First Time Astrophotography equipment

[chayes1126]

Hi!  I have a Meade Lx200 Classic that I have had for years.  Still works great.  Im thinking about getting into astrophotography and would like some advice.  Ive been looking at the Orion Starshoot G3 deep space color imaging camera as my first CCD camera.  The price is right and from what ive seen on the internet, the pictures it takes are more than adequate.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  Is it work it for a starter CCD?  Im looking to take images of galaxies as apposed to planets however I would like the option to do both.  Does it work well in a light polluted area?  Thanks!

[Owmuchonomy]

If you are looking at imaging of DSOs then the primary consideration is your mount. For long exposures you will need a high quality Equatorial mount and the option to auto guide. Can you let us know a bit more about your current set up?

[nmoushon]

No personal experience with it myself but the reviews aren't to bad. It designed to be a into camera into the world of CCD. So there are plenty of other cameras out there that are better starters but the price is hard to beat. It has a small chip size so combine that with the already narrow field of the LX200 and you will have a very small FoV to work with. Your goto will need to be spot on or it could be hard to find targets. On that note what kind of mount do you have? I'm assuming you have the fork mount that's common. If you do you will need to buy a wedge to so that you are tracking correctly. Otherwise you will get field rotation that will also limit your exposure times to at most a couple minutes. With the focal length of your scope you will need a way to guide otherwise you will be limiting your exposures down to seconds....like 10-20sec. The auto tracking on the mount is not good enough to sustain the target in the exact location long enough so that the camera wont be able to pick it up. Also the LX200 has a very slow F/ratio of F/10 which will require very long exposure to be able to pick up any target in your image.

Not trying to scare you or push you away from imaging there's just a TON of stuff that is involved with imaging. Besides just sticking a camera on the scope. I think you need to do some more research into astrophotography before you make any purchases. Maybe buy a book or two. I know that Making Every Photon Count is a popular book to suggest but I know its difficult to get here in the USA. There have been a lot of recent threads asking whats needed to begin starting AP. Do a quick search on this forum and do some reading. This could save you a lot of money in the end.

[chayes1126]

Thanks for the responses.  I think you are right, I need to do a little more research into this.  My LX200 is the standard classic.  No upgrades.  I purchased TheSky6 not too long ago and is working fantastic for goto capabilities.  Maybe I will continue to research AP and spend the money getting my telescope in top shape.  Its been in a box for almost 5 years.  Could probably use a tune up.

[tony gazer]

start with what you have at hand never under estimate what you get just  being simple holding a compact to the eye piece ect. it's how most ppl start

if you have a better camera ie. a slr then a t-ring n adapter is the way to go b4 spending out on a new scope

tony

[chayes1126]

I took a few the other night using my cell phone.  Not great results.  Couldnt hold it steady enough to focus and couldnt keep it in view for longer than a few seconds.  

[tony gazer]

do u have a compact camera or a slr at all?

u don't need the camera held tight against the eye piece and sometimes this can make it easier to get the odject in frame

[nmoushon]

holding a camera to the EP will get you a picture but only really a shot of the moon or planets and they aren't really that good. If you do have a DSLR then you can buy a T-adaptor to attach to the scope and that works great. Caan even be controled by the computer too. Most people will start with a DSLR vs a CCD as most people have them already and are cheaper and work better than most CCD cameras on the market. You only need the body, no lens, so they can be bought very cheap if you look second hand. (if you dont have one already) 

In the mean time while you do more research and see what it take to get into true CCD imaging you can have some fun with what you got. If you have a camera you can take pictures or video of the moon and planets. This requires much much less than DSOs. You wont need a wedge or guiding. The best option for this is a modded web cam or put a camera to video mode. There are programs out there that will take the video and stack all the frames of it into 1 picture. This works great, and used the most, with imaging the moon and planets.

[animaal]

It would be a good idea to try imaging planets to begin wiih. They're easier, and a lot quicker. If something goes wrong with your process, you've lost a minute, rather than the significant time it can take to image a galaxy. Also, as mentioned above, it's somewhat less dependent on the purchase of lots of accessories.

[Astrosurf]

Buy the imager's bible: http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Read it through before you decide on anything! Good luck!

Alexxx

[ollypenrice]

When I started imaging I had a 10 inch LX200 classic. I bought it a wedge in order to set it to the equatorial angle. Aligning with the Meade Supawedge (nothing super about it!) was a mighty pain and would not be practicable, in my view, other than in a permanent setup. Since long focal lengths need very accurate tracking I never managed to get it good enough, even with an autoguider, to take presentable picures. I then piggybacked a ZS66 small Apo on the Meade, used the Meade to guide, and I started to take pictures I could present. There was no change in the accuracy of the tracking but the reduced focal length was so much more tolerant that it was a game changer. So this is just a cautionary tail. Some people get the LX to track well enough. Some don't. Personally I regret not just leaving the Meade in Alt Az and using it for fast frame planetary imaging and visual observing, for which it was excellent as it was.

Here's an early one from the ZS66 riding on the LX200. Atik 16HR camera and Ha filter. Cor, this takes me back!

Olly