Astrotrac - what else will I need?

[digitaldave]

After a comment someone made to me at a meeting of thenastronomy club im a member of, I've been looking at the Astrotrac mount, as it looks like a good way to get started in astrophotography. I was looking at the kit with the tripod and heads. The camera kit I have is as follows:

Canon 600D

15-85mm

70-200 f4

50mm f1.8

I won't be buying any new lenses for a long time if I get the Astrotrac, so I'll be working with what I have. Also, I'd like to be able to use my TV-85 scope on it if possible for some portable, easy to set up, tracking visual observing.

What else would I need in order to make a good start in imaging? I'm thinking mainly about software for controlling the camera (if needed - can it be done from the camera's controls?), and for processing the images afterwards (I guess some sort of stacking software, and some editing software to tweak the stacked images?). I have a Mac laptop, but don't want to rely on using that in the field - I do have an old laptop running XP that I could use, or even run linux on (is there any Linux software for this sort of thing? Just a left field option). I also have a regular pc running windows 7. I'd prefer to do the processing on the desktop or the Mac if possible. However, if I can take the images using only the camera controls, that's be better, as it's less kit to set up.

EDIT: can the Astrotrac do different speeds for solar, lunar etc? Or will the exposure times for the subs be short enough that it won't matter?

Regards,

Dave.

[jgs001]

For an Astrotrac, with the idea being easily portable, an intervalometer... you can get the Canon ones for lots of money or one of the cheap clones from ebay. I've a cheap clone from ebay. The nifty fifty stopped down to f/5.6 will do a great job. I've not tried my 70-200 f/4 yet.. but I'm pretty sure it'll do well. A spare battery or two for the camera would be a good bet too.

I tested mine out the other night with a 50mm, and was able to achieve 5 minute exposures without any problems. I'm sure the AT can run at Lunar and Solar speeds, although I've not tried it. It's rated for something like 15Kg of load, and whilst I don't know anything about the TV-85 I'd think it's probably less than that.