DSLR and Astrophotography

[MichaelFullerton]

Hello everyone,

I'm a long time browser of this site and after a lot of reading I've decided to finally treat myself and so I am*in the process of buying my first DSLR camera, a Canon EOS 1000D with a*EF-S 18-55mm lens.*

In the future I want to buy myself a telescope however my main goal is; time-lapse and astrophotography.

I have SkySafari on my iPad however I was hoping for anyone's advice and experience in relation to purchasing a "GOTO mount" for the above DSLR so that I can connect my iPad. Also any advice on telephoto lenses would be most appreciated.*

I hope to be posting lots of photos soon!

Thanks,

Michael.*

[rowan46]

welcome to sgl lots of people of people use an eq3 for portability

First Light Optics - Skywatcher EQ3 PRO Synscan GOTO

its accurate enough for a camera and wide angle shooting however if you want to put long lenses and guide it needs a little modding

First Light Optics - Skywatcher EQ5 PRO Synscan GOTO

this one should be accurate enough for anything you throw at it camera and lens wise.

If you need extreme portabilty but don't need goto you might like to check this out

First Light Optics - Astrotrac

[MichaelFullerton]

Hi Rowan46,

Thanks for your quick reply.

The EQ5 Pro looks just the ticket! It looks like it will allow me to upgrade to bigger and better lenses and telescopes in the future.

Thanks.

[Viv]

If you're looking into the future, TBH id recommend the HEQ5.

It can hold a fair weight & has the guiding port.

For the equipment in my signature, it's what i'm buying next week. So will hold main scope, guide scope, & cameras.

I would say the EQ5 would be ok for guide scope & camera, but not much else & not long term.

Am sure other will drop in with a thought or 2 ......

[malc-c]

If you're looking into the future, TBH id recommend the HEQ5.

It can hold a fair weight & has the guiding port.

Agreed - the HEQ5 would be better than the EQ5, especially as you are looking at placing a decent sized scope on it in the future. Also the motors in the HEQ5 have better precision which will come in to its own when guiding.

[MichaelFullerton]

Thanks, that looks like it could take my weight!

All I need now is to choose a decent telephoto lens which would complete everything. I think I'll have to keep the cost quite from the misses!

[Viv]

There are some really nice images on this site, taken with wide & zoom lenses.

Yes - never be completely honest with the other half, regarding astronomy / photography spending !!

Not sure if you've seen any lenses, but this is really nice (& very reasonable price as well) : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-50-1-8-Lens/dp/B00005K47X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1329941645&sr=8-1

[RikM]

As well as the nifty fifty, the Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L Prime lens is a legend for Camera only astrophotography.

[MichaelFullerton]

Thanks Scarlet, I'll look in to that lens.

Ric, that lens is amazing! How would you think that would compare to most telescopes? £ for £, do you get more telescope or lens for your money? Ideally I would buy the biggest telephoto lens I could rather than attach my DSLR to a telescope as I wouldn't want any possible deterioration to the picture quality...I stand to be corrected as I am a complete novice and it's a lot of guess work on my behalf at the minute.

[RikM]

It really depends on what type of objects you want to take pictures of, solar system objects like planets and the moon or deep sky objects like nebulae, star clusters and galaxies? These need totally different equipment to do them justice.

DSLRs are better suited to deep sky objects because these objects are large and faint so a big sensor and long exposures are what you need. For this you need a very stable mount that can track acurately and ideally can be autoguided with a second camera & scope. For optics you need a fast f/ratio (less then f/6) and a shortish focal length 200 - 600mm. This would ideally be apochromatic so either a very good lens, a short ED refractor or a small Newtonian. the refractor is probably the best value for money/effort. A good lens will cost considerably more, a small Newt will require a bigger mount and considerably more effort. Any of them can give good results if you set your mind to it.

For solar system images the objects are small and bright (okay the moon's not that small but individual features on it are). For this you need short exposures and lots and lots of them to overcome the rippling effect of the atmosphere. This is best achieved with a long focal length scope (several metres) a long f ratio (f/20) and a fast frame rate camera shooting video files. The mount in this case is not so important as long as it can keep the object in view of the sensor for a couple of minutes you should be fine.

If you are more interested in deep sky objects then getting a copy of Making every photon count, will point you in the right direction.