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Taking Suggestions on Astrophotography Telescopes


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Hey everyone, apologize if I ask a few amateur questions, but since I live in a town with no star clubs, I rely on forums like this to gain knowledge!

I want to invest in an astrophotography rig. I have a Canon T5 Rebel DSLR, but my current 10" Orion Reflector Dob just isn't cut out for astrophotography, being that there's no motor drive or anything. 

I can spend a bit of money, but since I'm so green in the tooth when it comes to photography rigs, I really don't know what I'm looking for. I'd like to photograph planets, galaxies, and nebulas. I understand this is a diverse array of objects.

Do any of you have models that you could recommend based on experience or your expertise? 

 

Thank you in advance, and I'd be happy to answer any questions pertaining to anything you can think of.

 

Jim

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As ever it will depend on budget and also on exactly what your expectations are, now and in the future.

A "simple" rig is say an 80mm APO on a decent goto equitorial. Now (Using mounts available here) you may get by with an EQ5 and an 80mm, With decent polar alignment you can get to 60 second exposures, but for safety assume 40 seconds (also another reason).

That is really the least you could get by with.

Problem: People add to the equipment, thinking guiding here and almost immediatly the EQ5 is not up to it. So the sensible start would be to buy an HEQ5 mount that can take easity an 80mm, and guiding system.

That is really the "sensible" option. A bigger still mount is a nice idea but they get heavy fast. I bought an HEQ5, sort of sat in fear of it and went and boought an EQ5. The EQ5 is manageable, the HEQ5 needs more thought put into transporting it around.

Not sure what the assortment of mounts you will have available to you are, different markets. Possibly check the Skywatcher AZ/EQ mounts, they operate in either mode.

To actual equipment I suggest looking at the ES range of scopes, they do a some less costly Essential Rectractor, and they do some very nice FCD100 refractors. All seem to have good reports. Not sure of the mounts they offer generally the EXOS ones. They do have a new/updated one coming out soon, think it is something link EXOS2-GT - may have a 6 in the name somewhere. Looks interesting and will be interesting reading reports of it when it is available.

For the DSLR you will need an Intervalometer to get the exposures. You basically set it to take say 20 exposures each of say 40 seconds length, at the end of the 40 seconds allow a 20 second wait time, this allows the DSLR to write to the memory car and also to cool down a little. As you are stood there for 20 minutes doing not a lot take binoculars to have a look round.

EDIT: Back to mounts - if you are likely to go into mono and LRGB imaging at a later stage then you have to consider the extra weight of the filter wheels and filters. So again will something like the HEQ5 be adaquate. As you will realise it needs a fair bit of thought into where you want to go in say 12 months time and you should consider buying for that situation now with regards to the mount.

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Don't believe the 'big mount is essential' myth. @bobro gets good results using an EQ2 mount!

If you don't want to spend a fortune, the cheapest route into quality AP is probably a 130P-DS reflector and an EQ3 mount with a decent tripod and polarscope. This is what I use (with an astro-modded Rebel Xsi/450D) and I generally work with 120-second exposures, although I'm about to move up to guiding.

593e57a4d517a_RosetteNebula.thumb.png.4e6afbcb7f2429e64fa94b4113f9aa76.png

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Hi Jim

I use a Canon T5i attached to my 8" Skywatcher.  Initially this was mounted on an EQ5 with added motor drives.  Guiding was added, initially with a finder scope and a cheap webcam but eventually using a SW ST80 and QHY 5Lii guide camera. 

I think you will need an equatorial mount of some sort (although if you look at some of the images in the thread on the 'No EQ DSO challenge' you will see this is by no means essential).  How big a mount you need depends on what scope/guiding camera arrangements you settle on.  Planetary and DSO have different requirements and you may not be able to get one set of equipment to do both.  I now use an Alt/AZ EQ6 when at home but keep the EQ5 which is a lot lighter for trips out to a dark sky site.  The EQ5 struggled sometimes with all the kit mounted, but it did work and several of the images in my album were taken with this.

 

If you can find a mount that will cope with your 10", you might get some awesome galaxy images.

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I would really recommend the book "Making Every Photon Count" to anyone thinking about taking up astrophotography. It covers a lot of useful topics including kit suggestions, and concepts involved in this hobby. This book definitely helped me out when I started.

Link to book: https://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

 

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So what I'm reading here is that the mount is essential, so if I can find a mount capable of holding to my 10" I already have, I could potentially use that. 

 

I'll do some research. What do you typically use to attach the DSLR to the eyepiece?

 

Thank you all for your contributions. They've all been incredibly informative!

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Yep, you've got it. The equatorial mount is essential. You might well be able to get started with an EQ5 but not much more than that. Lots of good photos have been taken on small mounts but sooner or later (probably sooner) you will end up trading up unless you're happy to stick with a 50-100 mm camera lens. If you know you're serious you might as well treat yourself and get an EQ6 (subject to portability issues, otherwise HEQ5) assuming that, if you stick with AP, the list of goodies to be included on the mount will increase with enthusiasm and expertise. You could then use your existing 10" but that might not be the easiest way to start. The cliché 80mm apo is the conventional entry point for good reasons, at least for widefield deep-sky.

The average 80mm apo intended for AP is built like a brick privvy...the OTA is typically 3kg. Include the rings, camera, guidescope (yes, you will want end up wanting to guide!), guide camera, filters, dew control, the weight suddenly mounts up to a fair fraction of the 10-12kg the EQ6 is generally quoted for in AP mode. The rule of thumb is half the visual weight, maybe a bit more if you're prepared to fettle the mount to remove the high spots in the gear chain. 

Your 10" would be good for planets; you don't need the guiding for that. Just a webcam and good polar alignment. 

RL

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http://www.telescope.com/Orion-Sirius-EQ-G-Computerized-GoTo-Telescope-Mount/p/116276.uts?keyword=eq

 

I was sort of looking at this mount. So essentially, I purchase this, and (to start) get an adaptor for my DSLR. Would an AP webcam be better? Reading across various sources, I see the two schools of thought constantly debated. 

 

Thank you all so much. I'm a seasoned amateur astronomer, but am completely novice when it comes to AP. :)

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As what Zicklurky says above try to get a copy of Making Evey Photon Counts which can be bought from the sites sponsor at the top of the page and read it three times.It will explain everything you need to know and save you a pile of cash as well.

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On 6/12/2017 at 15:16, GoodOleJim said:

So what I'm reading here is that the mount is essential, so if I can find a mount capable of holding to my 10" I already have, I could potentially use that. 

 

I tried this. And while the AzEQ6 can hold it fine, it is a seriously serious proposition and not for the faint hearted. To give yourself a better chance of success on a regular basis, I would think significantly smaller scope :)

 

Experiment_Night.JPG

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3 hours ago, MattJenko said:

I tried this. And while the AzEQ6 can hold it fine, it is a seriously serious proposition and not for the faint hearted. To give yourself a better chance of success on a regular basis, I would think significantly smaller scope :)

 

Experiment_Night.JPG

:D That just looks bizarre. Hahaha, I think I've seen the light as to what sort of scope I should buy. I'll keep my 10" for simple observing.

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Hi again, Jim!

Astrophotography is a different animal. My opinion (based on my experiences) is that you will want as good of a Go-To GEM type mount as your budget can muster. It need not be capable of handling a huge payload, but try and look for something roughly double what you might be putting on it. For example, and not necessarily a recommendation, My Celestron AVX mount is rated for a 30 pound payload. And they sell it with up to a 28 pound 6" refractor that is 47 inches long, Huge! (Not a telescope for Astrophotography) as a "package". But I've heard some great things about iOptron Mounts, too. If I had a do-over, I'd do-over here. And maybe a bit bigger yet, like this one. But I made my bed, so I have to lay in it.

On this mount I put an Orion ED80T CF refractor telescope weighting 5.5 pounds dry. My added equipment, Guiding, focusing extension, filter wheel, cameras, and more has it up around 13.1 pounds now. Below 1/2 the rated load capacity. Essentially that lets the mount work under-loaded and smoother, which is critical for doing photography. See, the telescope is essentially your camera lens, and your camera works through it. But everything involved from the mounting bar up is on a moving stage, tracking your object in space. So if your mount is struggling at all, you get poor images in the end. And this is why many decide to err on the side of larger mounts. I needed to err on the side of moths in my wallet, It adds up to a huge expense starting from the ground up for Astrophotography.

Where visual observing differs vastly is the human eye does a great amount of instant adjustments we may or may not be aware of. Where a camera is dumb and reports exactly what it sees, including tiny adjustments to what it is mounted on. So guiding corrections show up as bloated stars, and all sorts of absolutely maddening things in our pictures. (Mine were so bad I called them Pickturds. They've improved, but still often abominable. :rolleyes2:)

So checklist items to consider in your transition: 1. A mount capable of your aspirations, that can take you there, then keep you there. 2. A telescope specialized in imaging, and not just adapted to it. 3. A camera, or cameras, specific to your imaging choice for the evening. Solar system, or DSO? it makes a difference and this is not really a One-Size-Fits-All point in the equipment. And Guiding, Good guiding so you can grow into Great imaging.

As I pursued my path into this lunacy, I began thinking big, but found out small was where I needed to go to reach the obscure nebula deep in outer space. Fortunately I did this by using the Internet and a lot of reading how to get there, rather than buying over, and over, and over, the wrong things. And then spending years climbing the learning curve. But I chose to pursue the obscure, the distant Nebula. Like choosing the North Face for my first attempt. I came to my conclusion that I could use an imaging refractor for visual use for planets with Barlow lenses, But that trying to use a visual telescope for imaging would be an exercise in frustration.

We proved my idea worthy my first summer when I brought Saturn in by stepping up magnifications with eyepieces and Barlow lenses, causing quite a stir with the Family taking views. Here, light-years from there, I'm doing so much better than then over all. And my imaging telescope looks like it came from a Borg ship on Star Trek. :hiding:

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