Bare minimum (read: cheapest) kit for DSO photography

[mikehab]

I'm kinda surprised that no-one has yet mentioned the simplest (and cheapest) of all options in this thread .. the good olde barn-door tracker.  For someone who just wants to dabble in DSO imaging then I would suggest using your existing camera & lens(es) with a normal tripod and ball-head and a simple barn-door tracker which can be built for just a few quid. 

Do a quick google search for "astro images taken with a barn door tracker" or "andromeda taken with a barn door tracker" and there are many good examples of what can be achieved with the simplest (and cheapest) piece of kit.

Just a thought...

Mike

[Astrosurf]

See this:

http://www.astropix.com/BGDA/SAMPLE2/SAMPLE2.HTM

As has been said, just bung a camera onto your scope. Do the best alignment you can. (Poss try DARV alignment, although I've never used it. http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2838) Do shots of increasing length and see what happens! Have the ISO at 1600. When I couldn't get guiding to work when imaging the M82 supernova, I was so desperate I wanged the ISO up to 3200, imaged tons of 45s shots and loads and loads of darks. It came out a treat!

Just goes to show you don't need high-tech equipment.

Alexxx

[Christopher Davenport]

Hello, 

I just checked your signature and not sure if you already upgraded, but with these items,

"Skywatcher 127 Mak on EQ5 Pro, Canon 1100d DSLR," you are well on your way.

Your current problem is that your focal length is to high.

I suggest you get a focal reducer flattener, like one of these, (check ebay, astro buy sell, etc first.)

Celestron  - http://www.firstlightoptics.com/reducersflatteners/celestron-f63-focal-reducer.html

Anters - http://www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/antares-f63-sct-focal-reducer.html

You need to connect the reducer directly on the back of the scope (take every thing off.)

Then connect the reducer to a t adapter and onto your camera.

This will pull your 127 down from native F12 to F7.5 or 900mm focal length.

This is the same F ratio as a 80ED!, but with a higher focal length.

You will experience some vignetting, but with experience you can remove this with flats, processing.

This setup is best for DSO such as galaxies and cluster, but does not work well for nebula.

Anyway, for nebula you will need to mod your camera, and get that focal ratio well down. 

With this setup you can image M81 & M82 with a stack of 50 subs of 90 sec.

Next step is finder guider and hooking it all up to your PC.

See equipment on my blog - link in my Signature.

Hope this has helped you in your thinking. 

[TractionMan]

I believe Skytracker is an AZ mount, BTW

The SkyTracker is an EQ-mount, just like the SkyGuider. Just less load capacity.

[kalasinman]

Hi

I've been enjoying imaging the moon and planets with a webcam attached to my 127mm maksutov recently but with a good few years of poor planetary views ahead, and a distinctly finite number of objects available to be photographed, I am thinking I need to expand my repertoire a little and dabble with some DSO photography.

All that said, I have a family to think of so I'm not in a position to jump in with both feet and buy thousands of pounds worth of kit either.

I currently have a Skywatcher Skymax 127mm mak (on an AZ mount), a Canon 350d DSLR and a Sony A450 DSLR.

I'm taking the need for an equatorial mount with motor drive as a given, but as for which one, and whether I'll need a more suitable scope to go on it is something I'm clueless about.

Bear in mind I'm putting a strong emphasis on the word "dabble", I'm not trying to be the next Damian Peach just yet.

What do we think?

Get a used fast wide angle or normal prime lens for the DSLR (f/1.8 stopped down once), get the best mount you can afford (the Ioptron ZEQ25 springs to mind, under 1kUSD), get a t-adapter to mount DSLR to the Mak, buy a used 400mm prime focus of f/5.6. You'll be under $1500 and have a ton of choices, from wide field to DSO.

[jfox61]

Just to throw a curve ball into this. The new Skywatcher Star Adventurer has just been released andshould be considered. At 299 for the full astro setup its way cheaper than its competitors. St4 as standard, simple to use, and you only need a camera and a decent tripod and ballhead. Its versatile enough to dual mount a small tracker and your imaging device. It has a good quality built in polarscope too.