Help me set up my Canon 50D for good astrophotography!

[sumdumcuun (Jared)]

Hi everyone

I'm new to this forum. Be gentle.

I have always been into the stars, astronomy etc. I love the 1-2 times a year I find myself in the country at 2-3 am on a clear, moonless night... it's breathtaking. It makes you wonder and think.

I have been dabbling a little bit in astrophotography - just mucking around, getting a feel for it.



What I need to know:

1) How can I best set up my Canon 50D with a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens for Astrophotography? Is this a good lens to use? If not, what would be a good cheap lens to use?

2) Alternatively, what cheapish (<$500) compatible telescope could I get to work with my Canon 50D and how would I set this up?

3) How do you layer multiple exposures of a photo to get a great pic like the current IOTW? I have never understood how you do this and still get the stars to match up correctly


Thanks everyone for your help in advance.

Cheers
Jared

[mplanet62 (Michael)]

Astrophoto can be done with any camera, and you have a great set to start with. What else you need would be a sturdy tripod or, if you into "real" astrophoto - tracking equatorial telescope mount (EQ3 or EQ5). They also come in GOTO variant - it's when the mount points the telescope or camera at the object on your command from a remote or computer. Mind it-expensive beasts are them.
Tracking mounts allow for multiple shots of the same objects with minimum deviation - which could be combined later in some image stacking software producing stunning results. the software aligns the images by the markers pointed to by you and makes some extra tweaks.
At your current level I would go for wide-field photos with tripod and leave stacking alone for a while. When you figure out working camera in the dark and making starry sky shots proceeding to more advanced stuff will be very logical.

[Davros (Lauren)]

I would also suggest a change of user name it doesnt read well.

[psyche101]

Originally Posted by mplanet62

Astrophoto can be done with any camera, and you have a great set to start with. What else you need would be a sturdy tripod or, if you into "real" astrophoto - tracking equatorial telescope mount (EQ3 or EQ5). They also come in GOTO variant - it's when the mount points the telescope or camera at the object on your command from a remote or computer. Mind it-expensive beasts are them.
Tracking mounts allow for multiple shots of the same objects with minimum deviation - which could be combined later in some image stacking software producing stunning results. the software aligns the images by the markers pointed to by you and makes some extra tweaks.
At your current level I would go for wide-field photos with tripod and leave stacking alone for a while. When you figure out working camera in the dark and making starry sky shots proceeding to more advanced stuff will be very logical.

Awesome advice, I have wanted to venture into astrophotography for some time, is a goto a must, and may I ask what is a good beginner camera model?

[mplanet62 (Michael)]

GOTO is very handy - but not a must. With a bit of experience one can find something in the sky by eye. Also, programs like freeware Stellarium can be of help. Tracking is a must when taking long series of shots - so a motorized equatorial mount is on agenda for deep sky astrophotography. It's complex to use - but is the only stable base for camera, as the camera may follow the sky quite precisely - thus minimizing motion blur and allowing for longer exposures. But for wide-field shots with relatively short exposure (5-10 sec) a good tripod will do.
Now to the camera. As I have said - any camera will produce some result. Have a look at a photo taken with Canon IXUS 115:



Not the best you saw, but mind it - that's just a point-and shooter laying lens up on a table.
For something to give you more, it better be DSLR. Here's the photo taken with Canon EOS 10D. Old camera, but seriously good one. Just snapped Southern Cross from a tripod (single shot).



Both images were developed later in a photo editor - but it's a software side of astrophoto, and is beyond the topic of this thread.

[psyche101]

Originally Posted by mplanet62

GOTO is very handy - but not a must. With a bit of experience one can find something in the sky by eye. Also, programs like freeware Stellarium can be of help. Tracking is a must when taking long series of shots - so a motorized equatorial mount is on agenda for deep sky astrophotography. It's complex to use - but is the only stable base for camera, as the camera may follow the sky quite precisely - thus minimizing motion blur and allowing for longer exposures. But for wide-field shots with relatively short exposure (5-10 sec) a good tripod will do.
Now to the camera. As I have said - any camera will produce some result. Have a look at a photo taken with Canon IXUS 115:

Attachment 111111

Not the best you saw, but mind it - that's just a point-and shooter laying lens up on a table.
For something to give you more, it better be DSLR. Here's the photo taken with Canon EOS 10D. Old camera, but seriously good one. Just snapped Southern Cross from a tripod (single shot).

Attachment 111112

Both images were developed later in a photo editor - but it's a software side of astrophoto, and is beyond the topic of this thread.

Thank you, they are some lovely photos, when I dig the camera up I will post the model, I do not seem to be able to work out how to keep the aperture open.