bit of advice required

[oldpink]

I've been looking to get into astronomy for a while and years ago bought a 4" scope but got sidetracked
I'm looking to take this up a bit more seriously now and looking for some kit

a little research and a budget of about £1000 I think I know what I want to buy
this is wher you come in and advise me

I plan on buying a Sky-Watcher Explorer-200P (HEQ5) Motorised Parabolic Newtonian Reflector Telescope kit

I also plan on buying a canon D450 DSLR to use with it

my main aim is planets but wouldn't mind some DSO or even solar (with the correct filters)
and I'm also pretty good with computers and software

any advice appreciated on what I plan to buy

 

[JamesF]

For planetary imaging you really want a fast frame rate camera rather than a DSLR.  The DSLR would be good for full disc lunar and solar however.  You'll probably eventually want a barlow or two for planetary imaging, but you can't really make that decision until you have settled on a camera.  The Imaging Source DFK21.AU04 seems to be going for very reasonable prices second hand at the moment.  It's a little old-hat, but competent to learn with nonetheless.  I'd not buy one new personally.  The ASI120MC is also popular, though more expensive.  These are colour cameras.  Mono versions are available, but then you'll need filters etc. and it all adds to the cost.

James

[rowan46]

welcome to sgl you will get good views with that scope its a nice combo. Its not the best for imaging however.  For planets you are better off using a webcam . for dso's you are better off with a bigger mount and smaller scope. This is what you need before you buy anything for imaging dso's 

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

I think you will benefit from a bit more study you have chosen a great visual astronomy package but unfortunately its not the best imaging package planets are certainly very easy to image on that mount and scope with a webcam but will not be so good with a dslr. however the mount is not the best for dslr long exposure for deep space its possible but really only just and with difficulty

[baggywrinkle]

For planetary imaging you really want a fast frame rate camera rather than a DSLR.  The DSLR would be good for full disc lunar and solar however.  You'll probably eventually want a barlow or two for planetary imaging, but you can't really make that decision until you have settled on a camera.  The Imaging Source DFK21.AU04 seems to be going for very reasonable prices second hand at the moment.  It's a little old-hat, but competent to learn with nonetheless.  I'd not buy one new personally.  The ASI120MC is also popular, though more expensive.  These are colour cameras.  Mono versions are available, but then you'll need filters etc. and it all adds to the cost.

James

My Canon 650D can shoot movies at a frame rate of 30 fps, surely that is still good for recording and stacking? Not had a chance to try it yet though.

[Alien 13]

My Canon 650D can shoot movies at a frame rate of 30 fps, surely that is still good for recording and stacking? Not had a chance to try it yet though.

 

I have the same camera and it sort of will work but the image will be a tiny dot in the middle of the DSLR sensor, the webcam with its smaller sensor gives you an effective magnification factor and so the pixels used per inch could be similar or better.

I have tried backyard eos and this allows you to record live view in AVI format at around 10 fps plus i think you can record a 5x zoomed in section so it could be worth a try.

Alan

[JamesF]

My Canon 650D can shoot movies at a frame rate of 30 fps, surely that is still good for recording and stacking? Not had a chance to try it yet though.

I've seen it done and some people have achieved results that were ok, but not really anywhere near what can be achieved with a dedicated camera.

The impression I have is that coping with the volume of data is an issue, but also there may be some data loss due to compression of the video stream.  Really not sure about that last one though.

Still, if a DSLR that does video is what you have, that's what you try with first, isn't it?

James

[oldpink]

thanks for the replys & advice

my budget will cover spending about £250 for a dedicated cam, the DSLR will be used as an everyday camera as well

I could get either the DFK21.AU04 or the ASI120MC mentioned within budget so any advice on them and any reletive advice on which lenses to use with them would be great

my main aim is for planetary, DSO is not so important at this stage