Flattener Advice

[scitmon]

Hi all, 

I'm a telescope newbie that is looking to get into the Astrophotography game.  I've been the owner of a Skywatcher ED80 pro for a few weeks with a Skywatcher AZ GOTO mount.  For the time being I am just looking into photographing bright objects like the moon and planets with a unmodified Canon EOS 1000d (hence not going for a heavy duty EQ mount yet).  So my question is, do I need a field flattener as this point? Or is that only necessary for DSO's when I start long exposure photography?

[happy-kat]

You'll like the no eq dso challenge thread I think as you are making a star with the gear you already own. See what you can do now with what you have that thread may surprise you on what you can do and gets you learning about capture and processing too.

[Owmuchonomy]

No, not for that particular discipline of the "Astrophotography game".  However, you will benefit from researching how to take video with your Canon at an appropriate focal length and f/ (you will need a barlow or powermate with that scope for planetary) and then process the files into images.  I personally recommend you use Autostakkert 2 (AS!2) freeware.

[scitmon]

Ok so a field flattener is not necessary at this stage, which leads me onto looking for a t-ring for my dslr (the t-ring adapter came with my scope).  Looking on FLO, I came across: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-protective-t-ring-for-canon-eos.html which looks good because is has a clear filter to keep the inside of the camera dust free.  Is this something worth paying for over just a t-ring?  And if it is, its a good chunk of money which would go a long way on to paying for a field flattener anyway?

 

[Owmuchonomy]

In my opinion no.  You get a lot of stuff you may not need with that item.  All you need is an appropriate t-ring for your Canon, either 42mm or 48mm depending upon your scope's T2 adaptor, about £10.  Measure it to be sure but I will lay money that it is 42mm.  To be honest you will struggle to get a decent image scale on planets with that scope.  Its just too short in focal length.  Try Lunar first with and without a 3x barlow.  The ED80 is great for WL Solar too WITH THE APPROPRIATE SOLAR FILTER AND SAFETY PROCEDURES.