DSLR and 135mm lense

[APSC]

Hello, I have been watching this forum for quite some time now, reading here and there, today i decided to register just to ask some questions about simple gear and what results I should be able to achieve with it. 

Since iam new in Astrophotography and Iam not looking farward in to investing, atleast not now, I was wondering what kind of results I can get with Canon 550d and 135mm 2.8f m42 lense? I know that people modify their cameras, use tracking systems etc is it possible to get decent results using only this kind of setup and a tripod ofcourse. I believe it is possible to take multiple exposures without tracker, although the exposure will be somewhere around 2.5s?

I wonder if its possible to photograph deep sky objects such as orion nebula, andromeda, pleiades etc. 

So is it worth a try, or should I look for some better options? 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Welcome to SGL! On a tripod you can take a series of short exposures and then stack them with free software like Deep Sky Stacker. Longer exposures will of course give better results, but these require a (simple) equatorial mount with tracking motor. No real mods to the camera are needed to attach a camera to such mounts, although the sensitivity in the red wavelengths emitted by many nebulae like the Orion Nebula is roughly tripled by removal of an internal filter in the DSLR.

[Alien 13]

Hi and welcome, I have an old olympus 135mm F3.5 and it is supprising how much it can capture in a couple of seconds you will need to set the camera at ISO 800-1600 for best results and as said a few stacked images works wonders.

Alan

[Dave Lloyd]

Hi and welcome.

[APSC]

I see, well I guess I will have to try things out I also have canon 6d, but Iam not sure if its a good idea to use 135mm lens on it, since on crop sensor it is 135 * 1.6 = 216mm - a better magnification...

Maybe someone can post a pictures made with simillar setup? And how much stacks I will need to make a good looking picture?  

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

You could start out with a nifty fifty of course

[Cpaulo]

Hi there have a look at Lonely Speck "how to photograph the milkyway" there is quite a bit of useful info on the site for DSLR night sky photography. The other thing to consider, and I don't mean to point out the obvious, is that the more you reduce your field of view (longer the focal length) the less time you have with the shutter open before you get star trails. Wide angle fast lens' are great for nightscape photography, longer focal length lens' benefit from some sort of tracking such as a simple barn door tracker. Lonely speck has lots of examples of what is acheivable with different setups.

[APSC]

I have seen lonely speck website and I already ordered samyang 14mm 2.8f  lense for my canon 6d.. But Iam asking about deep sky objects such as nebulas etc.. I understand that the shutter speeds will be quite fast - with 135mm on crop the maximum exposure should be 2 - 2.5s.. I believe I can make about ~15-20 exposures, then rotate camera using my hand just a little and do another 15 exposures etc.. I know this calls for a lot of work Thats why Iam asking what kind of result I should expect and how much of the exposures I will need, to photograph lets say orion nebula in color and enough detail? 

Supernova - Yes I have nifty fifty, I tried to make some pictures with it but it is good only for wider images, or do you suggest that I should be able to stack lets say ~100 exposures and crop out andromeda out of it and get a good result ? i believe I need something 100mm + or am I wrong?

Here is the picture taken with nifty fifty (canon 6d 50mm 1,8f stopped to f2,5, 10s iso5000 single picture), 1. is andromeda, 2. I believe is triangle galaxy and 3. some kind of star cluster. But can I crop out those object if I stack many exposures like this one? Or do I need tele lense to photograph them with more magnification? 

[Psychobilly]

As long as you have a few distinct "stars" across the image you can stack shorter FL subs... The stacking software can sometimes  struggle a bit with the mis-shaped stars  like those in the corners...

Here's an example  stack of "tracked"  (astrotrac) subs  from an APSC sized camera an 50mm lens

Astrotrac Sadr by Peter Smith, on Flickr

and a 200mm lens again on an APSC sized camera

Pacman 7DII 200L at f3-5 IDAS P2 43x120s ISO800 QS by Peter Smith, on Flickr

Peter...

[APSC]

I see. Now I looked at some other post in the forum and I saw that too get good quality deep sky objects pictures I would need to stack somehwere around ~30mins. of subs..and those were taken with moded camera..  That sounds a lot if Iam gona do it with hands and with 135mm, to reach 30mins of total exposure time I will need 2s x 900 frames..  I guess I need to think of something els ) 

[Psychobilly]

The 200mm image is with a "vanilla" 7DII - un-modified...  I have a modified 7Dmk I to play with these days but so far haven't done a lot with it... you can get away with longer subs at shorter FL's as the trailing isn't so apparent...

[APSC]

I see well i guess I will have to test things out  

One more question, lets say I stack alot of pictures made at 50mm I get the final result, how much can I crop? I wonder if I can make an Andromeda picture that will look detailed with 50mm lense?

[Alien 13]

This is an old shot of Orion I did with the 135mm lens with about 15x20 second subs, as you can see its quite small and not worth cropping in fact that would only make it worse.

Alan

[Psychobilly]

This is M31 with a 200mm on a crop frame sensor...

and crops of M31 with a 50mm and 24-105 at 105mmm

[APSC]

Nice M31 at 200mm ok Ill try something up when the sky gets clear thank you for all the replies  

[cjdawson]

As you can see from the previous posts, it's possible and you don't need alot of equipment.  You already have most if not all if what you need.   Experiment and find what works for you.

Just be sure to use the mirror lock feature and a cable release.  The mirror lock with help avoid any camera shake caused by opening the shutter.  The cable release help avoid camera shake caused by you.

It's amazing the difference just these two simple changes can make.

[Davey-T]

If you're up for a bit of DIY you can make a hand operated " Barn Door Tracker" to get longer exposures, if you're really into DIY you can motorise it.

Dave