Advice and help needed for buying first setup.... please help.

[Aceace321]

Hi everyone,

I posted on here months ago regarding buying my first kit. Something came up and I had to put it on hold but now im in a postion to finally get something sorted.

I'm quite confused as to what I should buy so hopefully someone can shine some light on a few things for me....

I'm looking at getting a skywatcher 150pds with an eq5 pro goto mount. Please correct me if im wrong but I've read alot of places that its a good all rounder for both observing and astrophotography..... would there be noticeable differences between the 150pds and the 200p?.... I say good all rounder as id want to view and image planets but maybe also do a bit of DSO will the 150pds be suitable and powerful enough......

Astrophotography is something I want to get into over time and I thought as the 150pds is going to be lighter than the 200p that I could get away with having the eq5 mount as the weight should be ok even with a camera... then I can by filters/eyepieces etc aswell. im not looking to take very long exposures and again read somewhere that anything around 80s should be fine?......

Next thing (providing what ive said ao far is kind of correct) is the goto pro.... if I was going to take short exposures does the goto follow objects.... I know im probably asking stupid questions so apologies in advance..... but for short exposures am I correct in saying a guide system is not needed?

And lastly the camera.... is there such thing as a good budget astrophotography camera I looked at the atik titan with a filter wheel but maybe an unmodded slr will do.... im not looking to do anything amazing!

IM SO CONFUSED lol I've been reading up on bits and pieces for months and am still undecided.

Any help will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

[ronin]

The 150 is a fair start, especially as you seem divided between visula and AP.

The PDS refers to the focuser, I think it is 2 speed, good for getting the focus accurate.

The scope will say you can attach a DSLR, what it misses out is that you most likely cannot focus the image on the sensor of the DSLR. Read what is says not what you want it to say. I could attach a DSLR body to a cardboard box, but it won't get a picture.

Basically all the goto's will track and follow an object.

You have to set up the goto, align it and supply data. It is not automatic, they are pretty stupid.

For 80 sec you will have to get the scope aligned and set up pretty accurately.

For non tracking you can likely get away with 20-30 seconds before trailing is apparent, the question is when you get a big image how much has even 20 seconds "degraded" the image.

Budget camera, Atiks are good ask about the ZW Optical ASI 120 colour camera. It is CMOS and there is noise however quite a few have them and results appear fairly good for the cost. There is a mod to cool with a peltier somewhere to reduce noise. I would say if you have a DSLR then use it first. If the results are good carry on.

Post somewhere called "Is this Andromeda?" or similar. Detail indicates it was taken with a camera only and I think no tracking. Gives an idea of what is possible. Worth a look.

Sounds as if you were not at the SWAF at the weekend, there was a tent full of imagers there whose brains you could have picked (they didn't supply gloves unfortunately) and equipment you could have seen. Seeing what is used is different to "deciding" what is used. Basically lots of small refractors, 66mm, 72mm cannot recall seeing anything as big as an 80mm.

Never easy but what you have selected will get you going, after that it depends on your expectations and aspirations.

Would seriously suggest that if you could get to Sidmouth on one of their imaging meets then do so, just dependant on where in Dorset you are, East difficult, West worth thinking about.

[Aceace321]

Thanks for the advice ronin, I just had a brief look at those asi120's that might be the way to go however I can only mainly find planetary images for them....

With the goto you say supply it data do you have to do this with a laptop or do you program it on the keypad prior to using it....

Sidmouths quite a way for me but I am going to try and get over there at some point

[VigdisVZ]

Hi

The 150PDS is a nice little scope and the EQ-5 will handle it no problem even with a light guide tube. It's not good on planets due to it's shorter focal length of 750mm but will net you some good wider field pictures. Feel free to check out my gallery what I've done with it (with an unmodded small sensor DSLR). You can take unguided exposures of over a minute if you polar align carefully (my record is 2 minutes). The only downside with the EQ-5 is that it's weak compared to it's larger siblings and wont stand up quite as good if you decide to get a bigger scope and will be more prone to shake in the wind.

You don't need a GOTO but you need a motorized one. The goto is just nice to have if you dont enjoy star hopping to find your objects.

I would suggest picking up a copy of Steve Richards book "Making Every Photon Count" before you decide: http://www.firstligh...e-richards.html It's an excellent beginners guide to every aspect of the hobby. It will save you time, money and frustration in the end.

[Aceace321]

Hi

The 150PDS is a nice little scope and the EQ-5 will handle it no problem even with a light guide tube. It's not good on planets due to it's shorter focal length of 750mm but will net you some good wider field pictures. Feel free to check out my gallery what I've done with it (with an unmodded small sensor DSLR). You can take unguided exposures of over a minute if you polar align carefully (my record is 2 minutes). The only downside with the EQ-5 is that it's weak compared to it's larger siblings and wont stand up quite as good if you decide to get a bigger scope and will be more prone to shake in the wind.

You don't need a GOTO but you need a motorized one. The goto is just nice to have if you dont enjoy star hopping to find your objects.

I would suggest picking up a copy of Steve Richards book "Making Every Photon Count" before you decide: http://www.firstligh...e-richards.html It's an excellent beginners guide to every aspect of the hobby. It will save you time, money and frustration in the end.

Your DSO album is incredible what kit did you use for the M45?

[VigdisVZ]

Your DSO album is incredible what kit did you use for the M45?

Thank you. 150PDS, no coma corrector or anything, just my Nikon and unguided 30sec subs + darks on a NEQ-6. Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker and some tweaking in Photoshop.

[Aceace321]

Sorry to ask so many questions but whats subs and darks? And are certain nikon cameras better than others..... your help is much appreciated thankyou

[Aceace321]

Did you use any filters or do you not need them?

[VigdisVZ]

Sub is "sub exposure". Usually you take a large number of light subs and "stack" them to make a more detailed fine tuned picture. Think of it as gathering a large amount of data to filter and filtering out the noise. Dark frames are black pictures you take with the lens cap on and subtract the data from the lights in order to wash out errors in the picture. It's all described in detail in the book I linked above if youre curious.

Nikon is nice but the best entry level DSLR for AP is the Canon 1100D. Much better software for Canon in general for AP. No filters needed to start out. Once you have a sensitive CCD camera filters can be of real use.

[Aceace321]

Im going to take your advice and get that book thanks for your help you've cleared alot up for me... if I could ask just one more thing have you ever had a problem focusing an slr with the 150pds....

[VigdisVZ]

No, the focusers on the PDS-series is made to take DSLR's directly ( it even comes with a camera adapter, all you need is a T-2 ring for your camera). After that it's just a matter of learning to fine tune the focus using live view.

[Aceace321]

Thanks so much for all the help and advice