Astrophotography beginner setup

[majestic0110]

Hi all, I hope you are well and managed to enjoy the Perseids! I saw 17 on friday night (I was out for a few hours).

I am a beginner to Astronomy and I own a Celestron 102 SLT (Alt-Az mount) and the NexImage solar system imager. I have taken a few shots of the moon and I am quite happy with them but I am really looking to get further into this aspect of the hobby and am prepared to spend around £1,000. That number is QUITE flexible but I am not made of cash lol. Anyway, I was doing some googling and I realised I'd NEED an EQ mount and possibly a larger scope so I found these:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-syntrek.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-250p-ds-ota.html

What do you think of that setup, are the two compatible? Also, will the OTA be compatible with my Celestron 1.25 inch eye pieces for visual only? I am not too fussy about GOTO functionality as my Celestron 102 has that and to be honest I generally tend to not use it. All I want really is tracking ability, ability to image planets/moon and DSO's well. Is that too tall an order for a grand maybe? To begin with I will be using the NexImage, which may or not be suitable for DSO's at all

< I don't know, but probably not as it doesn't really seem to register stars through the Celestron 102-maybe you can shed some light on that :-) >

but it'll tide me over so I can get planetary images until I can afford a decent DSLR camera.

Please let me know what you all think as I, like all of you I am sure, work hard for my astronomy spending $$$ so I need to get the most out of my cash.

thanks,

Phil.

[swag72]

If you are wanting to image DSO's, here's my thoughts.

Get yourself firstly a copy of 'Making Every Photon Count' which you can find in the book section of FLO. It really is an imagers bible for DSO's and will help you avoid many pitfalls.

Regarding an AP setup. I would recommend an HEQ5 and an ED80. This will come in under your budget. The shorter focal length of the ED80 puts much less pressure on your guiding and the mount. The HEQ5 is generally considered to be the minimum mount for AP. At a later stage add an Atik 314L+ cooled CCD and you have an AP setup that will last you many years and that is a tried and tested combination, used by many on these forums.

[Digz]

Great advice from Sara, I would only add that I would stretch to the NEQ6 mount to future proof yourself

[majestic0110]

Thanks both of you, what about this guy here:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-300p-ds-neq6-pro.html

Also, would that be compatible with 1.25 inch eyepieces?

[Digz]

Compatible - yes.

Good scope / mount - yes.

Suitable for AP - Yes, but......I would start with a shorter focal length like the ED80 Sara mentions. I have a 200p ds and it's great for DSO work but can be very weildy (if that's even a word) and require a lot of effort, the shorter FL of the ED80 will be more forgiving and easier to 'learn the ropes' on.

[majestic0110]

Cool, thanks a lot. that one is a bit too pricey for me at the moment anyway to be honest. Would my Celestron 102 SLT not be better than the ED80 though?

[swag72]

Would my Celestron 102 SLT not be better than the ED80 though?

When you say better - Can you quantify that? What do you think is better?

For me, having spent nights trying to get to where I want with AP, better is the scope that is the easiest to use and gives you the best results. Best results for me I would say is an image that is well focused, detailed and not suffering from trailing, coma, and a whole host of optic stuff. I am not saying at all that the scope you have will have any of these issues, but that takes me to THE single definition of best for me - Ease of use. Things are already hard enough in AP and the ED80 and HEQ5 combo is probably the easiest setup that you will ever use. That will give you a good grounding for learning the ropes and learning them well, with the minimum of frustration. With that comes the probability of you actually continuing with AP.

[majestic0110]

I just thought the light gathering power would be better, due to larger aperture. Can you guys tell me what are the benefits of getting the NEQ6 vs HEQ5?

[swag72]

The NEQ6 has a larger weight carrying capacity than the HEQ5. That's about it I think.

[Robertt]

I have just moved up to the HE5 from the EQ5 and the wieght difference is qiute substantial. so if you have problems with carrying a heavy wieght stick to the lighter HEQ5PRO.

IMHO I have found that software and camera (web kind or otherwise) will allways outstrip the mount capabilities, as F lenghs shorten and cameras get more sensitive exposure times reduce so the mount is relegated perhaps to a lesser role in the overall configuration and imaging.

I would add in closing, I feel that using less than perfect equipment could and can lead you to learning the the art of long exposure from the ground up as they say and of course it is LOADS of fun and of course you will be frustrated! which is a real part of the fun.

Regards

Robert

[majestic0110]

Thanks Robert, weight is not so much an issue as I am a 28 year old male lol but I have only a small car and live in Dublin City so I have to go out in the car for even remotely dark skies. I was looking at this guy here, a bit cheaper and it'll also allow me to buy a canon EOS 500D (which seems to be popular for astrophotography, please correct me if I am wrong).

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reflectors/skywatcher-explorer-200p-heq5-pro.html

What do you all think? Will that mount be suited to AP? It doesn't seem to mention anything about tracking but does it track?

[ollypenrice]

If you don't want to put more load on it there is no reason to prefer an NEQ6 to an HEQ5. If one day you want to use a bigger OTA then, yes, the 6 beats the 5. There is no difference in accuracy, only in payload. The 5 is more portable.

You have been very well advised by the previous posters, believe me.

Light grasp on its own is meaningless in AP. The useful term is focal ratio. Counter intuitive it may be, but a telescope's focal ratio, not its aperture, determines the exposure time needed. My 85mm Tak at F3.9 is very fast. My 10 SCT at F10 is very slow. Of course they don't take the same picture, the Tak's short focal length giving a wide view and the SCT a narrow 'zoomed in' one. You choose a focal length for a given target, or vice versa if you have only one scope. Then there's colour correction... The SLT102 is an achromat, not an apochromat. It will give clearly visible false colour on bright objects (blue-purple fringes) and these will be far, far worse on the camera chip which is very sensitive at those wavelengths. Imagers use 'apo' refractors. What is worse, the Celestron is a fast achromat and false colour in these scopes gets worse at fast F ratios. You can live with it easily in visual use but not in imaging.

Please don't try to start imaging with a gigantic 12 inch Newt!!! You have no idea what monsters they are. I do use 14 inch but it is observatory mounted and on a very serious mount. Sara's point about ease is so important.

Three inch scope, fast F ratio, dark sky, plenty of exposure =

And finally another vote for Steve's book.

Olly

[majestic0110]

Hey Olly, thanks a lot for the advice there! I've decided that I am not going to go for a 12" newt (most likely won't fit in car), instead I will take a look at the ED80. Where can I get the ED80 ? Can't seem to find it anywhere online?

[ollypenrice]

Hey Olly, thanks a lot for the advice there! I've decided that I am not going to go for a 12" newt (most likely won't fit in car), instead I will take a look at the ED80. Where can I get the ED80 ? Can't seem to find it anywhere online?

Ouch, FLO don't have any. Didn't know that. What about a wanted ad on here and on UKABS?

Have you seen the little 66 apo here? Also the faster Equinox 80?

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/equinox.html

Olly

[majestic0110]

cool thanks,

I'd also need a power supply - would this be good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sky-Watcher-17Ah-Rechargeable-Power-Tank/dp/B0039ZPCYW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1344850181&sr=8-2

along with:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/astronomy-cables-leads-accessories/skytron-power-supply-cable-for-skywatcher-celestron-mounts.html

I presume the power tank has the cigarette lighter output adapter?

[ollypenrice]

Personally I'd go for a caravan (AKA Leisure or Deep Discharge) battery from a caravan place. Far better quality and designed for the kind of load you'll be applying. You can make your own crocodile leads but be very careful to respect polarity. I learned to stay well away from cigar lighter plugs because the contact only has to glitch once and your evening can be scrapped. Such plugs do not make good reliable contacts.

Olly

[Tinker1947]

Looking at connector from the battery to the mount plug, a permanent connector on the battery by means of the standard clamp type connector , with the other end connected to the linked connectors, this would make sure there's no cross wires, short circuit ect, there also water proof and will need a serious tug to get them apart....

http://www.maplin.co.uk/3m-solar-extension-cable-511177