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xkjimmy

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xkjimmy

xkjimmy

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Hi all,

New member here from the UK. At the moment, I have a Nikon D300s, Im looking to start doing some Astrophotography, just need to think of what telescope to buy....

I was recommended this site, there are some fantastic photos on here and some great information.

James.

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JamesM

JamesM

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Hi James and welcome to the forum.

Imaging certainly is proving very popular and it is easy to see why - great results. However, like many things, the work and to some extent the kit behind these images can represent a lot of patience and knowledge in getting everything just right to collect that all important photon data. My recommendation to you will not concern kit but instead a book, Steve Richards "Making Every Photon Count" (First Light Optics £19.95). It is a definitive guide on all you need to know on what to buy and why you need it to achieve the level of imaging that meets your expectations. It is modestly priced and will certainly save you money. Don't forget to allocate some of the budget for the data processing side of imaging. There is excellent software out there that is free to download and use BUT there are also others useful programs that need to be purchased. Collecting the data is only half of the equation, data processing is the other half.

A good look around the imaging sections will illustrate both the highs and lows of imaging. In fact, it is this very overview that you need to have before buying anything as they don't call it the 'dark art' for nothing and as the joke goes, "...you don't want the first picture of a black hole being the one in your wallet!" The important thing is to take your time, the stars will still be waiting for you when you have finished your research because it is important for you to know what you are letting yourself in for and what size budget you will need. The general consensus is that to image Deep Sky Objects (DSO's) such as galaxies and nebula, you need to start with the mount, and that will mean a HEQ5 or an NEQ6. This is because of their payload capacity, tracking accuracy, autoguiding capability etc. Planets and the moon can be imaged using a webcam on any scope, selecting the best 'frames' which are stacked on top of each other to produce a composite image. Alternatively, you can put a camera on top of a tripod and image the wider sky using a timed exposure. The book above will flesh out these bones I have offered here, just take your time.

Hope that helps

James

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xkjimmy

xkjimmy

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Hi James (great name!)

Many thanks for the reply. It certainly is useful to me. I do tend to go in to things and spend before I know anything about it.. I shall buy the book though, it does look as if it will give me a greater idea of what I want to image. At the moment I think it it is just better shots of the moon, maybe some planets too.

Many thanks again,

James.

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JamesM

JamesM

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James, there is a review of this book in the equipment review section which you may want to read. I'm not on any commission (...should be really!) but it is genuinely a great read when you are starting out.

James (..still a great name)

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maej

maej

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Hi and welcome :rolleyes:

I'm afraid I can't give any advice based on experience of astrophotgraphy as I have none, but with long exposure photography of any sort the mounting is vitally important to get a stable image.

From what I have read here in the past, astrophotgraphy with DSLR cameras is very expensive because of the hardware requirements for good long exposures. So a lot of folk just use webcams to take a video of brighter objects like planets and the moon, then split each frame in to an individual pictures, remove the bad ones then use free software to 'stack' the good ones in to a more detailed picture. Some of the pics I have seen using this technique are stunning! But this only works for the brighter objects. There is loads of advice about this on this forum.

To take nice pics of the darker objects like galaxies and nebula the requirements are much more intense. You will need a very sturdy equatorial mount with tracking, a scope with good aperture, and adaptors to fit your camera to the scope. I'm afraid I haven't read much about this as it is simply beyond my means, but if it is something you are interested in then go for it, some of the images I have seen from even humble set ups are quite astounding.

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