300p flexi dob and DSLR

[PaulM]

I've used my 300p flexi syncan dob to capture some images via my Samsung S8 with 10 sec exposures and want to explore AP a little more so considering getting a used DSLR camera for this scopre

Firstly is this going to work - will I achieve focus just attaching the camera?

If so reading on the forum the Canon 1000D , 450D , 500D, 550D models seem to be the favorites, which is the best?

Budget would be around £100 used and just for the body from www.mpb.com

Also what adaptor\T-ring would I need

[Guest Tuomo]

I have 12" Orion dobsonian. I have used DSLR with it and to be honest, it is only good with moon and sun (with reflective solar filter).. I mean, you cant image DSOs, since you need more than few seconds of exposure. Secondly planets are okish, but they take so little space from your sensor so they turn out to be quite small......

This one is taken with 12" + 500D. Its good, but nothing too special.  Owh and you need to elevate your primary mirror quite a lot to achieve focus. With my 12" it is somewhere around 7cm / 3"
IMO, not worth it, since you might need to lower it later for visual astronomy....dont even start with the collimation.......collimation...oh, the pain!

 

I dont know. Astrophotography is SO different from visial astronomy. In visual aperture is the king. In astrophotography mount is one of the most important part right after small and good quality scope. 

 

Here are the parts you would need:

 

First you fit T-ring to camera

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/t-rings.html

Then you use 1.25" or 2" adapter to fit everything to scope.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/flo-2-inch-t-mount-camera-adapter.html

 

 

[Buzzard75]

I use my 12" Orion with fairly good success to caputre images of the moon and the planets, but that's about it. Rather than moving your mirror as previously suggested, I recommend using a Barlow lens. I use a 2x Barlow with mine and it works quite well. The moon images I have captured end up being close-ups or combining them to create mosaics. For planetary imaging, you're going to need to use the Barlow and a bit of capture software like BackyardEOS or APT and use the 5x view to get a 1:1 pixel scale and capture video so the planets aren't microscopic. I use a Canon t6i/750D for all my imaging. You would also need a t-ring and adapter/nosepiece for your camera to fit it to your Barlow or focuser.

[PaulM]

1 hour ago, Tuomo said:

I mean, you cant image DSOs, since you need more than few seconds of exposure.

 

 

With the synscan\GOTO I can get 10 sec exposures @ ISO800 which are the max I can set on the camera app I'm using on my Samsung S8 and the images don't show much\any trailing, here is one of M13 I did the other night

[Panda Alvin]

3 hours ago, PaulM said:

If so reading on the forum the Canon 1000D , 450D , 500D, 550D models seem to be the favorites, which is the best?

Budget would be around £100 used and just for the body from www.mpb.com

Also what adaptor\T-ring would I need

For DSLR advice, If you plan to stack planetary frames via video, I would suggest overlooking 1000D & 450D. You would need to plug it to the computer (plus a software) to record it. 
I started off with my wife's 1000D, then later brought a 550D from mpb. For me, the quality is a very clear jump up and I did not regret spending money on it.

As for adaptors on the range of Canon DSLR you have listed, this is how you should fit it:
DSLR >>> Standard Canon EOS T ring (fits where the DSLR lens would go) >>> 2" (or 1.25") nosepiece T-2 male threaded >>> Crayford Focuser / Visual back

[Guest Tuomo]

2 hours ago, PaulM said:

With the synscan\GOTO I can get 10 sec exposures @ ISO800 which are the max I can set on the camera app I'm using on my Samsung S8 and the images don't show much\any trailing, here is one of M13 I did the other night

Yea, but with DSOs I meant nebulaes and other faint fuzzies where you would need 3-5 minutes of exposure. To me it seems like you are slipping towards the dark side of astrophotography.  About 2 years and your 300p is gathering dust while your 130pds is imaging Andromeda with ASI 1600mm-c.

[Whistlin Bob]

On 09/10/2018 at 19:46, Tuomo said:

 To me it seems like you are slipping towards the dark side of astrophotography.  About 2 years and your 300p is gathering dust while your 130pds is imaging Andromeda with ASI 1600mm-c.

To me as well!

I think we all know the signs...

My story on this is that I wanted to avoid ap because of the expense but kept trying to take pictures with my mobile and DSLR. In the end I succumbed and put my 200p on an HEQ5. Which was fine except that then I couldn't do visual sessions because there was a camera in the way on my scope! So I bought a 130pd-s and life was great: get BOTH scopes out, leave the 130 taking pictures and do visual with the dob. Process the pictures when it's cloudy. 

To answer your original question I bought a second hand 600d from camera jungle for £150 and have no regrets. You'll probably get away with up to 30 seconds before field rotation becomes a real problem...

[PaulM]

@Whistlin Bob do you still use the 600d with your 130pds? i assume its on your HEQ5 mount? Im thinking get a dslr get used to using that and the software then a seperate scope for ap while i visual observe like you do best of both worlds

[Whistlin Bob]

Hi @PaulM - yes I do. It's modded to make it more sensitive to IR (£75 - £90) and I've needed to spend a bit of money on an IDAS filter to deal with LED lights that have been installed. But it mostly works pretty well...  Bear in mind I'm only 18 months into my learning curve on ap and others on this forum know far more than me, but I'm pleased so far.

[DorsetBlue]

You will probably have more success with EAA / Video Astronomy with a Goto Dob.  Have a look in the EAA forum on this site.  But you are probably looking at a sensitive astrocam rather than a DSLR for that. I have had some success with a little dob using an Altair GPCam v2 (not much more than £100).  I think your focus can be sorted with your Dob by adjusting the amount of extension of the flextube?

[Stu1smartcookie]

On 09/10/2018 at 19:46, Tuomo said:

Yea, but with DSOs I meant nebulaes and other faint fuzzies where you would need 3-5 minutes of exposure. To me it seems like you are slipping towards the dark side of astrophotography.  About 2 years and your 300p is gathering dust while your 130pds is imaging Andromeda with ASI 1600mm-c.

When i read this it reminded me of ..er...me . I started off with a small scope and then thought ... WoW i want aperture , so i bought a 250mm Dob , which , after i realised that i want to get into astrophotography , sits quietly in the room , watching tv with me and my wife . Costly mistake , but i put it down to experience . 

[PaulM]

1 hour ago, DorsetBlue said:

You will probably have more success with EAA / Video Astronomy with a Goto Dob.  Have a look in the EAA forum on this site.  But you are probably looking at a sensitive astrocam rather than a DSLR for that. I have had some success with a little dob using an Altair GPCam v2 (not much more than £100).  I think your focus can be sorted with your Dob by adjusting the amount of extension of the flextube?

@DorsetBlue where is the EAA forum on here? I cannot find it, thanks

[DorsetBlue]

On ‎12‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 11:27, PaulM said:

@DorsetBlue where is the EAA forum on here? I cannot find it, thanks

https://stargazerslounge.com/forum/123-video-astronomy/