looking for astrophotography setup ideas budget 1K thank you

[Jason74]

Hi just joined the forum spent ages sifting through google and I'm more confused than ever.

I'm looking for a good quality setup that can produce images of good quality.

Any help would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Jason

[rwilkey]

Hi Jason, welcome to the forum.  Your best bet would be to have a good read of Steve Richards' book 'Making Every Photon Count', the bible for starting in astro-photography here: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

[Jason74]

Hi many thanks for the link, I'll take a look.

Have a nice evening.

[RikM]

Hi Jason, a lot depends on which types of objects you intend to image and what your expectation of 'good quality images' are. £1k isn't a lot really.

If your interest is the moon and planets, then you will need one set of equipment, if you want to have a go a deep sky astrophotography then the kit list will be very different. If you want to have a go at 'everything really!', then you will need to either increase the budget or reduce the expectation of 'quality' probably.

Let us know what your interests and expectations are and we can give you some pointers.

[rowan46]

welcome to sgl as rwilkey has said get the book first 1k sounds a lot of money but for a kit capable of taking quality  photos you may struggle on that budget. If you get the book first once you know what you are looking for and you may be able to do it on budget by going second user it will be tight though. I must stress though doing it this way you need to be patient and will require a bit of luck and discipline

[swag72]

Hi Jason,

Firstly, have a read of this thread http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/203141-beginners-set-up-£1k/ Someone asking the same question.

I would say that first of all you need to decide what you want to image. DSO's and solar are very different and one scope will not do both well. If you've decided that DSO's are your bag, then you should get hold of the book 'Making Every Photon Count' - It gets recommended literally hundreds of times, but for good reason - It's a bit of an imagers bible. Read it, then read it again. Perhaps then you are ready to think about what to buy. Dont spend a bean until you've read the book ........ twice!!!

Then have a look around the imaging section. What sort of images do you want to get? Be realistic with your expectations. Most people list the kit they used to get their images, it will give you a good starting point.

£1k sounds like a big budget, in truth, starting from scratch it's nothing. Do you have a camera all ready?

Mount, mount, mount - It's all about the mount. Have a look second hand on ABS (Astrobuysell) as you can often get some good stuff there. Don't be afraid to go second hand, it will get you more.

Then you've got masses of data - HURRAH!!! Then comes the hard bit ........... processing. I say hard as many people will spend almost as long processing the image as they took to get the data! Be prepared for a steep learning curve, some contradictory advice and some frustration. All in all, its a great hobby and I love it!!! I hope you will too!!

[Jason74]

Many thanks for the replies I will digest the forum advice then post what I think I'd like and await your much appreciated advise.

[Jason74]

Just been looking at various post would this setup be suitable for deep space imaging.

SkyWatcher Explorer-200P/1000 EQ5 Telescope EQ5 Deluxe Heavy-Duty Equatorial Mount

Canon EOS 550D/Rebel T2i 18.0MP DSLR 2x LENSES 18-55 mm ( not sure what lenses I'd need ).

Many thanks

Jason

[swag72]

Ah, here comes the contradictory advice!!

I would say no. I am of the opinion that the minimum mount for AP is a HEQ5. Couple that with a short focal length refractor such as an 80ED and that is the basis for many good AP rigs. But, there are people who use a setup similar to the one you suggested and don't believe that you need an HEQ5 to produce good photo's. Look around at people's images and judge for yourself.

Also here's my take on it. In the UK you have precious little imaging time. You want to keep as many subs as you can and not spend all of your time tinkering to make your rig work. The HEQ5 and 80ED is a proven rig and one that probably works the best out of the box (Nothing in AP really works out of the box!!) - It will require minimum tinkering so you can get on with the business in hand.

I believe in getting the right tools for the job from the off and spending enough money to get that. Others on a stricter budget for example will get a lesser mount such as the EQ5 and tinker with it. I say good luck to them, this is hard enough as it is!

There you go, probably the first bit of contradictory advice! Make of it what you will

[Jason74]

Many thanks swag 72 always good to have an honest opinion what would you suggest as a rig including camera any advice would be fantastic.

[rowan46]

Ah, here comes the contradictory advice!!

I would say no. I am of the opinion that the minimum mount for AP is a HEQ5. Couple that with a short focal length refractor such as an 80ED and that is the basis for many good AP rigs. But, there are people who use a setup similar to the one you suggested and don't believe that you need an HEQ5 to produce good photo's. Look around at people's images and judge for yourself.

Also here's my take on it. In the UK you have precious little imaging time. You want to keep as many subs as you can and not spend all of your time tinkering to make your rig work. The HEQ5 and 80ED is a proven rig and one that probably works the best out of the box (Nothing in AP really works out of the box!!) - It will require minimum tinkering so you can get on with the business in hand.

I believe in getting the right tools for the job from the off and spending enough money to get that. Others on a stricter budget for example will get a lesser mount such as the EQ5 and tinker with it. I say good luck to them, this is hard enough as it is!

There you go, probably the first bit of contradictory advice! Make of it what you will

wot she says  ^   ^ you said you wanted to produce quality. You can get decent photo's out of that setup but not easily or reliably. 

[swag72]

Many thanks swag 72 always good to have an honest opinion what would you suggest as a rig including camera any advice would be fantastic.

Do I have to stick with a £1k budget?

You did say that you wanted to produce 'quality' pics. Have you looked in the imaging section? Are there images that you have in mind that you would like to work towards?

[rowan46]

minimum has got to be the heq5 syntrek http://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-heq5-syntrek.html

ed 80 telescope http://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-evostar-80ed-ds-pro-ota.html

canon 1100d

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners.html

[ollypenrice]

Another plus for Sara's advice. HEQ5 and ED80 plus bits, all bought second hand. This will give you decent results and will be merely difficult to master rather than downright impossible!!   

Since you are likely to start with a DSLR camera on this budget I'd suggest that you don't need a telescope at all. Just image with lenses at first. The shorter the focal length you use the less of a problem accurate tracking becomes. While all experienced imagers know this by heart it's amazing to see how this point is not adequately stressed in beginner threads, though that is changing. For an easy life keep the focal length short. Short means under about 600mm and the less the easier.

You'll need software. You can stack and calibrate in free DSS (though I don't use that myself) and then I'd advise Photoshop CS3 which comes up cheaply if you don't have it. The great thing about Photoshop is the amount of astronomy support that is available for it.

Olly,

http://ollypenrice.smugmug.com/Other/Best-of-Les-Granges/22435624_WLMPTM#!i=2266922474&k=Sc3kgzc