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Which one for Astrophotography?

mystyco

By mystyco
in Getting Started With Imaging

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mystyco

mystyco

Posted
Posted

Hi guys,

I've been doing astrophotography for almost 1 year now, I'm getting pretty good results but unfortunately I have to upgrade my newtonian, since he can work only with one specific type camera that has no shutter remote. So you know what that means: I sit outside pressing the shutter myself for over 5 or 6 hours.

So I'm wondering what do you think that is the best solution for imaging DSO's ?

A 8'' SCT f/6.3 or a 80mm Achromatic (or APO) f/5.0 ?

Thanks so much in advance for your help.  

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johnrt

johnrt

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Those are 2 very different scopes, and aren't really comparable!

What mount are you going to be putting this scope on? The SCT at 1.2meters focal length is going to put a huge strain on the accuracy of your tracking if you are to achieve decent long exposures. The 80mm frac at 400mm will be very forgiving.

They will also offer a polor opposite in terms of field of view in your images, have you considered what objects you want to image? Lots won't fit in the frame on the 8" SCT.

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Leveye

Leveye

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I'm a bit confused about the comment about your Newt only being able to use certain cameras and because of that you need to replace it? It most certainly can and will take and use different types. I've used DSLR and CCD with mine with no issues at all accept needing to buy the proper adapters and a coma corrector to sharpen up the corners and overall images. Maybe don't give up on it just yet?

Your going to find in the end that having a few different type of scopes for the different objects you intend to image is the way to go. I love my Newt for the real faint stuff such as galaxies and planetary nebula.It's a real light bucket champ there. SCTs are better for planetary and very small DSO and Refractors tend to be much sharper and better for a bit more widefield work. 

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mystyco

mystyco

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I'm a bit confused about the comment about your Newt only being able to use certain cameras and because of that you need to replace it? It most certainly can and will take and use different types. I've used DSLR and CCD with mine with no issues at all accept needing to buy the proper adapters and a coma corrector to sharpen up the corners and overall images. Maybe don't give up on it just yet?

I have a celestron 130mm (5.1") SLT alt-az goto. This particular telescope cannot come to focus with DSLR cameras. Only with micro 4/3. Unfortunately there are no shutter remotes for my camera, and the CCD I have tried no luck either. Winter is here so I'm unable to image with this temperatures. I need a setup that allows me to control the camera and telescope from inside.

I have 3 options on the table all of them alt-az (I know not the best for AP but you would be surprised about what you can do with this mount in terms of AP - at least I get very good results)

Celestron 8" evolution SCT (worm gears maybe better tracking?) f/6.3

Skywatcher 5.2" explorer newtonian (made specifically to achieve focus with DSLRs) f/5

Orion 80mm achromatic f/5 (practical, forving?)

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys for your suggestions so far, and for taking the time to help me!

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lensman57

lensman57

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I have a celestron 130mm (5.1") SLT alt-az goto. This particular telescope cannot come to focus with DSLR cameras. Only with micro 4/3. Unfortunately there are no shutter remotes for my camera, and the CCD I have tried no luck either. Winter is here so I'm unable to image with this temperatures. I need a setup that allows me to control the camera and telescope from inside.

I have 3 options on the table all of them alt-az (I know not the best for AP but you would be surprised about what you can do with this mount in terms of AP - at least I get very good results)

Celestron 8" evolution SCT (worm gears maybe better tracking?) f/6.3

Skywatcher 5.2" explorer newtonian (made specifically to achieve focus with DSLRs) f/5

Orion 80mm achromatic f/5 (practical, forving?)

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks guys for your suggestions so far, and for taking the time to help me!

You need to think from scratch again. The mount that you have is of very little use for long exposure imaging. Sort out the mount first then the scope.

A.G

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bogdog

bogdog

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i would suggest a rethink of what you want to achieve and what results would work for you

an eq mount is way better than alt/az for AP

and a dslr is better than what you are using,the ability to use a remote would vastly improve your pictures

you dont mention how you operate your camera already?

with the length of the tube of the 130m any slight nudge will send it shuddering,ruining any pic

(sitting here thinking your holding shutter down with your finger?)

the 130m will come to focus using a barlow lense and dslr,but this again is not any good for nebula imaging as it takes longer to gather light

so i can only suggest a rethink of gear needed for what your goal is

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mystyco

mystyco

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Out of interest, If your scope doesn't have enough inward travel to focus...then how have you been using it to image for the past year? 

The only camera that can come to focus with a newtonian are the micro 4/3 cameras (very similar do DSLR's). That's what I've been using.

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mystyco

mystyco

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i would suggest a rethink of what you want to achieve and what results would work for you

an eq mount is way better than alt/az for AP

and a dslr is better than what you are using,the ability to use a remote would vastly improve your pictures

you dont mention how you operate your camera already?

with the length of the tube of the 130m any slight nudge will send it shuddering,ruining any pic

(sitting here thinking your holding shutter down with your finger?)

the 130m will come to focus using a barlow lense and dslr,but this again is not any good for nebula imaging as it takes longer to gather light

so i can only suggest a rethink of gear needed for what your goal is

My goal is not to take better pictures. The idea that you can't do AP with a alt-zt mount is a myth. Surely, you have to be more patient and take more exposures, but it can be easily done and with great results. My goal is to find a telescope that is compatible with a DSLR my model is not.

So since it seems that I have to buy a new telescope, I decided to ask what is usually recommend for AP.

My choices are down to:

Celestron 8" evolution SCT (worm gears maybe better tracking?) f/6.3

Skywatcher 5.2" explorer newtonian (made specifically to achieve focus with DSLRs) f/5

Orion 80mm achromatic f/5 (practical, forving?)

Probably the newtonian is the best choice? Forgiving, nice FOV, sharp, fast?

thanks guys.

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lensman57

lensman57

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My goal is not to take better pictures. The idea that you can't do AP with a alt-zt mount is a myth. Surely, you have to be more patient and take more exposures, but it can be easily done and with great results. My goal is to find a telescope that is compatible with a DSLR my model is not.

So since it seems that I have to buy a new telescope, I decided to ask what is usually recommend for AP.

My choices are down to:

Celestron 8" evolution SCT (worm gears maybe better tracking?) f/6.3

Skywatcher 5.2" explorer newtonian (made specifically to achieve focus with DSLRs) f/5

Orion 80mm achromatic f/5 (practical, forving?)

Probably the newtonian is the best choice? Forgiving, nice FOV, sharp, fast?

thanks guys.

" So since it seems that I have to buy a new telescope, I decided to ask what is usually recommend for AP"

I think the guys here are trying to help you so you do not waste any more money. Your present set up is suitable for observing and planetary imaging (Moon, Jupiter or even Mars at a push ) using a webcam. It seems that no matter what you decide to buy the weakest link in your set up is 1- the mount and 2- the camera. There is no point in spending anymore money until you have thought out the two problem bits. It maybe more economical if you sold the whole lot and started from scratch again. A camera no matter how fine, is of no use if you can not operate it remotely and yours according to you is not remote operable. BTW for your information even you took a thousand subs of a faint nebula at 15s each and stacked them it will not reveal what the target has to offer. There is a reason that EQ mount and 300s~1200s subs are used in DSO imaging. Hope you find this of some help.

Regards,

A.G

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mystyco

mystyco

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I think the guys here are trying to help you so you do not waste any more money. Your present set up is suitable for observing and planetary imaging (Moon, Jupiter or even Mars at a push ) using a webcam. It seems that no matter what you decide to buy the weakest link in your set up is 1- the mount and 2- the camera. There is no point in spending anymore money until you have thought out the two problem bits. It maybe more economical if you sold the whole lot and started from scratch again. A camera no matter how fine, is of no use if you can not operate it remotely and yours according to you is not remote operable. BTW for your information even you took a thousand subs of a faint nebula at 15s each and stacked them it will not reveal what the target has to offer. There is a reason that EQ mount and 300s~1200s subs are used in DSO imaging. Hope you find this of some help.

Regards,

A.G

Hi A.G.,

Thank you for your thoughts.

Like I said I'm not looking for a EQ mount. Simply because I don't feel that I need one (but I do understand the advantages of it for some astronomers). However, I would like to point out that It's a myth that you cannot do imaging with Alt-az mounts. I also didn't believed in that either when I started, but let me tell you that I'm quite happy with the results I've got so far. For that reason, I will not upgrade soon to a EQ mount. My only struggle right now is not being able to remote control my camera, so I really need to change my OTA to be able to do that, since I don't want to take the risk of moving the primary mirror of my newtonian.

After reading some of the suggestions shared here, (thank you so much) I'll buy a new newtonian OTA that accepts DSLR cameras and a small refractor as well just for the portability factor.

Thanks AG!

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Knight of Clear Skies

Knight of Clear Skies

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My goal is not to take better pictures. The idea that you can't do AP with a alt-zt mount is a myth. Surely, you have to be more patient and take more exposures, but it can be easily done and with great results.

Unfortunately it doesn't quite work like that, a large number of short exposures do not produce comparable results to a small number of long ones. This is because the camera generates a certain amount of read noise with every shot.

A few people have managed decent results using alt-az mounts but only on a small number of bright targets. It depends on what you want to do. If you want to stick with alt-az imaging you are probably better off with a short focal length scope - higher magnification is unlikely to produce a better image if you don't have the tracking to make use of it. However, if your goal is to do astrophotography on a budget then have you considered widefield imaging using camera lenses?

EDIT - my reply crossposted with yours btw. Good luck with whatever you do decide to do.

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lensman57

lensman57

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My camera model unfortunately has no wifi, but the gf6 has! I guess at this point it's more worth to purchase a better camera (Canon) and upgrade everything.

I think a Modded canon will serve you well. There is also another alternative route that does not cost an arm and a leg and that is the new breed of portable " Mounts " such as the SkyWatcher star adventurer and the likes of Astrotrac, Vixen polarie and so on. These are designed to be cheap, light and accurate enough to give good  results with a DSLR and a wide lens of 50~200mm of FL. The SW Star Adventurer also remote operates the shutter from the mount itself. You may wish to give them a look in.

Regards,

A.G

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