Choosing a telescope for astrophotography.

[marymac]

Hi everyone, i just joined this evening and i'm hoping to learn from you all. I grew up observing the night sky with my father as he was very interested in astronomy with his weekly meetings at the observatory. It's been manby years since my father passed away and many years since i looked through a telescope. I do have a love of photography and would now love to bring that into viewing the night sky. I wish now that i had paid more attention to my father !! I have looked at several telescopes but can't seem to make a final decision. I have been looking at the Sky-watcher syn-scan 127 az go-to telescope and also the Sky-watcher Explorer 200P EQ5 200mm Newtonian Reflector. Would you recommend any of these telsecopes or is there another that you think would give me good clear pics. I am currently using a Nikon D300 camera.

Thank you in advance,

Mary.

[swag72]

Hi Mary, You're not going to believe this but THE most important thing in astro imaging is NOT the scope, but the mount. Sounds daft eh? If you are interested in DSO imaging then can I recommend the book 'Making Every Photon Count' available in the book section of the FLO site. This is THE imagers bible for starters.... read it through ..... twice .... then think about what you need and why.

Basically you are looking at a German Equatorial mount that is capable of tracking the sky. This will ensure that you have the basis for a good imaging setup. If you are already a photographer then I guess you already have some camera lens's - With a mount such as an HEQ5 (an excellent starting point for a later scope upgrade) then you can take pictures with your camera lens. Many DSO's are really quite large.

You need a really sturdy mount that will enable you to take vibration free images. Imaging the slightest bit of movement at a pixel level when you want a nice round star that is say 5 pixels in size. A mount made for the purpose will make life easier in an already difficult hobby.

Have a look in the imaging section, there people generally say the kit that they use. That could also give you a good idea. Scope wise I think that a short focal length refractor, such as the Skywatcher ED80, is an excellent starting point.

Lastly, be realistic about what you want to achieve. Excellent images generally come with a large price tag. If it was doable on the cheap, we'd all be doing it. 

Get the book - It's a good starting point. Don't spend a penny until you've read it!

[Scott]

Hi Mary and welcome

What kind of astrophotography are you looking to do? For Lunar or planetary imaging, tracking is not as important so you may get away with the alt/az but if it's deep sky imaging you're after then the first and formost requiremant is a good eq mount. Can I suggest the book Making every photon count. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html, as a good starting point. It's ideal for anyone wanting to get involved in deep sky imaging and may well save you many £££ from not buying the wrong kit

Sorry if this is a hard pill to swallow but forwarned and all

[Scott]

And once again, beaten to the punch 

[D4N]

Welcome, you made the right choice so far, you asked before buying the scope

Plenty of sound advice already.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DaveS]

Sara has, as usual, pretty much said it all.

But I will add a question, how much do you have to spend?

Lunar / planetary you can do "on the cheap" (Well relatively), but DSOs can eat up money like there's no tomorrow.

[oldannie]

Hello Mary - I'm just beginning and before buying anything bought the book; 'Making Every Photon Count' first and also 'A Beginner's Guide to DSLR Astrophotography' on CD-Rom (Printable) by Jerry Lodriguss and found both excellent.

Annie