Inspiration for CMOS camera

[gmessyhome]

Hi all,I`ve been looking at a bunch of CCD/CMOS cameras for astrophotgraphy and there is so much choice and variety.Think I`ve narrowed it down to 2 makes ZVO and ATIK. Im looking for ideas from those that already have a camera and have a little knowledge in the bank. Any suggestions for mid range CCD or CMOS cameras please feel free to tell me what you have so i can have a look at the specs. Budget is around £1-1.2k . Thanks in adavance

[Budgie1]

It would be handy to know what scope you have and what you want to image. Also, are you looking for a colour or mono camera, if it's mono does the budget have to account for the purchase of filters and filter wheel? 

Lastly, do you have a guiding setup?

To give you an idea of what your field of view will be like with different camera & scope setups, check out Astronomy Tools FOV Calculator.

[gmessyhome]

Celestron Evolution Edge 8 HD with star sense.

Im thinking Color ideally . Wanna get use to taking pictures of nebula`s and stars clusters.. The astronomy tools FOV calculator is something ive looked at already. Help me in purchasing my eyepieces.

[newbie alert]

An atik for £1200,are you talking second-hand?

A edge hd on nebulae , you're  giving yourself a headache that you don't need.. make it easier and buy a 80mm frac.. what mount are you using?

[smudgeball]

Some sound advice above

Is this your first venture into astrophotography?

Edge HD for nebula?? I've been doing astrophotography for over ten years and still consider myself a novice, but I don't think that is as suitable as say an 80mm frac as mentioned.

Not wanting to put you off but that's a big spend if it's your first camera?

Don't want you ending up frustrated with astrophotography and potentially out of pocket.

I personally use Altair CMOS OSC, but previously had a mono ATIK CCD plus filters.

Neil

[gmessyhome]

Yep new to astrophotography.  the mount the telescope sits on is what the celestron edge comes with, it fork mounted  motorised. I have a canon 700D DSLR camera which i know is not fab hence the question

Am curious to know why its difficult to use the edge over fracs. I read so much on different ways to photograph the skies.  (still researching)

Really looking for advice on a camera that i can carry forward to mount of various telescopes whether it be for a frac or SGT.

I`m also considering a HyperStar from starizona to turn the telescope to f/1.9, which in theory should make taking pictures much easier and faster. I am a point in my life where ill get what it takes to make looking at the skies fun, even if it involves the frustrations that come with it. Frustration is what makes it a challenge and gives me something to think about. With Covid and the shops closed its hard to go somewhere and talk to people in person. Also Astroloogy clubs round where i live have are little and far between, and have long waiting lists. I like the Edge for its ease of use for starters, so i can get use to the skies etc etc. Then  hoping to move along once i have a gained little more knowledge.

Advice is always welcome and thank you for the above responses.

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by gmessyhome

[smudgeball]

Nothing wrong with your scope, just different scopes perform different tasks better than others.

I started off with a Celestron 6SE and DSLR on the back, great on planetary imaging but soon moved to a refractor.

I think the point people are making is to get you to enjoy the journey.

With 1k to 1.2k budget, perhaps split it 800 on a nice CMOS OSC and spend 400 - 500 on a nice refractor?

Assuming it fits on your mount of course.

So don't go selling the Edge !! 😀

I'm sure more people will jump in with ideas. (as I mentioned, I'm far from being an expert)

[Cosmic Geoff]

I have a C8 on the CPC800 Celestron twin-fork mount. It's great for visual and for planetary imaging, but for imaging nebulae, I'm not even going to try. I'd need a completely different setup. 

[smudgeball]

Should have added my Altair Astro Hypercam 269c is connected with a 0.8 Field Flattener / Focal Reducer to my William Optics GT102 refractor.

I use this for deep sky astrophotography.

My hypercam 183c is mostly used on my 80mm refractor.

[Shimrod]

6 hours ago, gmessyhome said:

Yep new to astrophotography.  the mount the telescope sits on is what the celestron edge comes with, it fork mounted  motorised. I have a canon 700D DSLR camera which i know is not fab hence the question

Am curious to know why its difficult to use the edge over fracs. I read so much on different ways to photograph the skies.  (still researching)

Really looking for advice on a camera that i can carry forward to mount of various telescopes whether it be for a frac or SGT.

I`m also considering a HyperStar from starizona to turn the telescope to f/1.9, which in theory should make taking pictures much easier and faster. I am a point in my life where ill get what it takes to make looking at the skies fun, even if it involves the frustrations that come with it. Frustration is what makes it a challenge and gives me something to think about. With Covid and the shops closed its hard to go somewhere and talk to people in person. Also Astroloogy clubs round where i live have are little and far between, and have long waiting lists. I like the Edge for its ease of use for starters, so i can get use to the skies etc etc. Then  hoping to move along once i have a gained little more knowledge.

Advice is always welcome and thank you for the above responses.

 

So...you can do some of the imaging you want with the set up you have - have a look at this thread (and search for 8SE which is similar to your mount) to get an idea of what you can do: No EQ challenge - You will notice quite a lot of people are using Canon cameras as well. You could start by piggybacking your camera on top of the telescope and using a short focal length lens which will allow you to get longer exposures before you start getting trails from the earth's rotation.

You will find astrophotography a lot easier to start with though if you can get an equatorial mount and shorter focal length refractor - it is a much more forgiving platform for beginning imaging. As your Edge attaches to the evolution mount using a dovetail, you would also be able to move both OTA between the mounts. So retain the evolution mount for a quick set up for visual observing (with Edge or refractor), and using the equatorial mount for imaging (again with either scope). If you wanted to stay with Celestron there is an AVX mount advertised in the classifieds on this forum which would suit (although many recommend the Skywatcher HEQ5-Pro mount as the starting point).

[gmessyhome]

Awesome reply`s folks, you have made me welcome and given some sound advice. Its also has given some thought. I`m liking the idea of splitting my budget for a refrac and a cmos osc to get me started. Having both options available sounds like a good idea for me as i can play with both and get a good feel for which route i will end up taking., with out spending a huge fortune. I can do that later on down the line once I`ve figured out whats best for me. Once again thankyou for all your imputs, i am sure to come back and ask more newbie questions.

on the bright side my first attempt at the moon came out nice

[Adam J]

On 22/11/2020 at 23:01, gmessyhome said:

Hi all,I`ve been looking at a bunch of CCD/CMOS cameras for astrophotgraphy and there is so much choice and variety.Think I`ve narrowed it down to 2 makes ZVO and ATIK. Im looking for ideas from those that already have a camera and have a little knowledge in the bank. Any suggestions for mid range CCD or CMOS cameras please feel free to tell me what you have so i can have a look at the specs. Budget is around £1-1.2k . Thanks in adavance

Mono or OSC?  What scope will you be using it with. What targets are you wanting to shoot. What is your light pollution like? 

[gmessyhome]

OSC im thinking , but open to Mono. Its going on Cel Evo 9 edge. (yes i need a EQ mount, have this in the pipeline). Im a bortle 5/4.  Looking to venture towards nebulas and galaxies. i want something that i can place either on the edge or refrac ideally.