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astrophotography : which camera to use?

danccat

By danccat
in Getting Started With Imaging

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Spikey

Spikey

Posted
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I don't think that camera is suitable for deep space photography as it's primarily a video capture device. Solar system objects would be fine.

For deep space objects you would need a suitable tracking mount (likely the ability to guide) and a camera capable of opening the shutter for relatively long periods of time.

What kit are you intending to use a camera with?

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Spikey

Spikey

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Okay.. I am a beginner at this so bear with me!

I'll be using my Celestron Nexstar 8se scope, got many eps, ranging from 2.3mm up to 32mm, all XCel eps.

They are an excellent scope with great optics and a brilliant performer on the planets, moon and brighter DSO's. It would make a pretty good platform for planetary and lunar/solar imaging.

DSO's are a different kettle of fish as they are relatively dim in comparison, that means lots of long exposures. To have a chance of reasonable success you need to start with a good foundation and that means a decent equatorial mount (the 8se usually comes with an Alt-Az type of mount).

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carastro

carastro

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I agree, your set up is really only suited to video photography, unless you have a wedge, as is the camera you are planning to buy.

Some people have got away with doing a bit of DS imaging with these types of telescopes, but not with that camera.  

Voice of experience here, I originally bought an Alt/Az scope and had to change the whole set up when I got into astrophotography.

Carole 

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carastro

carastro

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The Canon  camera would be capable of long exposure, but I think your drawback is going to be your mount as you wont be able to do long enough exposures because you get mishapen stars or field rotation.  

By all means give it a try, you'll find out for yourself what issues you have.  

HTH

Carole

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Tinker1947

Tinker1947

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A good mount is the first thing you will need, a HEQ5 is looked at as the starter mount, then the sky's the limit as to how much you want to spent, next will be a scope suitable for your intended images, there's not one for all types, the camera and other bits and bobs is another minefield....

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red dwalf

red dwalf

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agree a heq5 is the best starter platform, works well with eqmod, you could mount your 8se scope onto it with a f6.3 reducer attached to the back but you`ll need a small ccd chip camera, a large chipped canon not really suitable, i have directly mounted my canon 1100d onto the back of my 8se and had some fun imaging with it but if your looking for better quality images it`s not the way to go.

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red dwalf

red dwalf

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i used a 1100d on the back of my 8se and it wasn't too bad for a first effort, using a focal reducer will help only the f6.3 version don`t go for the f3.3 one, astro imaging is a big learning curve and can cost a lot of money, i know people like me that have built up there collection of goodies the hard way by starting at the bottom and buying kit as they progress, you learn alot by doing this but don`t expect to get images like you see in the mags, it`s a slow and expensive journey but and enjoyable one, i also know a few people that have jumped in with both feet even with advice they make expensive mistakes unless they have bought second hand stuff you can lose a few quid.

but use the canon, they give great fileds of view and your guiding hasn`t got to be a good as a smaller chipped camera that gets you really close in to targets, have fun, learn a lot and wait till a nice 80mm refractor comes on the market with a flatner, you`ll need it with a canon camera.

one of the best cheaper scopes i`ve used in the past was the altair astro 80mm ed, although not the best quality apo out there, more of a semi apo the focuser is great and the price of even a new one is amazing for the overall quality.

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ronin

ronin

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Problem you will have is the mount is wrong for long exposure imaging and the scope is both slow and long focal length.

The 8SE is primarily a good visual scope but that does not translate over to it being an imaging scope for long exposures.

With the 8SE you would likely get better immediate results from purchasing a reasonable webcam, modifing it to remove the lens then reassembling. Then use this on the 8SE to obtain a video of Jupiter and later Saturn and Mars and process these into planetary images. You may find a barlow or powermate a useful addition also for planets.

If the idea was to purchase a camera now for later long exposure imaging then it depends on the budget you are considering.

The ZWO ASI 120 will do video and long exposure, it is a cmos device not ccd  and is not cooled but at around £200-250 it will cover you now and later. If you went for ccd now then the Atik 420's and 320's are around £900, but they are ccd and cooled. Atik's go up to a few thousand pounds.

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Akiainavas

Akiainavas

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Depends on the budget I guess.

As people already suggested, an SLR will probably be what you need to do DSO photography.

Lots of people seem to use Canon EOS1100. You can also get the EOS 100D which is probably the cheapest option you can get and takes relatively good photos - and you'll end up with a decent camera for non-astro photography as well. Just a word of advice I received before buying mine - do not get the EOS 1200D as apparently it's not very good.

And a personal opinion - if you're just beginning, get something cheap. Don't invest in 1000£+ camera. Start with entry level and then upgrade after a while - but that's just my personal thing :)

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Thalestris24

Thalestris24

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Hi

If I were you, I'd study the subject a bit before spending any money. That way you'll know what you want, why you want it and how to use it. It's recommended to get Steve Richard's Book 'Making Every Photon Count' available from our sponsor:

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Louise

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carastro

carastro

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All good advice above but probably baffling for some-one keen to get started.  As stated you should really find out a bit more and understand what is required before spending any money.  

Best starter kit recommended is normally an HEQ5 an ED80 and a DSLR, but it doesn't stop there.  The DSLR really need to be modified (have the IR filter removed).  there is a chap who does 2nd hand ready modified DSLRs at cheaper than you can buy a new one called Cheapastrophotography, a number of people on here have bought off him and find it a very good service:

http://cheapastrophotography.vpweb.co.uk/

Even when you have the right mount, telescope and camera, you will eventually want to guide to get even longer exposure, and that means a guide camera and a guidescope and a way of mounting it.  Plus a laptop to control it all.

Carole 

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JemC

JemC

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You could also check out the imaging section, most people that post images give a list of what equipment they used to acquire the image, this should give you some idea of what you need to be looking at.

before you part with any money please do research and ask questions on here otherwise you could end up out of pocket (you will do anyway when you embark on the imaging path :-) )

have fun and enjoy it

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Tommohawk

Tommohawk

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Would echo all above advice, especially do some background research before splashing out.

Your scope looks well suited for planetary or lunar work, and less well suited for DSOs ie faint nebulae etc. The point is that for DSOs you need a fast scope ie larger diameter to gather more light, and not so long focal length. Some DSOs are huge.

Also, to photograph faint DSOs you need long exposures, and the scope needs to rotate - ie you need an equatorial rather than an altaz mount. Theres load of info out there on this. TBH to do DSOs with your scope/mount is a big ask, BUT I wish I had your scope for planets!

To do planetary photography you dont need long exposures, but you do need lots of short exposures - usually video/movie which is then broken down into numerous stills and then processed to get the most constant features.

For planets/lunar most folk seem to go for CCD capture - the sensors are usually smaller than DSLRs, but this doesnt matter for planetary cos your image will be small. You can use a DSLR, and if you got a DSLR you could use it later for DSOs. If going the DSLR route get Canon with video crop mode - this allows for fast-ish capture rate. If you go for CCD bear in mind that to use a small CCD for planets is OK, but DSOs later will be problematic -  and large CCDs are quite expensive.

If yo dont have Stellarium software  I would get that first thing - you can load up different sensors and scopes and see exactly what each option will allow.

Whatever you do enjoy it - and theres lots of support here. Hope that helps.

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danccat

danccat

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Wow, fantastic advice guys, thank you and for your links. Will visit them now :)

A bit gutted that I can't use mine for DSOs but there's always room for an upgrade further down the line :D in the meantime, I'll just focus on perfect planet imagery!

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Spikey

Spikey

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Wow, fantastic advice guys, thank you and for your links. Will visit them now :)

A bit gutted that I can't use mine for DSOs but there's always room for an upgrade further down the line :D in the meantime, I'll just focus on perfect planet imagery!

If it hasn't already been mentioned then get yourself a copy of Steve's excellent book Making Every Photon Count http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

It's considered to be pretty much essential reading and can save you a lot of heartache and money !

I see it has already been mentioned, that'll teach me to read the entire thread first ! 

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