Hi Everyone

[Simon Pepper]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly I am new today, so please be kind 

I have decided to take up a new hobby and settled with astrophotography after seeing some amazing videos and images on YouTube. I hope I have chosen wisely with the equipment to start me off, so please be gentle in your responses. as I have already bought them. I opted for wide angle (as I heard that was more forgiving) and also wanted to keep it as lightweight and portable as possible as my back garden has a lot of obstructions.. I am aware that this is not going to be easy and there is a lot of commitment involved both with the cold nights, but also at the computer processing the images (darks, flats and bias). What I have bought so far.

• A sturdy tripod
• William Optics Redcat 51
• Ioptron sky guider pro with ipolar
• Canon 800d / T7i
• T48 copper adaptor

I have been scowering forums in order to answer a few questions and these are around tracking and guiding. Obviously the more exposures you obtain the better the final result. I often see images taken at say 66 subs x 2 minutes long. My confusion is coming from: Is guiding required for exposures like this or will sky guider pro be able to handle this? I am seeing mixed messages on how long an exposure for a star tracker can be (usually somewhere between 2 and 5 mins) does that mean after that you have to realign or just stop the exposure and start a new one?

I am aware that the iptron has room for guidance, but at 5kg payload I need to be careful with weight. Also as I mentioned I want to keep the weight down for portability. Also I think baby steps are better for a complete novice like me.

Any help would be much appreciated. Clear skies! 

 

PS I posted a similar ask in imaging for beginners but did not get an answer so posting to welcome as I see more activity. 

[PeterCPC]

Hello Simon and welcome. I am sure someone who uses a sky guider will be along to advise.

Peter

[jonathan]

I'm curious what tripod / mount you have.

[Simon Pepper]

Hi,

 

Just one I picked up off Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07VMLFVRC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also have a celestron nexstar mount I can use.

 

Thanks