Starting out with imaging

[stedavey123]

Good evening everyone.

Ok so I am a novice in astronomy and astrophotography so I'm wondering if I can get some tips and pointers !

I have got myself a sky watcher skymax 127 GOTO and a dslr nikon 3300 I absolutely love nebular and all things spacey <<< so I've done a pic of orion nebular before ( pic uploaded ) not very good in my opinion

I guess what I'm asking is 

#1 how can I take clearer pictures

#2 how can I get more close up pictures 

#3 what am I doing wrong I guess lol 

Any tips and pointers would be most appreciated 

 

Thank you everyone 

[wxsatuser]

What are you doing wrong?

Imaging with a f/12 scope, you need a faster scope.
Imaging with an ALT AZ mount, you need an EQ mount.

Although it is possible to image with what you have, it's far from ideal and not easy.
Ultimately you want a mount that you can guide and a scope thats f/7 or better.

I'm not so sure you need to get closer to a lot of nebulae, a lot of them are quite big and
most of the time you will fight to get all of it on the sensor anyway.
 

[John78]

How are you attaching your camera to your mount?  How are you balancing it all?

 

This thread should give you some idea of what's achievable with care with an alt-az mount...

 

 

 

[ollypenrice]

Unfortunately wxsatuser has hit the nail(s) on the head.

While an alt-az mount tracks the sky it does not acknowledge the fact that Orion, for instance, rises leaning to the east and sets leaning to the west. This is called field rotation.

DSLRs need a fast focal ratio to work well. A one minute exposure at F4 would need nine minutes at F12. See the difference? Ouch. F12 is not a deep sky F ratio.

DS imaging is not so much about 'getting closer' so much as going deeper.  Many DS objects are very large indeed.

Olly

[happy-kat]

You could also try using your camera directly on the mount with a camera lens and get some great images that way, use DSS and maximize what you can do. You should get 30 seconds exposure with just the camera and a lens.

[stedavey123]

feeling rather disheartened now because i thought as a complete novice i had bought a good scope and camera.

anyway never mind i am connecting the camera to the back of the scope using a T-Ring adapter 

either way this  is the kit i now have so im going to have to do my best for now because i will eventually be upgrading to an eq mount  so as for now what do you think the best route for me is ?

[wxsatuser]

Your not the only one to make mistakes when starting.
I did way back when I started, having no idea and not being a member here.
I had an ALT AZ albeit with a refractor but that was an achro and not to good for imaging.
It was'nt till I found SGL and got the right info that things fell into place.

The wallet has taken a beating ever since.

[happy-kat]

The no eq challenge thread liked to earlier in a post is a good read.

This l-bracket will  let you attach your camera and lens to the mount directly, I think still limited to 30 seconds but might be more forgiving being more wide field.

Link here

Right now 30 seconds would be more than I am getting with my home made barn door and using a camera captured comet lovejoy and I'm quite pleased with my Orion from last week and that was only 23*15 seconds with a 85mm lens.

[stedavey123]

brilliant thank you guys .... what would you guys recommend for a scope for images then ?

something with a realistic price tag please lol

Skywatcher Explorer 150PDS EQ3 Pro GOTO Telescope

Magnification (with eyepiece supplied) x30
Highest Practical Power (Potential) x300
Diameter of Primary Mirror 150mm
Telescope Focal Length 750mm (f/5)
Eyepiece Supplied 25mm (1.25"/31.7mm)
6x30 Finderscope
Parabolic Primary Mirror
2" (50.8mm) Dual-Speed 10:1 Crayford Focuser
0.5mm Ultra-Thin Secondary Mirror Supports
EQ3 PRO Go-To Equatorial Mount with Aluminium Tripod
42,900+ Object SynScan Computer Database
33% more Light-Gathering than 130mm

Model:  10218-20230
Brand:  Skywatcher
Design:  Reflector
Size:  6" (150mm)
Computerized:  Computerized GOTO
Level:  Intermediate
Mount Type:  Equatorial

what do we think to that ?

thank you for all your help in advance 

[happy-kat]

Your limitation is the mount for imaging. Why not try some more with what you have and really learning processing side. Read the book 'making every photon count' and then decide if you want to go further and what budget you have then look.

[belfieldi]

You've not necessarily bought a bad scope and camera, but maybe have bought one not suited to AP of nebulae and deep space objects. You will find that you can get some great lunar images and with a barlow lens you'll also be able to capture Jupiter and Saturn. Before spending anymore, can I suggest you have a read of 'Making Every Photon Count', it's a great starter on astrophotography.

 

Clear Skies

Ian

[stedavey123]

thank you guys im going to look into that book now ill keep you all posted