Another Beginners setup for Astrophotography....for London?

[roarke80]

Hi all,

Firstly just wanted to say this is a brilliant forum, having read through lots of it, everyone seems really warm, friendly and ready to help.

So I would like to seek everyone's opinion please. This of course is another beginner's setup for astrophotography recommendation thread.

From what I gather, I should probably get the HEQ5 mount and the 200P. Is this the right choice? I have a budget of about £500 - £700, excluding DSLR. However, I live in a tiny flat in Central London and was wondering how portable the setup is and how much space would it take? Ideally I need something that I can tuck away easily into a corner and portable enough to pack in a car.

Also, does anyone know of any good spots within London with skies dark enough for stargazing?

I know there's a classifieds thread somewhere here as well, I'm looking to buy 2nd hand equipment, how do I get access to it?

Thanks everyone!

[SeedyF]

Hi Roarke,

The buy and sell section on here has been taken down for the time being. Astro BUy & Sell website is a good alternative though.

I haven't handled the scope & mount you are talking about. I had a SW 150 on an EQ3 mount. It wasn't exactly discreet in my house and I have a lot of space. The bigger dimensions of the 200 might be an issue for you. Best to get to a telescope outlet and see one in the flesh. There is a place called the Widescreen Centre near Baker St tube that might well have a similar setup on display.

I did take my scope off in the car a few times and it wasn't too difficult to break down and transport. Now I have a skywatcher flextube dob and that is the ultimate in portability by comparison.

Hope this helps a little

[Sarah]

Welcome! The For Sale board on here is currently closed but should be back sometime this year. If you've not already seen it, as you are interested in astrophotography, I would recommend reading this book first of all.

[ollypenrice]

Steve's book for sure.

Hmmm, then it's crunch time. In London you would do far better to concentrate on narrowband imaging where the light pollution will have very little effect. Malcolm Park is one of the great exponents of NB imaging from London. You can do Ha imaging with a DSLR but a CCD camera would be far better because the colour matrix blinds three quarters of the DSLR's pixels to Ha. On a budget you'd be limited to a small chip but you'd be in a position to get great results within that constraint. A second hand Atik 16HR might come up at the price of an 1100D, for instance, and it's a dream of a camera in NB.

This is an old image taken with a little ZS66 and 16HR in Ha. My dark site made little difference here.

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Nebulae-and-clusters/NGC7000HAV2CE-copy/617927496_Uccgo-X3.jpg

and with an O111 layer added;

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Nebulae-and-clusters/NORTHAMLCE-copy/617926988_cAxur-X3.jpg

The successor to the ZS66 is a new 70mm from William Optics and, joy of joys, it has a rack and pinion focuser. It's on the FLO site. It's about as portable as a bow tie, by the way - but the mount might not be!

Olly

[rocketandroll]

If astrophotography is your aim... youd be better off with a small refractor than a big Newt.

The WO model Olly mentioned is great, as is the Megrez 72 or the Skywatcher ED80.

Your issue is that you'll find its all the extra bits that cost the money... an LP filter is a must, about £130 for that... £150 or so for a flattener/reducer... expect to need to pay out £400 minimum on top of the scope, mount and camera.

It's well worth it though... and horribly addictive :-)

Ben

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

[hemihaggis]

hi there form light polluted skies in london you will struggle to find and take pics of dso`s , you might be better having a go at the planets , or star clusters

[roarke80]

Thanks for all your replies!

I had the impression that a mounted reflector is more portable than a dob because you could pack up the tripod and scope separately. Am I wrong? I understand a dob is really good value for money esp for beginners but with the long term goal of DSO photography is it a good idea? Thanks seedyf for the tip re widescreen centre, I'll definitely check it out!

Thanks ollypenrice, I never heard of narrowband but will look more into it! Your images are gorgeous! The reason for using a DSLR is cos am planning to buy one anyway for normal photography. If using a CCD, am I right to assume it would work with a HEQ5 mount as well?

I'm hoping to get a scope that can be for both imaging and visual, it's greedy I know, but I have been looking at jupiter and its moons through my bins and it's still quite something to see it with your own eyes! Am I right to say that the 150 or 200 Skywatcher would be safe choices?

I know it'll be hard to do this properly in London, but that's why I need something portable to escape out of the city with =)

thanks for all your help!

[Capricorn]

Classic answer:

A Dobsonian is a newtonian reflector on a Dobsonian mount.

What you are intending to buy is a newtonian reflector on an equitorial mount.

Same telescope.

Look up Baker Street Irregular Astronomers and pay them a visit.

Someone there may do imaging and will be much better to supply advice.