new to this... go easy on me

[aclymer]

i am just starting out at attempting astrophotography and it seems pretty complicated. my camera is a canon eos dig. rebel t3i. i'm going on a backpacking trip for at least a year and i am anxious to try this from different places in the world. the problem is i can't seem to narrow down what telescope to buy. i've tried looking all over the internet and i seem more and more confused the more i look.it doesn't have to be anything too fancy and it's a new thing to me so i'm trying to start out in the $400 to $800 range. i need reasonable durability, portability (ideally maxing out at 8-9 pounds) and reasonable dimensions to be carried. this will obviously limit the quality, and i am fine with that as i am just starting out. the nicer, fancier electronic scopes will have to wait until i come home. any suggestions as to what would be a good kit to start with would be immensely helpful. many thanks.

[E621Keith]

Hi aclymer, welcome to SGL

Astrophotography is more about the mount then the optics. Since you are going backpacking, you will have a weight limit, so there is really only one mount for you. It's called an Astrotrac

First Light Optics - Astrotrac TT320X-AG

You can image with your camera lens.

[aclymer]

thank you for the input. i will take all the advice i can get..... though it seems i have more research to do.

[todd8137]

wow weeeeeeeee those astrotracs are a lot of hard earnt cash, try one of these on a camera tripod i made one works great ,but a small scope to take astro pics would need a hefty mount ,and would really not be some thing you could carry about with you

[aclymer]

thanks todd, i appreciate your advice. yes, those mounts are really expensive. i really think i have a lot to learn and figure out. i have looked at the mounts, and i have looked at some cheaper travel telescopes to experiment with. this is seeming like a bit much. i have taken some ok shots already but i really want to ramp it up. i may end up buying a telescope soon anyhow because i will be in death valley in california in a couple of weeks and i have been told it would be a great spot for this. i suppose i will just keep checking this site and hope i can figure out a good kit. this is all starting to seem like something that can barely be approached casually let alone portably. thanks again.

[aclymer]

also those are some very nice photos. i especially like the ones of the moon as i am drawn to it and jupiter.

[E621Keith]

Apart from Astrotrac. There are two other 'lightweight' astrophotography mount designed for use with DSLR and short FL lens. However, I believe they are outside your budget unless you find one second hand.

Vixen GP2 Photo Guider (6kg)

and

Kenko Sky Memo Tracker (3kg)

Astrotrac's screw drive mechanism makes it much more accurate than either of these.

A telescope's longer focal length make it much more sensitive to tracking error. The solution usually means expensive and heavy GEM. Heq5 is generally the minimum requirement, but it is heavy and not suitable for backpacking. So if you want to do astrophotography with small telescope (e.g. ED80) and a light weight mount you will need an Astrotrac.

Unless you are very good at DIY, then there is this Tak P2Z hack which can get a PE of 8" p-p on a compact GEM.

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but like I said before. If you have a weight or budget limit, you should stick with short camera lens (<200mm) and forget telescope. Short camera lenses are much more tolerant to tracking error than telescope, so you can use cheaper and lighter mount with out star trailing.