Bought a new digicam!

[iceman (Mike)]

Well after losing my Sony DSCP100, I couldn't go without a digital camera for too long..

After all, there's family happy snaps to take of the kids, and there's widefield, planetary and moon astro shots to take!

So I've just bought a 2nd hand Nikon Coolpix 5700.. 5mp job with 8x optical zoom and a bunch of manual features. Pick it up today. It can do a bulb mode of 5 minutes! The sony only had a max exposure time of 30 seconds.. But I need a remote control for it.. or, I did find some software that lets me control it from my computer, but I still have to buy a serial cable to hook it up with..

Now if I had a tracking mount, I might be able to do some nice widefield shots without startrails.. but I don't.. But my next project is going to be a barndoor mount!

Anyway i'll post some pics when I get the chance to play around with it!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

Good stuff .

If I work out how to do it , i might try my hand at snapping the moon when it comes back.

Do you use any special adapters?

[iceman (Mike)]

Got the 5700 yesterday, haven't had much of a chance to play around with it yet, still reading through the manual.

Looks like it should be pretty good though, but the shutter lag is a little too long for my liking -the Sony was really fast.

You wouldn't believe it either - the police rang this morning and someone handed in my Sony yesterday! 2 days after I bought a new camera! aarrgh! Now I have to decide which to keep and which to sell.. i know my wife will want to keep the sony for it's speed and simplicity.

But the nikon is good for 8x optical zoom and 5 minute bulb mode!


Starkler to answer your question, *I* don't use any adapters, though I wish I was using one.

I've been using a fixed tripod with the camera on top, and pointing the camera into the eyepiece. However it's a pain in the neck with the dob because you have to continually move it.

I'm going to get (or make) a steadypix adapter:
https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6705

There's also some adapters at www.scopetronix.com - quite pricey though, around AU$300 with includes an eyepiece and the adapters required.

Good luck, and post your results!

[youngwalls]

Hey iceman,

Once again, an excellent website and great for the beginner. Thanks for the digicam feedback- much appreciated. Budget constraints limit me to the Sony but im sure it will do the job.

I noticed that Orion was up-side down in your images, I had never considered that the constellations would be different from other parts of the world!

[iceman (Mike)]

Orion is not upside down for us, it's upside down for you!

Welcome to the site and forum, and thanks for the feedback. The aim of the site and forum is to hopefully spread some knowledge around, bring knowledgeable people to a central location where they can share ideas and views and hopefully bring beginners like yourself in.. hopefully popularising astronomy because we all know how great a hobby it is!

So spread the word, bring your friends back!

Regarding the Sony DSCP100, it is a great camera. it's getting quite cheap these days too, because the P150 (7mp) has just come out. If your budget can extend a little further, the Sony DSC-V1 is probably a better camera for astro-work with a few more manual features, but there's not a significant difference from the P100.

All of the photos in the images section of IceInSpace were taken with the P100, so it can do a fairly good job, but to get the most out of your shots you need to take multiple shots and stack them and do a fair amount of post-processing as well.

It just takes time and practise, and I learnt lots of tips and techniques from other forums around the place, and I'm happy to share whatever knowledge i've learnt.

Good luck and hope to see you back!