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tomchatter

By tomchatter
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tomchatter

tomchatter

Posted
Posted

Hello there, stargazers!

I stumbled upon SGL while doing my research prior to buying my first astro-imaging set. A lot of useful comments and reviews was found here and I'm still going through various SGL threads. I'm not new to astronomy and stargazing, but AP is a new stage for me. There's a lot to learn and acquiring my first equipment is now a question number one. What I'm eventually aiming at is deep-sky DSLR AP with starting budget of £400-500 for a refractor and a mount. Yes, it doesn't sound like a serious investment, and I hope I'll be able to do some serious upgrading in the future, but this is what I passionately want to start with at the moment. Well, as I said—there's a lot to learn.

After a month of researching and considering my starter's budget, I kind of came up with this [in]famous (?) combination of StarTravel-102 and EQ3-2 (and I'm thinking about a tracking mount, so maybe EQ3-2 SyncScan). I've read some comments here about this setup and still considering pros and cons. I know for sure, that I have to start with something, so, all things considered, it's hard to make 'the right decission' until I've tried the stuff out myself... I guess, the first 'right decission' is to seek some support and expertise.

Thanks, and happy stargazing!

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tommo b

tommo b

Posted
Posted

Welcome Tom.......from another Tom!

I'm coming from a photography background myself & I'm thinking of going straight for an HEQ5 mount at least to try & future proof a little - eventually doing some wide field with the dslr.

(I can't see me having a huge scope in the future so hoping it will do me for a while.)

Will be watching your posts to see what sort of feedback you get on your choices for comparison! The advice on here is invaluable.

Welcome to SGL.

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rob1

rob1

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Posted

Welcome Tom, i personally cant give you advice as im a complete novice, i can relate with the choosing equipment problem its seems to be a minefield out there lol the people here seem very knowledgeable though and im sure youll get the right advice :)

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JamesM

JamesM

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Posted

Hi Tom and welcome to the forum. As part of your research, you might want to consider getting hold of Steve Richards' book, "Making Every Photon Count"(FLO £19.95) which you can read about here. It will tell you all you need to know and is a very comprehensive guide advising you on what kit to get and you need it to take good consistent images. It will provide you with the necessary overview to help you decide on how deep you want to go and to work out an appropriate budget. It will certainly help you avoid getting the wrong kit and by definition will probably save you some money in the process.

Clear skies and hope you enjoy the forum

James

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JonDoe

JonDoe

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Posted

Hi Tom welcome to SGL, if you really are serious about AP and are working to a budget then the book stated above will help you keep to it.

from my short time here the mount is critical if your thinking of doing DSO`s.

good luck and my best advice would be to post again in the getting started thread for a bigger responce.

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Welrod50

Welrod50

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Posted

Hello Tom and welcome. For the budget you have, the initial set-up of SW 102 and EQ3-2 will do fine. Good focal length and relatively fast, but it is not an ED or triplet, so whilst it will do fine for DSO's you may find you get fringing on brighter objects like planets,moon etc. You can get filters which will cut this, but it is an added cost and the benefits are small. I personally looked at this same scope not long ago as I've just moved on from my SW 130 newtonian reflector, but plumped for a Maksutov in the end - just personal choice nothing more :)

As for the mount, I have an EQ3 pro which is essentially the same mount. Synscan is a must for longer exposure work, and autoguiding is a must for really long exposure work. Sounds like you're on the right lines though.

Good luck.

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JamesF

JamesF

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Welcome to SGL.

I'd second the recommendation to read Steve's book. Well worth the time spent.

DSO imaging using an EQ3-2 is probably going to be a bit hit and miss. It's not impossible by any means, but you may need to put in a fair bit of thought and effort to get things to work together nicely. As has been said, the ST102 may suffer from some colour fringing, but a telescope that doesn't could easily cost your entire budget. There are SGL users who have produced some excellent images with a DSLR, ST102 and EQ3-2 though.

Another thing to consider is wide field imaging using just a camera and camera lens, which may broaden your options somewhat and allow you to get into doing some astrophotography whilst you get together the cash for the more expensive things you'd like.

James

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