Canon? You won't go wrong with the Losmandy G11, its a great mount. Pricey though. No goto unless you get the Gemini. Maybe look at alternatives like an argo narvis. Mind you with the Gemini you can then at least attach to a laptop and use that to drive the mount. (My experience with the gemini, limited as it is, as a got controller it's a pain. Not very intuitive)

[TidaLpHasE]

[1ponders], I think cos i'm greedy, no i love taking lanscapes and ocean pics, i currently have a Canon S45,
which is o.k, at 4mp, but would like the extra 4mp and higher resolution.

I can get some nice detail in A4 size, but does reduce quality on zooming in.

I will look at the argo narvis, thanks for the tip

As for the RCX, i think it would blow the budget, limting my purchase of other required accessories.

I am ready to go with the purchase,,,,,,,,,just don't know what to buy

Thanks for the replies.....TidaL.

[slice of heaven]

Thats a great article seeker. Great to see a well laid out and understandable (for me) write up like that.

Thanks Chris, much appreciated