nat456

On 28/07/2023 at 02:04, RobertI said:

Out of interest what did you hate about the 5” SCT?

I echo what @Elp said about imaging. I tried imaging with a small APO, cheap EQ mount and a DSLR which I already had. I had to buy some adaptors, reducer and cables, but the results were pretty good. I invested in a guide cam and scope and things got even better, but I stopped there before costs really began to spiral, which they do if you get serious about imaging. I repurposed my mono guide cam for EAA, which I found a lovely simple setup for my light polluted skies, and did for a few years. I’m in a darker spot now and do mostly visual but it’s nice to have the EAA in the back pocket. 

On 27/07/2023 at 21:56, Elp said:

Whether it's worth it is down to your own personal circumstances. I do it mainly because of my local light pollution, can't really see anything of significance visually other than stars, put a camera on and wow, they're actually there in plain sight. Truly deep sky takes some doing (and cost), and mostly relies on good post processing skills in software, otherwise the images just look like stars have been captured if looking at linear files captured with astro cameras. An option for you is to do EAA (electronic assisted astronomy), it works like astrophotography but you're usually looking at a live camera view so don't really need precise scope alignment with the sky or tracking (the software is stacking images in real time improving the view every time it captures another image on the same target), a camera works well because it's capturing over time, your eyes only see at the time. With your current scope you could add an Asiair mini, ZWO 224 or 485/585 MC colour camera, power the air with a usb power bank, and control it all with your phone via an app, no computer needed. The air has a live viewing mode which can stack in real time. Other solutions exist such as attaching a DSLR to your focus tube, but an astro camera will be more sensitive. Other computer controllers also exist which won't limit you to specific manufacturer devices like a raspberry pi loaded with Stellarmate or Astroberry or a Windows Mini PC running free astro software.

If you're interested in AP, have you not got a phone or basic camera you can put onto a fixed tripod? It's how I started by capturing wide field milky way shots with a compact camera, they can also capture the smudge of Andromeda when it's up due to its size and magnitude.

If you get the bug for it, be warned, it'll quickly drain your resources.

I do have a pretty good phone but I’ve never bothered with the night sky app I think it’s called. Because I felt it would never be of any value, like it wouldn’t turn out well. Now I think I will give it a go. I do not have a camera besides my phone, it is definitely something I will invest in soon because I love birds and would like to photograph them as well.

Hello! I’ve bought an 8 inch dobsonian after not being into the hobby for a couple years. The telescope I had before was a 5 inch Celestron Nexstar, and I hated it. It seems like imaging is more fun, but also costs much more and I currently have nothing that would get a start, not even a computer. So my question is does any one solely observe and not do any imaging? Is it worth the thousands to get into imaging?