Astro imaging...

[summerstars]

Hi, for astro imaging do I need to buy a CCD camera or is there another way to do it? I'm a newbie, and I'm buying my first telescope next week so would like to buy accessories for it too.

Thanks.

[Andymac79]

DSLR is a cheaper route but CCD is a good route but the learning curve will be oh so steep... Whats your budget?

Theres a good book on this very subject... If only I could remember the name of it...... ??

CCD or DSLR for deep sky, webcam (cheap cheap) for planetary.

Camera is one thing, tracking the object is quite another. Do you have a mount n stuff?

[summerstars]

I would like to start off as cheap as possible right now. Would probably prefer the DSLR and/or webcam if they're usable with the scope. Will be getting my telescope and mount next week.

Thanks for replying. :-)

[nephilim]

It all depends on the mount/scope your getting, The book 'mentioned' above will more than likely be Steve Richards 'Making every photon count', I'd advise you buy that book before you buy ANYTHING, it'll save you a great deal of £££ in the long run ( you can buy it from here http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html or direct from Steve, he's 'Steppenwolf' on here.

Steve

PS Hope you have deeeeeeep pockets if AP is what you want

[Andymac79]

Well with imaging you really get what you pay for. I paid very little but I have to work much harder to get lesser results than your man with, say, an HEQ5 but you also get back what you put in. Imaging is not a pain free hobby, its tough.

Its quite easy to get dis heartened but only take one good session to get back on track. For deep sky stuff keep your focal length short and your sub length long. Imaging doesnt require a powerful scope, always remember that, its all about keeping the camera shutter open for as long as poss without the stars trailing and that is the tricky bit. Thats why a good stable mount with good tracking ability is so important and its why I battle so hard...

Planetary isnt easy either but requires a different approach, there is less of a requirement for accurate tracking as long exposures are not required.

What kit are you buying may I ask?

[summerstars]

I'm buying the Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak Auto. Don't need to start with the astro imaging right away, it's just something I'd love to be able to do. Sounds like I'm going to have to do plenty of saving before I can start with it though! Lol.

[nephilim]

Well with imaging you really get what you pay for. I paid very little but I have to work much harder to get lesser results than your man with, say, an HEQ5 but you also get back what you put in. Imaging is not a pain free hobby, its tough.

Its quite easy to get dis heartened but only take one good session to get back on track. For deep sky stuff keep your focal length short and your sub length long. Imaging doesnt require a powerful scope, always remember that, its all about keeping the camera shutter open for as long as poss without the stars trailing and that is the tricky bit. Thats why a good stable mount with good tracking ability is so important and its why I battle so hard...

Planetary isnt easy either but requires a different approach, there is less of a requirement for accurate tracking as long exposures are not required.

What kit are you buying may I ask?

Couldnt agree more Andy, I'm starting off with the kit in my sig below & its going to be far from easy, you make do with what u can afford (well, for me anyway)

[nephilim]

You'll need to move the mirror of ur scope further up the tube with longer colimation screws if imaging with a DSLR otherwise in the 130p you wont be able to reach focus im afraid

[Andymac79]

I'm buying the Skywatcher Explorer 130P SupaTrak Auto. Don't need to start with the astro imaging right away, it's just something I'd love to be able to do. Sounds like I'm going to have to do plenty of saving before I can start with it though! Lol.

I dont think you can get a DSLR to focus on the 130p. I maybe wrong if someone could confirm or deny?

[summerstars]

This may be a long shot (may even sound silly!) but I already own this camera, and hoping I can save money having to buy another... So, would this be usable with a telescope?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-COOLPIX-L810-Compact-Digital/dp/B0071L3JTU

[Andymac79]

.......Thanks Steve !

[summerstars]

Ah, maybe I need to reconsider what one to buy. Any advice?

[JamesF]

Astrophotography can get very expensive very fast. If you want to do things cheaply then limiting your aspirations is probably a good plan, as is reading Steve's book.

Perhaps the cheapest way to get into AP Is to do get something like an EQ3-2 GOTO mount and put a standard DSLR and lens on it, forgetting all about telescopes. That will allow you to create wide field images (something I personally enjoy), but without expensive optics you're not going to get "up close and personal" with too many galaxies and suchlike.

I am starting to wonder if the best advice to someone who is interested in AP and hasn't yet bought a telescope isn't actually "Buy an eight inch dob, spend a year just stargazing visually and then revisit the whole idea when you've got a better feel for what you're getting yourself into."

James

[summerstars]

As I don't really know a lot about imaging, I guess I assumed I'd be able to do it quite quickly, and possibly fairly easily! Never mind. Will get a starter scope and star gaze etc, as I share the hobby with my 9 year old, it's probably the better thing to do right now.

[JamesF]

This may be a long shot (may even sound silly!) but I already own this camera, and hoping I can save money having to buy another... So, would this be usable with a telescope?

http://www.amazon.co...l/dp/B0071L3JTU

It doesn't look like the lens is removable. You can do some imaging through an eyepiece without removing the camera lens (afocal imaging), but usually you'd remove it and use the telescope as the lens instead (prime focus imaging). I don't think I've seem much afocal imaging that matches the quality of that done with the camera at prime focus.

James

[JamesF]

As I don't really know a lot about imaging, I guess I assumed I'd be able to do it quite quickly, and possibly fairly easily! Never mind. Will get a starter scope and star gaze etc, as I share the hobby with my 9 year old, it's probably the better thing to do right now.

I really believe there's a lot of sense in that to be honest. I wouldn't want to put you off trying imaging, but I don't think it's unfair to suggest that whilst it can be immensely rewarding and a great pleasure, it can also be incredibly frustrating, time-consuming and expensive. In my view it's a far better idea to get into it with your eyes wide open. If you do, I'd bet you're much more likely to stick at it in the long run and to make the right decisions for your own circumstances.

James

[Andymac79]

I am at the far end of the rainbow when it comes to astro imaging kit, the end where there is lots of dust and broken stuff and even my simple hoard cost over 600 quid. Sensible people spend more than that on the mount.. There is no way around the cash problem. One needs a fair bit of it..

[lensman57]

I dont think you can get a DSLR to focus on the 130p. I maybe wrong if someone could confirm or deny?

Hi,

You are quite correct, to mount a DSLR and obtain full focus range a 130 P- DS is required , quite a bit more expensive than the 130P I am afraid.

Regards,

A.G

[Astrosurf]

I don't know if these would be useable for afocal AP with your scope? Maybe you could take shots of the brightest DSOs like the Orion neb. But I'm probably wrong! I just know what I know!

http://www.scopesnskies.com/prod/Astro-Engineering/Ultra/PH047.html

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/adaptors/skywatcher-universal-camera-adapter.html

Alexxx

[Zakalwe]

I guess I assumed I'd be able to do it quite quickly, and possibly fairly easily!

Nope, and nope.

Bung a modified webcam in and have a play at Lunar imaging. Thats about as cheap as it gets.

There's plenty of starter threads on here. Have a search about and a read.