Astrophotgraphy

[dorsetman]

I am a very keen photographer and have been for many years and now want to mix the two hobbies together. I resisted up to now as I appreciate I now will need a go to telescope that can track so that I don't get star trails but longer exposure images. My budget is quite limited, maybe £3-400 and having popped into Telescope House in Lingfield (an amazing shop and some of the best and friendliest staff I have ever dealt with) I left with the impression that the Skywatcher Skymax 127 Goto would be the best for me, of course with a T adapter but am I right??? Can you knowledgeable and helpful chaps perhaps help educate me and make sure I follow the correct path.

Thank you kindly in advance!

[johnrt]

What do you want to photograph? Solar system / moon or deep sky objects?

[mallorcasaint]

Firstly, the most important piece of kit for astrophotography is the mount. You don't need a GoTo but rather a driven mount that can track. Secondly, to track accurately you need an EQ mount not an ALT-AZ. You can do decent imaging with a smaller aperture scope like a 3 inch refractor on a decent mount. Unfortunately you may need to up your budget! Imaging is an expensive hobby although you can get fairly decent images using a webcam and the scope/mount you were recommended but this will only really be suitable for planets.

[kingcarp]

HI, as i am also new to astronomy and now astrophotography my advice is limited, from what i can tell,to get the best resuls you have to spend way past your budget,as i also have a limited budget i can say the best things on your budget to buy would be a newtonian reflector on a eq mount with motor ra drive,, a goto will set you back to much money and you will lose out on the optics for the money, however a goto would be far better but you will need to spend at least £800 to get decent optics, once you have the telescope and your camera, im asuming a dslr all you need to get started is a T-RING for your particular camera and a T- ADAPTER and some software and a keen mind ready to learn alot about software to get the best from your pics, hope this helps

[Bukko]

Hi, dorsetman and welcome to SGL.

The costs of AP rise steeply with your expectations.

As a keen photographer, you probably have a DSLR or two and some suitable lenses.

Many of these can work for AP and you could be free to spend your entire budget on the mount.

Spend a year, or so (This will only be a dozen evenings, due to the British weather) learning how to get the best from your system, then consider what kind of telescope to purchase.

A 50mm lens will give stunning wide field views, such as whole sections of the Milky Way.

A 200mm lens will captue the Veil Nebula, M31, Andromeda, etc.

A 400mm lens will give you enough pixels to crop the Moon, M81, M82 galaxies, etc.

I know it is a compromise, but this way, you could get started on AP, with a straightforward upgrade path for later, once you work out what to do and what you enjoy imaging most.

Good Luck.

Gordon.

[RikM]

What do you want to photograph? Solar system / moon or deep sky objects?

This is the most important question to answer because the two types of objects need almost polar opposites in terms of equipment.

Deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae, star clusters) need a very stable EQ mount, certainly with very accurate tracking motors preferably with an autoguider, with a modest scope (Newtonian or Apochromatic refractor) and a DSLR or cooled CCD.

Lunar / planetary imaging needs long focal length and a mount that can track so so for a couple of minutes with a webcam or high frame rate camera. (the Skymax is this type of scope).

[Beyond_Vision]

I would agree with Rick and also underline the fact that no one scope can cover all bases. So the preference for which type of objects you want to image will dictate your scope and mount choice.

Regards

Kevin

[Gina]

I'm interested in both - I always seem to have expensive ideas I'm concentrating on DSO and widefield ATM with a little bit of planetary with a webcam. Later on I might get a planetary scope such as a Mak but have a lot more DSO kit to buy first.