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Newbie needs advice for photography

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Walky

Walky

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Ok, I will post my question as a trail to this (no pun intended) since we are in the same boat. I already have a 550D also. I want automatic goto or whatever system that takes me "there" already, built in. And I want to take photos, that's my hobby.

I was considering this telescope:Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope, but the tracking is MANUAL. eek! At the price it is selling I think it should not be that good, I could be disappointed quickly. What do you think?

I would like to spend no more than $500 USD and If I go crazy... Maybe $800 USD. What can i buy for that that I just assemble and start shooting ... Ok, I know it is not going to be that easy.

Orion, and Celestron would be the choices, I think. I don't want to import from outside of the USA.

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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I have no desire at all to have a go to system I dont favour them because although they may find stuff for you its far better to find them yourself unless your in a hurry and astronomy should never be hurried. The money you pay out for go to could be better spent on more useful stuff. Learning about the night sky is about searching the night sky and studying the night sky if some one offered me a go to system I would turn it down because what I have learned from searching the night sky myself is far more valuable to me.

Also I have a great deal of fun by using my canon 350d to find deep sky objects. Finding faint object by pointing my scope in the right area and taking a quick 15 second photo is a great way to find stuff that your eye cannot pick up. I bet I could find things faster then a go to system could now anyway naa just a gadget you dont need. Or as John Cooper Clarke once put it. Like an orange triangular record your a gimmick that nobody needs.

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welshrob87

welshrob87

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All my deep sky images were taken with a 150P. Click on the deep sky album link in my sig or click here.

Sorry to deviate the thread slightly. Are all your solar system images taken with a webcam? I'm considering getting a 200P Dob, might be interested in astrophotography eventually if I get round to getting DSLR but for now I would be happy with just observing and maybe dabbling a bit with a webcam. Specially interested in your solar and lunar images.

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RikM

RikM

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Ok, I will post my question as a trail to this (no pun intended) since we are in the same boat. I already have a 550D also. I want automatic goto or whatever system that takes me "there" already, built in. And I want to take photos, that's my hobby.

I was considering this telescope:Orion AstroView 90mm Equatorial Refractor Telescope, but the tracking is MANUAL. eek! At the price it is selling I think it should not be that good, I could be disappointed quickly. What do you think?

I would like to spend no more than $500 USD and If I go crazy... Maybe $800 USD. What can i buy for that that I just assemble and start shooting ... Ok, I know it is not going to be that easy.

Orion, and Celestron would be the choices, I think. I don't want to import from outside of the USA.

The astroview 90 is totally unsuited to astrophotography. the mount is not stable enough, and the scope will show a lot of false colour and need very long exposures because of the slow f ratio. Quite a problem because the mount has no tracking.

I am not sure what to suggest for that budget from the Orion range. Quatermass uses the Skywater equivalent of the Skyview Pro 8. I now use a 6" SkyWatcher version of the Atlas 8 EQ-G but most of my images were taken with the same scope on the equivalent of the AstroView Equatorial with drive motors fitted. (no GOTO)

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RikM

RikM

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I like having the luxury of GOTO now I have it. It does allow me to easily find objects that are too faint to see. That saves me time and time is precious when imaging. It is definitely luxury and not a necessity though.

For visual observing I much prefer star hopping with a simple manual Dobsonian.

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Walky

Walky

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I have no desire at all to have a go to system I dont favour them because although they may find stuff for you its far better to find them yourself unless your in a hurry and astronomy should never be hurried. The money you pay out for go to could be better spent on more useful stuff. Learning about the night sky is about searching the night sky and studying the night sky if some one offered me a go to system I would turn it down because what I have learned from searching the night sky myself is far more valuable to me.

Also I have a great deal of fun by using my canon 350d to find deep sky objects. Finding faint object by pointing my scope in the right area and taking a quick 15 second photo is a great way to find stuff that your eye cannot pick up. I bet I could find things faster then a go to system could now anyway naa just a gadget you dont need. Or as John Cooper Clarke once put it. Like an orange triangular record your a gimmick that nobody needs.

Fine, Ok. This is interesting. Let's say I eliminate the need for GOTO. You convinced me. Include any brand. What would you nail it down to, like 2 choices not higher than $800, mount and scope (Sorry, that's my budget). I want to be able to take photos of nebulas, or Messier, let's say.

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Hi Walky

Um that's a hard one to answer I can only really give you advice on what I have learned but from my experince if you want to do astrophotography you must insure that the mount is up to the job. I covered this pretty well in my last blog entry and for me the HEQ5 mount would win over my EQ5 but on a budget the EQ5 is my first choice. The telescope for astrophotography is very personal I guess I love mine but I also see Ricks point about the smaller lighter scope. You can see from Riks images and mine in our albums on here what can be done with our setups but remember that there is a lot to learn and that all takes time. You dont need GO TO forget it nice but not needed. You need a good mount that is very important so get the best mount you can afford that you will not regret when you start imaging. Second your camera the 550d will be great for astrophotography all you will need is the T adapter. I favour Sky Watcher telescopes the ED80 scopes are great for astrophotography as well. I would not buy anything until I had learned more about auto guiding systems types of mounts for astrophotography and spent some time looking at other set ups and images taken. My setup is basic but I have really enjoyed what I have been able to do with it given the choice the only thing I would have changed was the EQ5 for the HEQ5 but I have proved to myself and other that the EQ5 unguided can still take great images. Wait and read a bit more about it all theres is so much to take on board I suggest a good 3 weeks of looking into it all before committing yourself.

Suggested topics would be guided systems and how they work unguided systems and comparing the two. Processing the images and all that that involves. Make a list of all the set up that astrophotographers use and compare them ask more questions from other forum members and take a look at there image albums especially images done with your camera google astrophotography Canon55OD and see what google images comes up with.

With my set up I can capture Galaxys something I love doing right now Nebula and clusters all kinds of stuff certainly enough to keep you happy for a good year. But Go to you dont need for sure.

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Walky

Walky

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I thank you so much for taking the time to answer. I have already decided not to go for the automatic tracking. It kind of takes away from the science, the skill and the knowledge. Impatience is a mistake of newbies. Thank you again.

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Your very welcome Walky theres a lot to take in and its best to take it a step at a time I keep my blog pretty well updated and it has tracked my progress from a complete beginner to where I am now so it should help you out. There are many ways of doing all this its just a case of weighing it all up and then choosing your path. Main thing is to choose well buy getting lots of advice and reading up on the subject first I could go back in time and say to myself what I know now it would be just that take your time and read read read for a few weeks. I made some good pals on this forum and they have really helped me out nothing beats having someone who has been down that road before you to help you out.

Happy to help with any more question you may have along the journey.

Off to bed now PM me if you have any more questions and have added you to my friend list

All the best QM

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rocketandroll

rocketandroll

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Just a quick note to go back to the original question...

You can actually shoot deep sky images with about £300 - £400 of equipment if you already have a DSLR camera. The only thing you will have to buy is a motorised EQ mount like an EQ3 with drives.

Take a look at some of the widefield shots on my gallery (in my sig) these were taken with no scope, no guiding... just a DSLR on a motorused mount with a 200mm lens on.

Obviously you have to pick your targets carefully but theres a lot up there that looks amazing at 50mm or 200mm.

As others have said... planetary needs a long focal length scope and a webcam so probably £500 or so to get going.

Full on deep sky imaging with a scope is viable for about £900 or so but does get expensive once you add in guiding etc. I think my fairly modest guided rig is about £1800 all in including the modded DSLR.

One thing I would add... if you want to do deep sky I really would recomend go-to as 90% of the things you want to image wont be visible through the scope and getting it accurately pointed will be a hassle.

Ben

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

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Walky

Walky

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It is great to be affirmed I can do some AP that way. I am doubling my budget right now. Next would be the close to minimum scope I would need. I am actually in no hurry now, putting the brakes. Learned this morning that the UCF University of Central Florida opens the observatory to the public twice a month. Jan 26 will be the next time and I will be there. It's 10 MIN away.

Thanks for all the feedback!

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Walky

Walky

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Just a quick note to go back to the original question...

You can actually shoot deep sky images with about £300 - £400 of equipment if you already have a DSLR camera. The only thing you will have to buy is a motorised EQ mount like an EQ3 with drives.

Take a look at some of the widefield shots on my gallery (in my sig) these were taken with no scope, no guiding... just a DSLR on a motorused mount with a 200mm lens on.

Obviously you have to pick your targets carefully but theres a lot up there that looks amazing at 50mm or 200mm.

As others have said... planetary needs a long focal length scope and a webcam so probably £500 or so to get going.

Full on deep sky imaging with a scope is viable for about £900 or so but does get expensive once you add in guiding etc. I think my fairly modest guided rig is about £1800 all in including the modded DSLR.

One thing I would add... if you want to do deep sky I really would recomend go-to as 90% of the things you want to image wont be visible through the scope and getting it accurately pointed will be a hassle.

Beautiful photos! You can find me at Flickr as Wakiria50.

I will make you a contact soon.

Ben

If you are telling me you took this without a telescope I am hard pressed to believe you. All your photos are fantastic!

m31-stack2-mod1-copy-crop | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

I have a 55-250 lens I can use for these types of objects. It's thrilling to know I sometime in the future I could do this and learn to identify nebulae.

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Reidupede

Reidupede

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Good quality for sure but your better off doing the planets with a webcam. Planets are closer to us and using a webcam is the best way to capture them I intend to get a webcam in the future to do just the planets. I suggest you start with a webcam then go on to deep sky objects you can do both with the 200p I have never regretted buying the skywatcher 200p. Dont rush into it take your time and read everything you can until you are sure of what you want. I am happy to answer any questions you may have based on the set up I use but many others on the forums will help you out as well with lots of good advice.

I have read a lot of postings about webcams and taking pictures of the planets by webcam, but I am not having much success at present. Jupiter is like a round small ball brilliant white and no moons showing. I have a Philips spc900nc but only a small telescope skywatcher evostar 90 eq2. Is there something more I should be doing or is that all I can hope for with my equipment do you think? ; )

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