Nikon D90 for AP??

[Paulus17]

I bought my Nikon D90 last year,my first ever DSLR after mainly using Fuji bridge cameras for years.

This was also before my interest in astronomy was awakened.

But after reading Squeakys post with his Nikon and the problems it caused trying to take astro images i thought i would ask if my D90 is any good for AP?

I have since,only the other week gone and bought my first ever telescope a SW Dob 200p,as after reading loads about AP and trying to take it all in i sort of decided that it was too complicated and expensive for me to do,hence why i bough the Dob,as i thought it would be easy to use???

But after taking some shots of the moon the other night just by using an old Olympus compact pressed against the EP the images came out ok.

i have had a couple of suggestions in another post to use the D90 by using T-rings and adaptors,but i'm sure i have read that it won't work with a Dob.But i am also sure i read that by adding a 2x Barlow that that would give the camera enough room to get focus??

Thats where it started to get too complicated for me and jsut sort of forgot about doing any AP apart form widefield.

I know,well i think i know i will only be able to get mainly Moon shots,as the planets just move to fast out the FOV??

So is it worth the expense of getting any other equipment just to use the D90 do you think??

I will add that anything techy and i've had it,as i say i like to keep things simple if thats possible with this

[4lefts]

i'm not an astrophotographer, except a bit of lunar, but i'll sling in my 2p. i think there's a lot of mud slinging toward nikon, to the point that it's become kind of received wisdom that there's something not as good about nikon dslrs. to me it seems that the advantage of canon cameras is that lots of people use them, therefore there's lots of software for them, and adapters, companies that do modding, and so on. this does not make nikon a bad camera company. also, i get the sense that a lot of the issues with the nikon in that thread would have been just the same with a canon - you'd have just the same problems finding focus and finding objects and weight. there's nothing magic about canons that will solve these problems.

also, i know there are some exceptions to this, but a dobsonian for astrophotography really is going to be like pushing a jelly up a ladder. you need to be able keep an object completely still in the field of view for a long time (hours, ideally). i know this isn't a helpful thing to say, but if you want to do astrophotos, you have to make peace with techy stuff. you have to learn to love it, or you will never love the hobby.

anyway, yes, definitely try your nikon, but read this thread: and try this first. i'm sure you can get some great results.

[Paulus17]

Thanks for taking the time to reply 4lefts??

I have read that link you gave and i even made a comment or two which you can see on the last page.

I even tried that method out and guess what,it didn't work for me

But i will be trying again as soon as we get a good decent spell of clear weather,my equipment might be collectable by then though

i am hopeless at techy stuff and just end up with a severe headach/migrane when i try to undestand it all which doesn't do me any good in the long run.

So i will just have to live with what i know and can grasp in the future

I have no intention of changing my D90 for a Canon and am sorry if i gave that impression,and must admit that after reading Squeakys post that i couldn't see the make of camera making a huge difference??

But i think after reading the other replies in Squeakys Nikon post they have answered my questions.

So while i am using my Dob to gaze i will also just use the little compact to try and take some images,i might even invest in the PH04 attachment,i think it was just to use the compact,and use my D90 for widefield,which is what i started doing anyway and what got me into Astronomy after all these years

[nytecam]

i'm not an astrophotographer, except a bit of lunar, but i'll sling in my 2p. i think there's a lot of mud slinging toward nikon, to the point that it's become kind of received wisdom that there's something not as good about nikon dslrs. to me it seems that the advantage of canon cameras is that lots of people use them,

If you check any astro forum you'll find bias for or against certain products and if it goes pear-shaped to blame the product rather than one's inexperience or incompetance

ps: you'd need a tracking equat mount to take decent pics of DSO etc

[Paulus17]

If you check any astro forum you'll find bias for or against certain products and if it goes pear-shaped to blame the product rather than one's inexperience or incompetance

ps: you'd need a tracking equat mount to take decent pics of DSO etc

Can i put my 200p on a tracking equat mount,no doubt i can but would be expensive??

[4lefts]

definitely. the dob bearings unscrew and you can get tube rings and a dovetail for it. it wouldn't be any more expensive than getting a "normal" 200p and an eq mount. you can put it on an eq5, and there are people who get nice pics with one, but you'll do a lot better on an eq6. which costs. but having a dob 200p doesn't make it any more expensive. astrophotography is just expensive.

i'm assuming you have a solid 200p, not a flextube. that probably would be a non-starter.

[4lefts]

If you check any astro forum you'll find bias for or against certain products and if it goes pear-shaped to blame the product rather than one's inexperience or incompetance

ps: you'd need a tracking equat mount to take decent pics of DSO etc

absolutely. i just quite like nikon stuff the rest of the time, and it pains me to see people suggest they aren't great cameras, just because they're not widely used for ap. i have a soft spot from having a nikon film slr and living in tokyo. happy days.

that said, i plan to buy a dslr for ap, and it'll be a canon.

[knobby]

absolutely. i just quite like nikon stuff the rest of the time, and it pains me to see people suggest they aren't great cameras, just because they're not widely used for ap. i have a soft spot from having a nikon film slr and living in tokyo. happy days.

that said, i plan to buy a dslr for ap, and it'll be a canon.

I love my Nikon ... and my Dob

[Paulus17]

Yes its a solid 200p 4lefts,and yes it would be expensive

So for now i will just stick to the little compact and some Moon shots.

Great piccy Knobby

[astrofox]

My main photo kit is Nikon D80. Having said that I was into photography long before I returned to Astronomy. However I got a cheap 2nd hand Canon EOS100d just for astro work and never regreted it. Nikon v Canon for general photographjy, well you would need a crow bar to seperate them. But when it comes to AP the Canon has some features that make life tad easier like pre exposure mirror lock up.

[Tinker1947]

I have a Nikon D80 and a Cannon 1100D, i use a remote controller on both camera's same remote different plug on the end, the main thing the cannon wins on is its liveview focusing is really quick and spot on, the Nikon required many shots until the focus was right.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Timer-Remote-Switch-control-MC-DC2/dp/B003YDWJGI/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1342308988&sr=8-6

[Paulus17]

Thanks Frederick and Tinker

I'm tempted to get a Canon,second hand, just to keep for the AP stuff,but i would still need the auto track on the Dob.

Would the Canon need to be modded for the AP stuff or is it ok as is??

[Tinker1947]

It doesn't need to be modded, depending on how deep you want to get into AP, you can pickup refurbished 1100D's on E-bay, i payed £265 with a Kit lens.....