Jump to content

Narrowband

Hi from Harrogate


treebeard51

Recommended Posts

First telescope- Charles Frank 1.5" refractor ! Four pounds four shillings - all my hard earned pocket money on a cardboard tube and a bit of glass and a tripod that was totally useless. I loved it ! Saw one on ebay the other day - sold for just over eight pounds. Happy days!

I now have an Orion Optics UK OMC140 f14 Maksutov (steel tube) on a Vixen GPDX motorised mount. I want to have a go at astrophotography, particularly deep sky. Will the OMC140 get me started with a Canon 450/500D or should I go down the route of getting rid of it, keeping the solid mount and spending on a 8/10" reflector? Altair 8" f5 looks interesting. Any ideas on this appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi and welcome to the forum. You might find you will get more of a response if your post your question over on the "Getting started equipment and advice" as more people visit this section than here on the welcome section. :smiley:

Clear skies and hope you enjoy the forum.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, welcome to SGL :)

The OMC-140 is too long a focal length for deep sky photography, but would be ok for the moon. Something like a 80mm short focal length refractor would be better for deep sky photography.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi and welcome to the SGL. As Mr Spock says, the focal length will make your life much harder, as the longer focal length are far less forgiving to tracking errors.

If astrophotography is where your interest is heading, I seriously suggest you purchase the book "Making Every Photon Count" first as it will probably save you a lot of money in the long run by avoiding purchasing equipment that is not fit for the desired purpose.

Clear skies,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to SGL from another Harrogate based member, Canon camera's are very good for AP as alot of software (free & reasonably priced) is written to them, more than any other DSLR I believe. I'm saving for the eos450D as that is the model that started having liveview (I may be wrong though) & the 450D onwards has it, although not a necessity it is helpful. Good luck with the choice u make & definatley buy Steve Richards book, u can buy direct from him (Steppenwolf on here) or FLO (First light Optics) Its a godsend & will explain everything you need to know when starting out in AP & will save u the £20 cover price many times over.

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Treebeard and welcome to SGL, take a leaf out of that character in the LOTR and don`t be "hasty" in coming to a decision, research it well including getting hold of a copy the book mentioned and I am sure you will be in a better position to know what you want, rather than spending your hard earned money on items you may find in the long run you will not use, enjoy your Astronomy :)

John.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Treebeard welcome to SGL

I'm no expert with AP, although I have been researching with the plan to invest this year in an AP set-up.

What i will advise is that the OMC140's focal length will create serious difficulties in tracking accurancy and as such you will require a real investment in a mount.

I would use the OMC for lunar and planetry work and buy another scope with a sensible focal length for learning AP.

A nice short focal length, sub 700mm should be your starting point..

I'm sure the appropriate question in the imaging sections will give you the answer/s you seek.

Good luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.