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Starting out in astrophotography...what do I need ?


starpilot

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Hi all

I've been pottering about in my back garden for a few years now with my modest (very) Celestron beginners 114mm scope. Now, I want to get in to astrophotography but I'm not really sure how to begin.

So what are the basic bits of kit I need ? Am I right in saying I'll need an equatorial mount so as to track deep sky objects properly ? What sort of camera is good for starters (CCD, SLR). I don't have any motors on my current mount. Is it cheaper to buy a new mount. Can I use my puny 114mm to get any meaningful images or do I need a new bigger scope too? I'm on a budget so can't buy anything too fancy.

Any help appreciated.

Starpilot

ps, anyone in the Bucks, Beds or N'hapton area I could join for some experience ?

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The first consideration for astrophotography is a substantial mount. You may well be able to use your existing telescope though.

My temptation would be to go for a DSLR once you have got the mount sorted as this will give you all sorts of imaging opportunities and experience including taking wide field images with just the camera and a lens on the new mount.

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Deep pockets! :)

Steve is right though, a DSLR is a good starting point - and the mount is key - more important than the scope to be honest!

Have you considered an AstroTrac? That is probably the cheapest way to get into this if you don't have a suitable mount already.

It also depends what sort of Astrophotography you want to get into - if you want to shoot DSO's, then accurate tracking and guiding is key. For planetary and lunar imaging, the exposures are so short that you shouldn't need to guide. You can also use a simple cheap webcam for planetary and lunar imaging, so thats probably the cheapest route.

Cheers,

Richie

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Digital Single Lens Reflex - a Canon 300D/350D/400D/450D for example

You can pickup second hand models quite cheaply - try and find one thats been modified for Astrophotography though. They have an IR filter which cuts out the Ha part of the spectrum - this website explains it: http://www.astronomiser.co.uk/eosmod.htm

Cheers,

Richie

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A cheap DSLR with a standard lens mounted on top of a barn door mounting ( easily made from a couple of lengths of wood and a 1/4" bolt will get you started.... ( BTW you can also use the DSLR for family shots - a "selling" point with the missus).

Softly softy, practise and enjoy.

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You can get meaningful images with the 4.5" inch and a webcam. This is how I started in 2007. You are restricted to the brighter objects, such as planets, moon, sunspots. You do need a laptop for this, however.

Next up, for £30 or so, you can motorise the mount (it's the EQ1, isn't it) which makes it easier to follow the object. Next, you can get a digital "compact" camera for about £100 and piggy back it onto the scope. With some extra software hacks for the Canon Powershot compact, you can get exposures of 60 seconds. That gives you some nice open clusters to play with.

After that I went wild and bought a DSLR and the heaviest equatorial mount I could get for under £1000!

PS: That picture of Saturn <<<---- was taken with a 4.5" and a webcam on the EQ1 mount and I think it's pretty good!

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Hi. You could do a lot worse than reading the chapter on imaging with a DSLR in the third ed of The Backyard Astronomer's Guide by Dickinson and Dyer. It's a wonderfully read, very helpful with some wonderful examples of what you can do with various equimpment. In fact, the whole book is a treasure trove for any astronomer in my view. It costs £30 but well worth it - even better if you buy it from Amazon like I did for £10 off the list price! Regards, Paul

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