New member, new hobby, newbie :)

[AngryAnt]

First post - and I just want to say it seems like you guys have a really nice forum here. I found this forum on a whim google search this morning in the process of actively avoiding work during the holiday season

A little background on myself, before I get to the point (my apologies if I tend to be long-winded). As a child I always had the dream of being an astronomer for a living, and always stared up at the stars, though I never knew them well enough to name more than a couple constellations. Somewhere along the years I took a different, probably more convenient path and became a software engineer and always found myself tied up in other interests. Now, knocking on the door of 30 years old, I have lost interest in most of those things that defined my twenties (drinking and playing video games, mostly) and have started seeking new hobbies to be productive and rewarding.

About a year ago on a whim I thought I'd try photography out. I picked up the camera, bought some books and software, and dove in head first into photography forums absorbing everything I knew. Over the months, I came to realize there was a whole section unknown to me, but immediately grabbed my heart and attention, and again sent me into that child-like state of staring at the stars: astrophotography.

Long story short, here I am, trying to work my way from no hobbies to photography to astrophotography and ideally into amateur astronomy. Additionally, now that my wife and I are out of school, I finally have the kind of funding necessary to pursue these sounds of hobbies (lets face it, they get a little pricey).

As of now I have a Canon T3i DSLR with a couple lenses, a tripod / intervelometer, and a computer setup with Lightroom, Photoshop CS5 / StarTrails, and DSS (which I haven't come close to figure out how to use yet).

For Christmas I received an Orion Dew Zapper (without the controller or a power station), and I will be proceeding to pick up the Orion 17amp/hr mobile power station so that I can use the lens heater wrapped around my camera lens to do all-night time lapses of star fields (my mom bought it for me after numerous failed attempts where I'd eventually fall asleep and too much condensation would occur on the lens).

OK, so more to the point - I want to progress towards more serious astrophotography and eventually astronomy, but not knowing much about the equipment, its a daunting task to figure out what I need to purchase. I have read every page of The Backyard Astronomer, which helps some.

I believe my next step should be to take a step towards a motorized equitorial mount to attempt to take more detailed images than just wide star fields and star trails. I am, however, the type of person that likes to (within reason) get the right option the first time around versus buying something and selling it to buy what i really needed 3 months later.

I want to start with my existing camera on a equitorial mount, and eventually move up to a good telescope capable of being used with my camera to capture astrophotography images. Budget is less of a concern than getting equipment that is newbie friendly but will last me a while, and I realize I'm probably talking $2k-$3k worth of equipment over the next year or more as I grow.

Now, all that being said, I really hope I can start being a part of this community and you guys can help nudge me in the direction I need to go.

First up: a motorized equitorial mount that I can use with an Orion powerstation and my DSLR for now. Would it be possible to buy something that would be good enough quality to use with a good telescope later, or can I expect to have to get rid of it and get something else? I had looked at this guy to get started with, but my guess is its not suitable for any type of decently sized telescope.

Orion Adventures in Astrophotography Bundle | Orion Telescopes

And lastly, I don't want to spam the thread with images, so I'll leave the links here if anyone has any interest in seeing my progress so far (not much to show, but i still enjoy it).

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6040/6287093405_de2cee4b5b_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6236/6287611766_b034618ae1_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6051/6287612292_b6230b974b_z.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6059/6287611348_bbcc004a58_z.jpg

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3358/5692578642_7fd7ecf539_z.jpg

I have some better ones than these, but unfortunately I've hit my limits for my free flickr account, so I suppose I've got to upgrade to pro or move to a different hosting site.

Anyway, looking forward to any advice and hope to learn enough to be involved in the community here!

[ecosse]

I don't have a clue when it comes to astrophotography, so no advice from me. Those pics look really good! welcome to the forum

[nightfisher]

Hello and welcome to the forum, if you really want to get into astrophotography, the mount is the most important item, and its a good idea to future proof this investment by getting the right one for the job to start with.

google the skywatcher/orion HEQ5 pro synscan, this is about the minimum you need to really get going with imaging, you could add a skywatcher/orion ST80 for little extra money at the same time and have a scope to look through will imaging with the dslr piggy backed on top of this scope, at some point in the future you might want to image with the dslr connected to a telescope, then the st80 will be useful as a guide scope

[AngryAnt]

Hello and welcome to the forum, if you really want to get into astrophotography, the mount is the most important item, and its a good idea to future proof this investment by getting the right one for the job to start with.

google the skywatcher/orion HEQ5 pro synscan, this is about the minimum you need to really get going with imaging, you could add a skywatcher/orion ST80 for little extra money at the same time and have a scope to look through will imaging with the dslr piggy backed on top of this scope, at some point in the future you might want to image with the dslr connected to a telescope, then the st80 will be useful as a guide scope

Thanks for the advice - that's kind of the feeling I had, I just didn't know what kind of mount would be future proof (within reason of course).

I looked on Orion's site and didn't find a HEQ5, perhaps I'm not looking in the right place or they don't make it anymore?

Equatorial Mounts & Tripods

Above is a listing that shows a EQ-1, and EQ-2, and a EQ-G, are any of these perhaps newer models or am I looking in the wrong place? Would it perhaps be called something different in the states? Only places I've found that have it for sale are in the UK / Australia.

[nightfisher]

They seem to be a different name in the us, i am pretty sure that orion and skywatcher are part of the same company

First Light Optics - Skywatcher HEQ5 PRO Synscan

the link will give you an idea of what your looking for

[chunky]

sorr for hijacking the thread but say in the furture i wanted to start taking pictures of deep sky objects. could i attach my 2oop dob to it?

[cantab]

The 200p tube is a pretty big heavy thing, you can mount it equatorially but you'll need a solid mount for it. Given that imaging is more demanding on mount stability than visual observing, I suspect even the HEQ5 might be a bit light-duty.

[AngryAnt]

They seem to be a different name in the us, i am pretty sure that orion and skywatcher are part of the same company

First Light Optics - Skywatcher HEQ5 PRO Synscan

the link will give you an idea of what your looking for

Thanks...I did a little digging and another forum post I found implied the HEQ5 is called the "Sirius" the US. While it is black, this mount does look pretty similar to the one you posted, and it is under the "Sirius" name, although I'm not 100% convinced its the same mount:

Orion Sirius EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope Mount | Orion Telescopes

Thoughts from anybody?

Also with a mount like this, what would I be capable of moving up to without having to replace it? I'm not looking to get an enormous telescope, as portability is key since I live dead in the middle of a terrible light pollution area, so anything I have would have to be toted out to a dark zone.

[nightfisher]

with this mount you would be able to mount an 80mm ED refractor along with the st80 refractor i mentioned earlier, ED80`s are considered tops for imaging

[AngryAnt]

with this mount you would be able to mount an 80mm ED refractor along with the st80 refractor i mentioned earlier, ED80`s are considered tops for imaging

You'll have to forgive me for my ignorance here. I have begun reading the differences among the different types and sizes of telescopes, although I'm really no closer to knowing what is the right type / size to start out on.

I saw a few mentions in the book to start off with a classic dobsian, but then again, that's why I sought out a forum like this to get multiple opinions before dropping lots of money.

So you're recommending something like this as a 'starter' telescope for casual observing and for use with a DSLR for astrophotography, combined with something like the Sirius EQ-G / HEQ-5?

Any advantages / disadvantages I should come to realize between choosing an initial telescope between the refractors like mentioned above vs dobs or other types?

[nightfisher]

Dobsonians are not suitable for imaging, they are capable of a bit of lunar imaging and thats about all, very good for viewing objects though and cheap for the size.

One point to bear in mind big aperture is good for viewing-but not required for imaging, if its dso imaging you want to do like nebula and galaxies, then you need a "fast" scope, short focal length, to cut down on exposure times

[AngryAnt]

Dobsonians are not suitable for imaging, they are capable of a bit of lunar imaging and thats about all, very good for viewing objects though and cheap for the size.

One point to bear in mind big aperture is good for viewing-but not required for imaging, if its dso imaging you want to do like nebula and galaxies, then you need a "fast" scope, short focal length, to cut down on exposure times

That does make a good bit of sense, based on what I know from camera lenses.

I just stumbled on this on telescope.com, any opinions?

Orion Sirius ED80 EQ-G Computerized GoTo Telescope | Orion Telescopes

If I"m right, that Serius mount is the US equivalent of the HEQ5 and I believe its bundled with the refractor telescope you mentioned as well. For $1500 that seems like a pretty reasonable deal for starting out, but I'm not sure what I would be limited to with this type of scope. I realize the GoTo functionality would help me get started until I learn the charts, I'm just concerned about dropping money and not being able to take quality images with a DSLR of deep sky objects / nebulas.

[nightfisher]

that is a pretty good deal for imaging, it looks to be the same as the EQ6, which is an even better mount, very future proof, the ED80 is a time proven imaging scope and will accept the dslr (with a couple of required adaptors), the mount would need precise polar alignment to get the best out of its tracking, but, its a lot of dollars to spend so weigh up your options my friend and see what other options you have before taking an expensive plunge

[AngryAnt]

That's good to know about the mount. I'm not looking to buy immediately, this my first stage of research. I typically tend to research exhaustively for at least a couple of months before I make a large purchase like this.

Are these type of mounts motorized on one axis or two? I read for best imaging results on on faint deep sky objects, to use a motorized equatorial mount that uses both axes, but perhaps that another class of equipment in itself that's out of my league.

[nightfisher]

That's good to know about the mount. I'm not looking to buy immediately, this my first stage of research. I typically tend to research exhaustively for at least a couple of months before I make a large purchase like this.

Are these type of mounts motorized on one axis or two? I read for best imaging results on on faint deep sky objects, to use a motorized equatorial mount that uses both axes, but perhaps that another class of equipment in itself that's out of my league.

They are motorised on both axis, as a bonus the mount in this package will take a pretty large scope, so if you wanted a larger scope for viewing the mount will take it

here is an example of what can be done with this setup

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/168103-m33.html

[AngryAnt]

They are motorised on both axis, as a bonus the mount in this package will take a pretty large scope, so if you wanted a larger scope for viewing the mount will take it

here is an example of what can be done with this setup

http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-deep-sky/168103-m33.html

That's positively incredible and pretty much sums up what my ultimate (long term) goal to be with getting into this. I'm a little confused on that image though, was that image taken with a consumer grade DSLR or something higher end (CCD)?

[nightfisher]

looks like it was taken with a ccd unit, you would benefit from putting a post in the imaging section, as to how good your camera will perform