Neutrinosoup

A family member is giving me an older DSLR and lens to trade in for a new Mirrorless camera. I want to get something small and lightweight to take on holiday to Canada, and to start learning how to do nightscapes. There’s a Canon sale at the moment, but I’m told they are fairly common: I’m looking at the Canon R50 and Kit lens which will be £750-ish minus whatever I get for trade in. The other option is the older Canon RP but it’s £1000-ish. I could go for Used from a reputable shop for a bit less (but see below) I note that Used body only entry level mirrorless aren’t that much cheaper than a new entry level mirrorless with kit lens in a sale…. TL:DR what lightweight entry level mirrorless would you all recommend for nightscape and landscape photography? And are there better options in the Nikon/Sony ranges? Thanks NC

Thanks, I’m looking to replace a budget 8 inch Dob with something still easily manageable and with better optics and a better focuser. The VX10 at 1200mm would be my preferred option I think?

I’m plotting ahead for My next telescope purchase…. OOUK do two versions of the VX10 a shorter 1200 f/4.8 and a longer 1600 f/6.3…. Is collimating the f/4.8 tricky? I can’t see any reasons not to go for it over the VX10L unless it’s a pain to collimate? (size and weight I suppose). Thanks Niall Also, if anyone has this scope or can point to a review on it for me it would be much appreciated.

Aperture is everything….very interesting write up. Up until I bought an 8 inch dobsonian recently I was a refractor only person. When I first used the Dobsonian I couldn’t believe how silly I had been. I still think a lightweight 4 inch Apo like the Takahashi FC-100DC is an unbeatable grab and go scope. And my little 3 inch apo is my binocular substitute (lazy eye, so binoculars are useless to me)…..however neither match what I can see with the dobsonian. You mentioned considering adding a 12 inch Dobsonian to your collection? I’d been debating adding an Orion Optics U.K. 10 inch with upgraded mirror cell…..simply because of size, weight and storage. Have you experience of lifting a 12 inch and ever compared it to a 10 inch? —> And to anyone else have any of you used a “standard” 12 vs a “premium mirror” 10?

Thanks….maybe easier to use something like this: (didn’t mean to get blue font!!) —> it shouldn’t need an adaptor and it’s cheap Canon EF-M 22mm F/2 STM Pancake Lens

Hi, I’ve been looking for a budget camera for my daughter and I to use for nightscapes and landscapes without breaking the bank. I’m looking at the following: 1) Canon EOS M3 - 2nd hand = £220 ish 2) Samyang 14mm f/2.8 Canon EF = £250 ish from reputable online resellers second hand or £160 from eBay Are these options reasonable and do I need an adaptor to fit that lens? We will take on holiday to rural Canada this Summer, so a lightweight budget tripod recommendation would be appreciated! Thanks Niall

Is there a clear favourite between the Star Adventurer GTI and Ioptron skyguider pro? For entry level astrophotography with a mirrorless camera? And do I need the extra cost of ipolar if I’m familiar with polar aligning an HEQ5 Pro? Finally are either compatible/controllable with either an iPad or iPhone —> or do I need to take a laptop outside with them? Thanks Niall

Apologies if I can find all this with the search function!! My 13 year old daughter interests are Art & IT & visual astronomy and academically physics and maths. - are there any photography courses for land and nightsky scapes & basics of DSLR that any of you could recommend? We live in Dumfries and Galloway - is there a guide for a stepwise approach to astrophotography focusing on land and nightsky moving on to deepsky (rather than planets) - likewise on equipment, I can teach her how to use an EQ mount and polar align etc. I’m guessing something like a star adventurer mount and 2nd hand Canon DSLR to start with? Then add in a Redcat 51 etc… It would be nice to have an upgrade path that started simple but had kit that could be added to rather than immediately replaced. p.s if this is all in a sticky thread somewhere please just link that and apologies again!! Niall

Sadly can’t use binoculars, lazy eye after a childhood squint operation. I do have a WO Megrez 72mm scope which is kind of like a big monocular….. and WO FLT98mm than I want to sell because I rarely use it. It sounds like I should be using the 72mm scope on andromeda?

The Orion optics UK 10 inch dob can just about manage I think?

I’m really enjoying my 8 inch Dobsonian, in Bortle 3 skies in SW Scotland it shows a lot on a moonless, cloudless night. I have a question about larger Dobsonians…using Andromeda as an example, on a clear night I see a brighter core and a smudge outside that with no real detail. What would it look like through a 10 inch and 12 inch Dobsonian?? And has anyone done live view pictures in the same seeing conditions that they could link me to? Also does a premium 10 inch Dobsonian with 1/10pv mirror (alledgedly reflects significantly more light??) get close to a more standard 12 inch dobsonian…. many thanks, Niall

Are there any decent quality lightweight apo refractors in the 5 inch range or are they all beginning to get too heavy for Grab and Go?? At 4 inches there’s the Tak FC-100DC that’s as light as most 3 inch apos…. Are there equivalents to this moving up an inch? thanks, Niall

Same issue…..my 17.3 Delos isn’t used that much. I use The Panoptic 24, Delos 10 and 6 on average night & 10 and 4.5 on a good night. I’ve also got a Nagler 13mm that I use when I go on holiday with my 72mm small refractor. Delos aren’t good for a travel bag!! I’ll probably add 5mm Nagler to my travel setup at some stage. On the cheap eyepiece front - the starguiders have got my daughter out with the Dobsonian without fear of damaging the eyepieces above and are performing well.

Non-astrophotographer wanting to dip my feet in the water… My daughter wants to take some pictures of the planets and try stacking with our dobsonian. I’ve also got a 72mm apo and HEQ5 Pro mount, which I may want to dabble with at some stage. —> Is the cheap-ish ZWO ASI224MC camera a good choice or do I want something slightly more expensive for future proofing? —> do I just connect the camera to an old laptop for a live view and is there a way to Bluetooth/wifi to a device? if there’s a guide to this sort of stuff already on the forum, please just point me that direction and I’ll stop with the silly questions. thanks Niall

Thanks, I’ll test it on Thursday/Friday! 🤞