which first telescope for astrophotography

[nora nooby]

hi all, a complete starter I am afraid. I am reading some very useful threads here on what I need to know etc before i buy and am working my way through them.

I am an amateur photographer and have a dslr (no live view sadly) and would love to be able to hook up my camera to a telescope ans take some photos of the milky way and pictures of that kind (sorry as I said I am a newbie!) it has been suggested to me that a Sky-Watcher Explorer 150P (EQ3-2) would be a starter telescope which can be upgraded. What do you think? are there better ones for my money or is my money not enough?

I am hoping to join a local astonomy group but they only meet once a month so it may be a while till i am even a little bit knowledgable.

thanks

[sabana]

You don't need a telescope for photographing the Milky Way. A wide-angled lens would be perfect.

[todd8137]

to be fair you do not need a telescope to take widefield shots of stars and the milky way just a tripod and some 30sec shots about 20 of them and some stacking software your a way a reflector unless on a great mount might be a good choice for visual

i would wait till you have been to a club where you can see diferent scopes ect

i have a 300p skywatcher reflector for moon pics its great with the right fittings to hook it up,

the eq 3 might upgrade to a RA motor and may get a minute or so expo with good tracking and polar align

but post in the other forum for help on this have you considered a refractor for photos ? they are a bit better

[Chris H]

A skywatcher 80ED on a HEQ5 mount.

First Light Optics - Skywatcher Evostar 80ED DS-Pro Outfit

First Light Optics - Skywatcher HEQ5 PRO Synscan

There is also a very good book you should read before you buy anything called making every photon count

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

[Capricorn]

You need a stable equitorial mount primarily, this must have a set of motors on it to enable it to track, you therefore will need to learn/know how to polar align the mount accurately.

An EQ3-2 can be fitted with motors but is generally not considered stable enough. If possible go for the EQ5 or better the HEQ5. Although the cost rises.

As to a scope a low f number is the be prefered. Also relatively short focal length - a short focal length reduces the effect of tracking errors.

Scope could be a 150p or 130p or an ED refractor. Cost wise the 150P wins but the serious imager uses a high quality refractor generally.

Which part of the UK are you in, someone may be able to suggest a club.

[swag72]

One of the best invertments t save you time and money is the book 'Making Every Photon Count' First Light Optics - Making Every Photon Count - Steve Richards This is a very informative book, it will help you no end. Get it, read it, read it again and keep going - Then you'll know what to buy and why!!

I think the refractor and HEQ5 mount is a great starting point, but others have done it with less and with very different kit.

[Astronut1982]

Hi nora,

If you want to photograph DSO with your DSLR then I believe the minimum mount you will need is the HEQ5 PRO. This mount costs about £750 brand new although there are second hand ones available here from time to time:-

U.K. Astronomy Buy & Sell

You would also have to check if your DSLR is practical for astrophotography as some are much better than others. I'm not sure which are best but I'm sure others here will be able to point you in the right direction.

Jeff

[nora nooby]

thanks all who have posted so far. I will certainly get that book suggested.

If it helps my camera is a sony alpha 200. I live in Solihull. There is a society closeto me which meets monthly so I will go along there but i get the impression its more of a guest speaker type of thing rather than a hands on but i will go along anywayf