Any tips on what dslr camera to use with the 11 edge hd ota?

[Gaze Away]

Hi,

I am just about to start venturing into a bit of ap...I was just wondering what sort of dslr camera to purchase to use with my ota. I have decided to buy the cgem dx mount and so cant afford to much at the moment.

Any help appreciated,

Thanks

Andy

Ps,,,

please remember I'm a total newbie to imaging so small words only please......

[JamesF]

If you want to keep costs down, then perhaps something like the Canon 350D?

James

[Pete Presland]

i use a canon 350d, pretty pleased with it so far.canon does seem to be the most popular brand for astrophotography.

[Gaze Away]

Hi James,

I was thinking about going this way. I was just looking on abs and found a few, most un-modded and body only. Do you know How much are they to get modded? Also do I need the lenses and If so is the standard lens ok?

Thanks

[Pete Presland]

i think modded is the best part of £200, depending on what mod is done

[Pete Presland]

these guys do the canon mods

http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/eosmod.htm

[Gaze Away]

i think modded is the best part of £200, depending on what mod is done

Definately best to look for modded than! I found this, http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=57755 What do you think about the price?? thanks

[Gaze Away]

these guys do the canon mods

http://www.astronomi...o.uk/eosmod.htm

Lol...the link I just put up...he had that modded there....

[Pete Presland]

that looks pretty good to me, i would find out exactly which mod has been done.there are a few different ones, some involving the removal of the filter, others the replacement of the filter.

also try to speak to the guy on the phone before you part with any cash, a few burnt fingers on astro buy and sell recently.looks like peter napper who is selling the camera is a member of Norwich astronomy society so you should be fine.

[riklaunim]

DS Imaging with C11 won't be that easy. Aside of main camera you need guiding (a good one, OAG preferred), and scope shielded from wind and shakes. If you have a reducer/corrector for that scope then it's close to sane resolution. If not - you would have to do at least bin 3 (and you would have small field of view. With a reducer bin2 for a Canon 350D should give you bit more than 1 arcsec/pixel for imagin (and you usually don't want to do DS images at 1 arcsec or higher resolution).

[Pete Presland]

would make a very nice planetary scope though, have you done any imaging with your webcam yet?

[Gaze Away]

would make a very nice planetary scope though, have you done any imaging with your webcam yet?

Not yet, the scope is still in the box.. . I have been deciding what mount to purchase for about 2 months and have been busy building a power tank. (something to do in the rain)... Maybe give it a go with the flashed 880 and see how that goes,,,

[Pete Presland]

this book is considered a must read, worth looking at before you start on the long, long, long road that is astrophotography.

http://nightskyimages.co.uk/making_every_photon_count.htm

i would certainly put that webcam to use though maybe starting with some nice lunar shots.

[Gaze Away]

DS Imaging with C11 won't be that easy. Aside of main camera you need guiding (a good one, OAG preferred), and scope shielded from wind and shakes. If you have a reducer/corrector for that scope then it's close to sane resolution. If not - you would have to do at least bin 3 (and you would have small field of view. With a reducer bin2 for a Canon 350D should give you bit more than 1 arcsec/pixel for imagin (and you usually don't want to do DS images at 1 arcsec or higher resolution).

Still waiting for the reducer to become available for the 11...As for the shakes the mount is so heavy I expect it to cope with this quite well. I am new to imaging, does it not help having the fastar?. Im going to search the threads about this off axis guiding and try to understand it...thanks for the info

Andy

[Gaze Away]

this book is considered a must read, worth looking at before you start on the long, long, long road that is astrophotography.

http://nightskyimage...hoton_count.htm

i would certainly put that webcam to use though maybe starting with some nice lunar shots.

Thanks for that I totally agree. I have just ordered this book with FLO and really looking forward to the reading ...thanks for the advice everyone I will take it and have a nice long slow read......

Regards and Wishing you all, clear, clear skies.....

Andy

[riklaunim]

For Hyperstar imaging (with Fastar compatible OTAs) you need the Hyperstar assembly - around 1000 EUR. Then you can do images at f/2. Fastar-compatible on its own doesn't give anything.

Reducer/flatteners are available - like from Optec 0,62x but it only supports diagonals up to 22 mm. For DS imaging this is very big scope with very long focal length - and it's not so easy to do DS images on long focal lengths. I have plain C11 and I use it for planetary only (almost).

[Pete Presland]

For Hyperstar imaging (with Fastar compatible OTAs) you need the Hyperstar assembly - around 1000 EUR. Then you can do images at f/2. Fastar-compatible on its own doesn't give anything.

Reducer/flatteners are available - like from Optec 0,62x but it only supports diagonals up to 22 mm. For DS imaging this is very big scope with very long focal length - and it's not so easy to do DS images on long focal lengths. I have plain C11 and I use it for planetary only (almost).

and how well you use it, some superb images of saturn recently

[Pete Presland]

andy, you can set the custom white balance after modding, for every day use.

In auto, take a shot of a piece of white paper from around 2 or 3 feet away. Put the camera in manual mode. Open the menu and in settings choose Custom WB. Select the image you have just shot. In the settings menu, set the white balance to custom. After this point, any shots taken in Manual mode (non-RAW) will use the values obtained from this image to adjust white balance.

[Gaze Away]

and how well you use it, some superb images of saturn recently

I agree some stunning quality images.......

[Gaze Away]

andy, you can set the custom white balance after modding, for every day use.

In auto, take a shot of a piece of white paper from around 2 or 3 feet away. Put the camera in manual mode. Open the menu and in settings choose Custom WB. Select the image you have just shot. In the settings menu, set the white balance to custom. After this point, any shots taken in Manual mode (non-RAW) will use the values obtained from this image to adjust white balance.

Sounds good , was that for the web or dig cam? If I was to start on planets would you say it was best to stick with the Phillips web cam or would I get better results with a digital camera ?......

[Pete Presland]

the white balance is for your dslr.the phillps is probably the most common entry level planetary wevcam out there.like you said earlier, money is a consideration, so why not start with what you have.

[Gaze Away]

the white balance is for your dslr.the phillps is probably the most common entry level planetary wevcam out there.like you said earlier, money is a consideration, so why not start with what you have.

Is there a better web cam for this or is the phillips the best I can go.?

[riklaunim]

There are newer like MS LifeCam Studio/Cinema that are better for Moon and "should be" better for planetary. There is also FireFly sale on eBay. Cheap mono "dedicated" camera, not a webcam, but has lower gain values than average planetary camera.

[Gaze Away]

There are newer like MS LifeCam Studio/Cinema that are better for Moon and "should be" better for planetary. There is also FireFly sale on eBay. Cheap mono "dedicated" camera, not a webcam, but has lower gain values than average planetary camera.

Thanks very much for that. I think it would be better to stay with the planets and the moon. Could I ask, Should I be looking at using a 2.5 or 3x barlow to get to about f30 ? does this sound about right!,

Thanks Andy

[riklaunim]

f-ratio depends on pixel size of your camera. MS LifeCam has small pixels and f/10-15 is "optimal" for it. FireFly 0.3 has bigger 6x6 pixels and f/20-25 would "optimal" for it for planetary (for lunar imaging I use half). Similar for 5.6 pixels in Philips SPC. 2x Barlow would quite likely give you bit more than 2x so assume that you need slightly weaker Barlow than math would suggest.