Which Kit For Imaging

[chkm8]

I have a Canon 350 DSLR along with the kit lens and a Sigma 70 - 300 APO lens. I got some great pictures of the eclipse in March this year. Well I thought they were good untill I saw what was on here. I don't have a telescope as yet so what would I need to get started. I am mainly interested in shots of planets and when not photographing a scope that I can use to observe and learn the various constellations. Price range under £500

John.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Something like this will get you going.

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=200heq5

BTW Geoff is selling one here, but its not got the mount.

http://stargazerslounge.com/index.php/topic,17708.0.html

Kaptain Klevtsov

[beamish]

That scope of Geoff's is a good idea KK, then John you could easily find a S/Hnd mount from somewhere like Astro Buy and Sell

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/

perhaps have a look at this

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=14803

or this

http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=14733 or of course a bargain new HEQ5/EQ6 Pro from Steve at Flo

Karlo

[chkm8]

Thanks guys. I have left a message for Geoff.

[chkm8]

With Jeffs scope now sold I am checking here and ebay.

Can anyone give me some pointers as to what I should be looking for in a scope for imaging. There are so many out there and I am sure not all will suit my purpose and many are for viewing only. Any brands in particular or scopes specifically designed for imaging etc as the variety and price range is pretty much mind boggling to a new comer.

John.

[chkm8]

I have been looking at EXPLORER-150PL (EQ3-2) http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=SW150PL

dosen't seem to have motors. Anything else I am missing and how would you rate this for my purpose.

I can go a bit more budget wise rather than buy too cheap and have to upgrade later.

John.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

The one thing you need above all else for imaging is a good mount. The HEQ5 is great and the EQ6 is even better. Try to get a goto version if you can as this has a guiding port for when you get heavy duty.

Scope wise, you don't need anything huge for imaging. A low f/ number (5 ish) will allow shorter exposures for deep sky stuff, if that's what you're into. If you want to shoot the moon then almost any 'scope will do.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[chkm8]

Thanks for the help. I would love to shoot the moon in more detail. Otherwise not that concerned and mainly interested from an observing point of view. My main interest in photography is nature and landscape. I only see me using it for astrophoimaging for the moon. An eclipse etc.

John.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Well if you only want to shoot the moon, a teleconverter for the camera and a good tripod is all you need. Check out stacking programs such as Deep Sky Stacker and Registax (my favourite). These do an average of many shots and let you process the data to get a sharper result. This takes away the effects of the wobblyness of the atmosphere which makes the focus appear poor on parts of the image.

Kaptain Klevtsov