Does it have to be DSLR?

[beatledave]

Hi,

I'm very new to this, so new in fact that I haven't got any equipment yet! I've got £400-£500 to spend and want a powerful enough telescope to look at and photograph (ideally) both the planets and stars. The problem is most sites say I must use a DSLR camera. Due to my budget both at the moment would not be possible so my question is: can I get good constellation photos with a non-DSLR camera? Boots are selling the Fujifilm finepix S3200 HD digital camera for £139.00 which I could afford with a scope too.

What do you all reckon? Should I wait and save up for a DSLR?

HELP!!

[lukebl]

If you want to image the planets, then DSLRs aren't the way to go. You need something like an SPC900 webcam. Much cheaper anyway, and more effective. In short supply, though.

If you want to get wide field images of the constellations, then anything which you can manually focus and has a long-exposure facility should do to start with.

[rocketandroll]

The need for a DSLR is twofold... firstly they can be mechanicaly attached to a telescope without their lens attached (you don't really want the camera lens in addition to a scope to take good images) plus DSLR's give you the control you need for either very short or very long exposures, plus the ISO setting, depending on what you are photographing.

For anything deep-sky, or widefield shots taking in large areas of sky you really need to be able to get 30 second expsoures... a lot of compacts will do 30 second exposures, but with this you either need a timer function or the ability to trigger it with a remote release of some kind to avoid shaking the camera/scope as you open the shutter.

For planets it's a bit easier as you actually want much shorter exposures... and lots of them. You can get a webcam that would be good for starting out in planetary imaging for a lot less than £139.

Your other option is to go for a second hand DSLR body from ebay or similar... I've seen pleanty of DSLR's like the Eos 300D or 350D for £100 - £150 or so and those are very well respected imaging cameras.

IIRC I bought a pre-modded (with the IR filter removed so it can pick up feint light from nebulae) 350D for about £150 last year.

A DSLR really is the way to go if you possibly can.

Ben

[rocketandroll]

...as Luke says above... webcam is the way to go for planetary...

Unfortunately it is one of those areas where you need to decide what you want to photograph first as the equipment needed and the approach you take is very different.

Ben

[beatledave]

Thanks Ben and Luke, that's been really helpful. It's not until you start looking into this that you realise just how complicated it can be but this has really cleared up a few doubts!

Cheers!

[Squagnut]

My advice - or perhaps I should say, the way I've gone about it - is to accept that practical astronomy is an ongoing process, a process in which I accumulate kit as I become ready for it/can afford it. I'm sure others will disagree with me, and that's fine, but I suggest you blow your entire current budget just on a telescope, and learn how to use it to make observations. That way you'll have a better telescope when you get a suitable imaging device (though a webcam is affordable). To learn everything all at once - how to set up and use a telescope, how to take good astro-images - especially on a limited budget, gives you a steep learning curve, and perhaps robs you of the magic of seeing things for the first time through your own 'scope - not because these occasions aren't wonderful, but because you've set your initial expectations too high. That said, astrophotography now is a heck of a lot easier and more affordable than it was just a few years ago.

A good first step would be to get a book on the subject - Making Every Photon Count by Steve Richards is a very good astrophotography guide.

[Tinker1947]

You will also need a mount to track the DSO's ect, the one i have linked is really as small as you should go, a HEQ6 or NEQ6 would be far better, but there no cheap...

First Light Optics - Skywatcher EQ3 PRO Synscan GOTO

[beatledave]

Thanks Squagnut, very helpful advice. I think you're right, there's no point spending 500+ on a DSLR if I've only spent 200 on the telescope. I must take it one step at a time. Step 1- Venturing into the back garden tonight with binoculars for the first time tonight :-)

[beatledave]

Thanks Tinker1947. Nice bit of kit, though I see what you mean by the cost!!