TobyW

My lens is the older version. Is isnt the stabilised version. Cheers Toby

Mine is a VERY old 400d. So came with the older style lens... I am upgrading this to a 2000d in the next month or so. Cheers toby

Hi, Blunt is fine with so no worries. I didnt think the lenses I had were any good (for astrowork) hence me asking the question. Cheers Toby

Hi Wyvern, Welcome to the SGL. I am fairly new as well. So saying "Hi" from one newbie to another Enjoy.

Welcome to the SGL. Enjoy.

Ahhh right now I got you. Or at least it makes a little more sense Thanks John Toby

Hi, There is no ininity mark on either of my lenses... Shame Toby

Hi, useful info that. thank you. Where is the infinity focus mark? I know that probably sounds daft but there are no markings on the lens (18-55mm one) that I can see. There are the marks for how much youre zoomed in or out? Cheers

WOW, that looks amazing. if I can get to that sort of pic I would be a happy chap...

Hi John, Thanks for the reply. OK, so this is where the newbie part in me shines through 1) What do you mean "stop the lenses down quite hard" 2) I have heard the term "use them wide open" a few times. Again, sorry for my ignorance, what does that actually mean. Is it when you have it fully zoomed out? In other words the aperture of the lens is at it's widest it'll go? I don't actually have a tracking mount at the moment but talking to a chap on here about a Star Adventurer so tracking is coming. At the moment I found found that if i use long exposures I get the classic star trails. I am usually taking my pics at around 400 ISO. how do you get these long distance objects like galaxies (you cant see them with the naked eye) into focus? Cheers for all your advice. Toby

Hi All, I wonder if I could get some billy basic advice on camera lenses. I have 2 that I use with my DSLR (see pics) that I have had in my possession for a very long time. I am struggling to get anything in the way of decent pics of star clusters, galaxies etc. I suspect that the lenses aren't that great. Could someone please give me some beginner level advice on the sort of lens I would need to get pics of say the crab nebula or Andromeda etc.. Cheers Toby

Thanks Peter. Much appreciated Cheers Toby

Thanks Steve, appreciate the welcome Toby

Hi Steve, This is very true. Experimentation is the key to learning. In my line of work "experimentation" is frowned upon 🤣 Cheers for the welcome and I am sure that I will be using the resources in this group to help / guide me. Cheers Toby

Hi Gordon, This looks like a hobby that require many of years of experience to master. I thought learning Nuclear Physics was difficult 😆😆 Thanks for the welcome. Cheers Toby

Hi Ian, Thanks for the reply and really useful information. I have taken some moon shots with my current setup (see my profile pic, that was my first attempt) and it came out OK I think. I tried to shoot venus last night but it seems that the telescope shakes a fair bit. The DSLR is on a timer so I can press the button and walk away from it but the image still comes out quite splodgy (if that's even a word) as I am finding it hard to focus the camera in the eyepiece (cam eyepiece that is) and then hit the shoot button. I am shooting in prime focus mode (no lens in the scope) using an ISO of about 400 and shutter speed of around 1/640th of a second or the image starts to streak badly... Frustrating to say the least. Thanks again Toby

Hi Paul, I only really fell into it because I was given the telescope. trouble is, and probably like most here, once you have seen the planets etc through you get a thirst for more. I then stupidly went onto YouTube and saw people taking pictures of Nebulae and galaxies. That's it, I am hooked and I want to be able to do that. I would be happy with a basic setup to learn the ropes and progress at my own pace rather than splash out thousands on a new rig... Thanks for the welcome BTW. Toby

Hi, I also saw this. There must have been about 10 all in a line. I wouldn't say 2 mins apart maybe 30secs - 1min but it was quite surreal. I have never seen anything like it before. TTFN Toby

Hi, My first post to the group. I am Toby and I live near Southampton Hampshire. I am looking to start exploring the world of imaging planets and deep space. I have been around the world of YouTube and it seems everyone has a different story to tell in terms of equipment. The main theme seems to be that the rigs they use seem to cost several thousand £? At the moment I have (was given) a Skywatcher 150P (150mm x 750mm Focal Length) on a basic equatorial (non-motorised) mount. It had a T ring in the box to which I can attach my Canon DSLR camera too and that's it... Like I said, I am new here. The whole world of should I go for a CCD / CMOS camera over my DSLR, Do I need an image flattener, Barlow lens, Do I even have the right kind of scope for taking pics of Nebulae etc etc..... My mind has gone mushy..... Anyway, wanted to say hi. TTFN Toby