first telescope for astrophotography

[julio]

I'm thinking of investing in a skywatcher evostar 80ed and heq5 pro mount ( about £1100 ). would this be an ideal first scope for cutting my teeth in the world of imaging using a dslr as ccds are out of my budget for now? what sort of results would I be likely to achieve using this combo? I realise that further down the line I'll need field flatteners and guiders etc. any feedback would be much appreciated.

[Kropster]

Good setup for a beginner and capable of fabulous results.

You will need to add a guide scope (ST80 perhaps) and guide camera (QHY5 maybe) to the list to get the best from the mount and imaging scope.

[Scott]

Yep. Great starting point and very capable of nice results. keep in mind, once you place that first foot on the slippery slope that is A.P. , your list will get larger and your bank account smaller . 

Seriously, it's a set-up that will keep most folk happy for a very long time

[julio]

thanks for the feedback. I know its a slippery slope once you start. what the mrs doesn't know won't hurt her so I'll have to smuggle them in somehow. will the heq5 mount handle the scope and dslr relatively easily? I'm thinking from a weight and balance point of view?

[DaveS]

I think you should budget for a flattener / reducer straight up. Since you'er using a DSLR you've quite a larger chip to cover and without a flattener the stars at the edges of the frame will bloat. Also the native FR of the ED80 at 7.5 is a bit slow for a DSLR so a reducer will make it a bit faster with a wider field.

Edit:

Yes the HEQ5 will handle it without problems. It's rated 11 kg for imaging, my rig is a bit heavier than the one you're contemplating and comes in at 9.5. Also the short tube of the ED80 will put less strain on the mount and guiding.

[skywatcher58gb]

This is the setup I have and have used it with and without the flattener with reasonable results.

Attached is an example I took a couple of months back of the Pacman Nebula just to give you an idea, not brilliant but I am learning, this is with a borrowed Canon 1000D modded.

Dave

[steppenwolf]

An excellent setup to get started with and indeed to continue with! As already mentioned, I can only confirm that you will shortly want to consider autoguiding and a focal reducer/flattener. Once you have those two 'extras' you could be set for life.

[julio]

Thanks guys much appreciated. Was that image taken locally or at a dark sky site?

[skywatcher58gb]

PS - I forgot to mention, get  'Making Every Photon Counts' by Steve Richards,  I have read this book from cover to cover and still refer to it for imaging tips. This will give you a good grounding in the techniques of Astro Photography, and good luck with your imaging.

Dave

[skywatcher58gb]

The image was taken at our local dark site at Derwent Reservoir North West Durham, It is reasonably dark but not as dark as Kielder where we go for our star camps.

Dave

[MattJenko]

I use exactly that combination and it is great - I am loving it. See images in astrobin link below if you are interested in what I have achieved in just a short space of time. It is a very forgiving combination and allows you to climb the steep learning curve without some of the trickiness of other combinations.

[julio]

just out of interest is the SW 80ed capable of imaging numerous dso's or will I have to find truly dark sky sites as most of my work will probably be garden bound ?

[Kropster]

You can do plenty without dark skies... which are probably more important for visual work.

Processing will get rid of a lot of the light pollution.

[frugal]

just out of interest is the SW 80ed capable of imaging numerous dso's or will I have to find truly dark sky sites as most of my work will probably be garden bound ?

If you are using a DSLR then you will want to stay away from faint nebulas as they seem to largely emit light in the red end of the spectrum, which DSLRs are not very good at picking up. Saying that, you can get some good results with a DSLR. These were taken between Christmas and New Year with an ED80 and a Canon 60D:

All were taken in my back garden in a semi-rural town, the only difference is that I have used a guide scope.