A Couple Of Basic Questions About Imaging

[MysticPint]

Hey, after lots of reading & years of waiting, I've decided on getting a Celestron CPC 800 telescope, mainly for visual work, but would like to explore some simple astrophotography when I get it. I understand I will need a wedge for long exposures, but what sort of exposure time would I be able get just using the altaz mount, without getting field rotation? (I think that's right!)

Also, initially, I would not be getting a dedicated camera & so was wondering if there is a mount/adapter or something available that would let me use a compact camera with the eyepiece of the CPC 800 & getting reasonable (or better!) results with short exposure shots - length dependant on the answer to the exposure time question above.

I should say I'm brand new to anything other than very basic photography & practical astronomy - just been interested for a very long time!

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Doc]

Very nice scope you are getting.

As for the photography side of it I would say depending on where in the sky you are photographing maybe a minute or two. But from what I've read it's best to keep them short but stack loads of them. Subtract some darks and flat frame and you should get a good photo.

Hope it helps.