Bedroom astronomy

[ShaunyC]

Next headache if anyone can help me out please is how will I be attaching the camera to the focuser?

I take it I don't need eyepieces for this? 

T ring, T2 dose it matter what type? 

Do I need an extension tube to gain focus? 

Coma corrector is that something I can buy at a later date as its another decent expense.. Or does the coma corrector take away the need for an extension tube? 

Not gona mod the camera for now, but is there any filters I should add to this mounting list of expenses 😂

Clip in cls filter? Etc

Any help advice or recommendations appreciated

Thanks

[ShaunyC]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T2-EOS-T2-Lens-Mount-Adapter-ring-for-Canon-EOS-760D-750D-700D-650D-600D-1200D-/323873639259?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

 

Would this be an acceptable t ring? 

[happy-kat]

That's a T ring. You could now look for a T mount, this attaches to your T ring and gives it a nose to fit in focuser, get the size for your focuser ie 1.25 or 2 inch

CC can be bought later for newtonian or a FF for refractor

No filters are essential

 

 

Edited December 9, 2020 by happy-kat

[happy-kat]

As to whether you need an extension tube I can't remember what telescope or tripod you have

[M40]

You want one of these... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/t-rings.html

You also want one of these ... https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-1-25-inch-t-mount-camera-nosepiece-adapter.html

You can spend a few more pennies and get the Baader protective t ring which will enable you to put a filter in place...https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/baader-protective-t-ring-for-canon-eos.html, I think that the 1.25" nosepiece screws into this as well, a quick email to FLO will confirm that for you 👍

[happy-kat]

The FLO T mount allows for 1.2 filters as it is threaded, see the description for details

Edited December 10, 2020 by happy-kat

[ShaunyC]

So that baader protective one comes with with both bits? t ring and 2" extension.. I guess the protective bit is clear glass to stop the camera photcell getting anything on? 

Then if I bought the 1.25 extension I could fit my astro revelation filters to it? Which would screw to t ring in place of the 2" one that comes with it... 

But the 150pds has 2" focuser? 

So would need 2" filters? or clip on ones that go in the camera? 

Where would the coma corrector sit in all this when I buy one? 

Sorry just trying to get my head around this next segment lol

BTW just for formation for myself t2 suits the camera... M42 is thread t ring to extension? 

[ShaunyC]

Just bought a lens to pick up on the way home from work, sigma dg 70 - 300 f4-5.6.. £35

Don't think it's a great thing but something to play with as soon as the 600d turns up until I get a telescope.. maybe even try abit of stacking 🤔

Oh, Wait.. I need to get a laptop yet 😂🤣

Getting there tho 😁

Will soon have a rubbish blury blob to show you all and be proud of 😂

[Starwiz]

My first views of Mercury and Mars were through an open window. 

Yes, although it won't be ideal for the reason others have mentioned, you can still have a lot of fun and if it's very cold outside you will be warmer in the room.

But at some point, you may want to take your kit outside or to another location, so bear this in mind when choosing what you buy.  Also consider what light pollution you have to contend with and what other buildings are nearby that will produce rising heat degrading your views further.

John

[ShaunyC]

3 hours ago, Starwiz said:

My first views of Mercury and Mars were through an open window. 

Yes, although it won't be ideal for the reason others have mentioned, you can still have a lot of fun and if it's very cold outside you will be warmer in the room.

But at some point, you may want to take your kit outside or to another location, so bear this in mind when choosing what you buy.  Also consider what light pollution you have to contend with and what other buildings are nearby that will produce rising heat degrading your views further.

John

Hi John, thanks for your comment, 

Everyone has to start somewhere I suppose, hopping out my window will just give me an easy opportunity to get acustom to using the scope and set up, then abit of experiance with stacking and post processing... So I asuppose this is all more of a training exercise than anything.. 

Once I've got my head around everything and improved certain bits of my equipment I can easily imagine myself going on adventures.. 

My house is in approx bortle 6 and i can see a few stars on clear nights to the left as there's a school playing field.. 

But when I do decide to venture out I'm 10-15 mins from bortle 4 which is also on the coast.. I have a few spots in mind already where I go star gazing usually when there's a meteor show on.. Shame I'm working nights this weekend but at present can't imagine the skies to be clear anyway..... Again... 

I also go sea fishing quite abit.. So I'm sure I will be intertwining the two hobbies before long

And for this reason I'm swaying back to a 130pds, but it's just a case of which scope turns up 1st I think

[Starwiz]

14 minutes ago, ShaunyC said:

Hi John, thanks for your comment, 

Everyone has to start somewhere I suppose, hopping out my window will just give me an easy opportunity to get acustom to using the scope and set up, then abit of experiance with stacking and post processing... So I asuppose this is all more of a training exercise than anything.. 

Once I've got my head around everything and improved certain bits of my equipment I can easily imagine myself going on adventures.. 

My house is in approx bortle 6 and i can see a few stars on clear nights to the left as there's a school playing field.. 

But when I do decide to venture out I'm 10-15 mins from bortle 4 which is also on the coast.. I have a few spots in mind already where I go star gazing usually when there's a meteor show on.. Shame I'm working nights this weekend but at present can't imagine the skies to be clear anyway..... Again... 

I also go sea fishing quite abit.. So I'm sure I will be intertwining the two hobbies before long

And for this reason I'm swaying back to a 130pds, but it's just a case of which scope turns up 1st I think

The 130pds sounds like a good choice.

For a Bortle 6, a light pollution filter will help a lot, especially if it's sodium lighting.  I bought the Astronomik CLS, the version that clicks into the DSLR above the mirror.  I could hardly believe the difference it made imaging the Horsehead which was located about only 10 degrees above a sodium street light from my back garden.

Most people start their journey into astro-photography by imaging the planets as it's easier and less expensive than the kit needed for DSOs.  To do this, you need to shoot a couple of thousand frames video and then use a stacking program to select and stack the best frames.

The sea fishing sounds good, I do that myself sometimes.  I'd keep the telescope optics away from the sea air, although you may be OK if the breeze is a leeward one. 

John

[M40]

On 09/12/2020 at 19:49, ShaunyC said:

Just bought a lens to pick up on the way home from work, sigma dg 70 - 300 f4-5.6.. £35

Don't think it's a great thing but something to play with as soon as the 600d turns up until I get a telescope.. maybe even try abit of stacking 🤔

Oh, Wait.. I need to get a laptop yet 😂🤣

Getting there tho 😁

Will soon have a rubbish blury blob to show you all and be proud of 😂

Looks a good price to me 👍 

Never having done any form of stacking before and having a similar Canon camera and lens, I have been following that link you posted about taking pictures of Orion with a DSLR. I am now at the stage of waiting for some clears skies, so this time next year maybe 🤦‍♂️ Anyways, check the lens to see if it has a thread to fit filters. If it does, you can then expand your toybox to include a metal lens hood (£27), two uv filters (£6 each) and a 58mm snap in Bahtinov mask (£14).

Freebie software I have so far is DSS and paint.net. I looked at gimp but it's too steep a learning curve at the moment so that's on the backburner. So it's game on to see who gets the first blurry blob 😜

Enjoy

[happy-kat]

You can make your own dew shield for the lens with a plastic flower pot or piece of camping mat or yoga mat or stiff card and a couple elastic bands. I flocked the flower pot I used.

You could make a Y mask (Lord mask) for the lens using stiff card, a ruler, compass, pencil and scissors and another elastic band.

 

 

 

[ShaunyC]

3 hours ago, M40 said:

Looks a good price to me 👍 

Never having done any form of stacking before and having a similar Canon camera and lens, I have been following that link you posted about taking pictures of Orion with a DSLR. I am now at the stage of waiting for some clears skies, so this time next year maybe 🤦‍♂️ Anyways, check the lens to see if it has a thread to fit filters. If it does, you can then expand your toybox to include a metal lens hood (£27), two uv filters (£6 each) and a 58mm snap in Bahtinov mask (£14).

Freebie software I have so far is DSS and paint.net. I looked at gimp but it's too steep a learning curve at the moment so that's on the backburner. So it's game on to see who gets the first blurry blob 😜

Enjoy

Oooo.... Competition... I like the sound of that 😂  In the name of fairness I think we should post them on the same day 👍

I had a quick look at the lens, loads of twisty movey bits I will have to suss out but lenses looked nice and clean with cap for either end... Can't remember if it had a thread on it for filters will have a look.. 

I watched that orion with dlsr all the way through, quite long but brilliant video that explains quite well how to use the software...  Will be sure to watch it again once I actual have a camera.. 

Look foward to seeing your pictures..

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

You can make your own dew shield for the lens with a plastic flower pot or piece of camping mat or yoga mat or stiff card and a couple elastic bands. I flocked the flower pot I used.

You could make a Y mask (Lord mask) for the lens using stiff card, a ruler, compass, pencil and scissors and another elastic band.

Thanks you for the tips 👍 Good to hear you take your diy'ing serious flocking you flower pot 😉 

 Will have to look up what  y/lord mask is... Sounds like that bahtinov thing with all the lines in.... Not 100% on what these do? Think on the orion with dlsr vid he mentioned it helps to get good focus with single spikes or something on stars... 

[AstroMuni]

7 minutes ago, ShaunyC said:

Sounds like that bahtinov thing with all the lines in.... Not 100% on what these do? Think on the orion with dlsr vid he mentioned it helps to get good focus with single spikes or something on stars..

You are spot on...It helps with focussing 👍

[ShaunyC]

14 minutes ago, AstroMuni said:

You are spot on...It helps with focussing 👍

Thank you for confirming 👍

 

4 hours ago, M40 said:

 Anyways, check the lens to see if it has a thread to fit filters. If it does, you can then expand your toybox to include a metal lens hood (£27), two uv filters (£6 each) and a 58mm snap in Bahtinov mask (£14).

Looking on this site it seems it does have filters out there for it 😁

Now just to suss out which ones will be best 🤔

I'm assuming the one that says it's a "star filter" isn't actually any use as it just adds spikes to sorces of light?? 

[happy-kat]

If using on a static mount I would be careful of which if any filter you add as some filters cut light so if you are already on short exposures you might not appreciate the light you could gather being cut, particularly light pollution filters do this. I would try with the lens you have and work from that. All my camera lenses have a daylight filter on them which is essentially clear visually just to protect the lenses from any accidental damage I might do though all my old lenses I bought had come with one already left on by the seller.

I did buy one, don't really use it currently, a 2 inch that fits to all the lenses using a step ring where needed to meet the lens size.

An area to practice is using the camera and how to navigate the buttons and menus when not under pressure of a clear sky.

The fun of digital is seeing what you captured straight away. 

[ShaunyC]

11 hours ago, happy-kat said:

If using on a static mount I would be careful of which if any filter you add as some filters cut light so if you are already on short exposures you might not appreciate the light you could gather being cut, particularly light pollution filters do this. I would try with the lens you have and work from that. All my camera lenses have a daylight filter on them which is essentially clear visually just to protect the lenses from any accidental damage I might do though all my old lenses I bought had come with one already left on by the seller.

I did buy one, don't really use it currently, a 2 inch that fits to all the lenses using a step ring where needed to meet the lens size.

An area to practice is using the camera and how to navigate the buttons and menus when not under pressure of a clear sky.

The fun of digital is seeing what you captured straight away. 

Ah OK cool so don't be rushing into filters thanks for the heads up 👍

Tbf  after having a read through this.. 

https://expertphotography.com/best-astrophotography-filters/

It sounds like another technical language to learn... Jeez I love getting into a new hobby 😂

I did see some clear filters but even then your thinking is there some kind of magic I'm missing in the description? And overlooking the fact there just protectors 😂

I know, I can't wait to receive my camera and have a play with all the buttons... Been in the post since the 6th feels like forever.. Hopefully arrive Monday along with a tripod I ordered..

Then another long wait for clear skies  ☁️☁️☁️

[happy-kat]

The hoya daylight filler is the one I think I've got fitted and as the lenses are used for normal photos I just leave it on.

The astro filter I did buy was a baader neodymium 2 inch filter but my light pollution I generally process out so I tend not to put that filter on now.

[malc-c]

On 05/12/2020 at 21:45, Moonshed said:

I would say your advice is good if the person that asked could afford a £2000 mount and they were without doubt going to take up astrophotography at some point, but the OP has already said they have a limited budget. Now even if they somehow managed to raise that much money I’m not at all sure that would be a good buy for someone quiet new to astronomy who intends trying it out by observing from an upstairs spare room. It has to be considered that under such unfavourable conditions there is a good chance interest would quickly wane to the point of collecting dust.

Surely it would make more sense not to invest too heavily when buying gear at this stage but instead buy cheap and see how it goes, if it doesn’t work out then not a lot of money is lost, plus it could easily be sold to new beginners. If it does work out then with the experience gained, and a decision made regarding moving out doors and starting astrophotography, then is the right time to invest in a good mount.

I wasn't going to comment anymore on this thread.... but....

Have you ever thought why people buy an EQ8 or spend £3K on a RCT and as much again on a CCD camera.?   Well there are several reasons, but the main one is to make things easy to get the results that they want under the conditions they have.  Agreed we all have budgets, but we need to understand the limitations of what can be achieved within that budget.  When I got my scope my budget was £800 ish - I was looking at C6 on an EQ mount, but when I visited a showroom and discovered the noise in made slewing, and how unsuitable it would be for DSO imaging, I looked at the 200P / EQ5.  It still came in at around that maximum, but after the initial use soon discovered my goal of imaging was pushing the mount to its limit.  It was also pushing me to my limits as it became so frustrating fine tuning the set up to get anything worth processing.  I then bit the bullet and sold my EQ5 at a loss and purchased an HEQ5.  It was a lot more substantial and because it required less tweaking I found I was enjoying  my imaging sessions.  But then I bolted on an ST80 and guide camera, and whilst it still worked, the weight was on the cusp of what the mount could manage.  So  the person who invested in a £2000 mount had the foresight to save money in the long run by buying a mount that should cater for all their needs as and when their financial situation is such that they want or need to upgrade the equipment that sits on it they don't have to upgrade the mount as well.

There have been stacks of posts where people manage to take acceptable images using cheap equipment that most would have thought would not be possible... but the learning curve and hoops they have had to jump through to get it often would make people give up.  Trying to get precision tracking from an EQ3 is not for the faint hearted

If the OP is happy to stick their Iphone to a 130 pds on an EQ3 and take a shot through the skylight and is happy with the result then that's all that matters.  But as I've already mentioned if they want to get images of a better standard then they may struggle when they upgrade the camera, and then either get fed up with the results as the equipment is under performing, or feel miffed that they now have to spend more money upgrading kit soon after getting it.

There is no real answer here - I see images taken by my friends through kit costing 10K or more.  I've tried imaging the same target with my set up.  I get  results, but in comparison they are nowhere near as good as my friends, but for the equipment used the results are OK, and more importantly  I was happy with them.  Granted we all have nights that it all falls into place or falls apart... but so long as we enjoy what we do, and we are pleased with the results, and accept what we get with the constraints of what we use then that is what counts.

Edited December 12, 2020 by malc-c

[Moonshed]

4 hours ago, malc-c said:

I wasn't going to comment anymore on this thread.... but....

Have you ever thought why people buy an EQ8 or spend £3K on a RCT and as much again on a CCD camera.?   Well there are several reasons, but the main one is to make things easy to get the results that they want under the conditions they have.  Agreed we all have budgets, but we need to understand the limitations of what can be achieved within that budget.  When I got my scope my budget was £800 ish - I was looking at C6 on an EQ mount, but when I visited a showroom and discovered the noise in made slewing, and how unsuitable it would be for DSO imaging, I looked at the 200P / EQ5.  It still came in at around that maximum, but after the initial use soon discovered my goal of imaging was pushing the mount to its limit.  It was also pushing me to my limits as it became so frustrating fine tuning the set up to get anything worth processing.  I then bit the bullet and sold my EQ5 at a loss and purchased an HEQ5.  It was a lot more substantial and because it required less tweaking I found I was enjoying  my imaging sessions.  But then I bolted on an ST80 and guide camera, and whilst it still worked, the weight was on the cusp of what the mount could manage.  So  the person who invested in a £2000 mount had the foresight to save money in the long run by buying a mount that should cater for all their needs as and when their financial situation is such that they want or need to upgrade the equipment that sits on it they don't have to upgrade the mount as well.

There have been stacks of posts where people manage to take acceptable images using cheap equipment that most would have thought would not be possible... but the learning curve and hoops they have had to jump through to get it often would make people give up.  Trying to get precision tracking from an EQ3 is not for the faint hearted

If the OP is happy to stick their Iphone to a 130 pds on an EQ3 and take a shot through the skylight and is happy with the result then that's all that matters.  But as I've already mentioned if they want to get images of a better standard then they may struggle when they upgrade the camera, and then either get fed up with the results as the equipment is under performing, or feel miffed that they now have to spend more money upgrading kit soon after getting it.

There is no real answer here - I see images taken by my friends through kit costing 10K or more.  I've tried imaging the same target with my set up.  I get  results, but in comparison they are nowhere near as good as my friends, but for the equipment used the results are OK, and more importantly  I was happy with them.  Granted we all have nights that it all falls into place or falls apart... but so long as we enjoy what we do, and we are pleased with the results, and accept what we get with the constraints of what we use then that is what counts.

I appreciate your point of view, however for most beginners budget restraints are the main factor plus not wanting to commit all their funds on equipment until they are sure astronomy is for them. 

You ask why people will spend 3K on a RCT and as much again on a CCD.  I would suggest for two reasons. One, they can afford to throw that much cash about, and two, they are not beginners planning on setting up in their bedroom and sticking their scope out the window.

We are all different and have different limitations governing what we can and can’t do. You can’t compare your big spender rich friends with all their top end gear that cost more than most beginners cars with the OP who is asking about a telescope to stick out the bedroom window to see if he likes astronomy, so there is nothing to be gained talking about spending 3K on one piece of kit. It’s just different worlds, if he is happy with what he is doing, and he clearly seems to be, then that’s all that matters. 😄

Edited December 12, 2020 by Moonshed

[M40]

One of the reason's I have been keeping up to speed with this topic is I like ShaunyC' attitude in that although he has just started and has more than a couple of option limitations, he is still trying to give it a go. Which is why reading malc-c and Moonsheds posts it rung such a bell with me in that we are all different and have different restraints but as long as we enjoy what we can achieve that's great as far as I am concerned. That plus the fact that I am no more than a dozen or so paces in front of the OP and he has given me more than a few pointers 👍😜 

Enjoy

[Moonshed]

7 minutes ago, M40 said:

One of the reason's I have been keeping up to speed with this topic is I like ShaunyC' attitude in that although he has just started and has more than a couple of option limitations, he is still trying to give it a go. Which is why reading malc-c and Moonsheds posts it rung such a bell with me in that we are all different and have different restraints but as long as we enjoy what we can achieve that's great as far as I am concerned. That plus the fact that I am no more than a dozen or so paces in front of the OP and he has given me more than a few pointers 👍😜 

Enjoy

I agree M40, it’s all about giving it a go no matter how challenging it may be due to cash restraints and restrictions on where to put your gear. The OP has the Right Stuff 😄

[ecuador]

7 hours ago, Moonshed said:

The OP has the Right Stuff 😄

Chuck Yeager, (played by Sam Shepard) passed away last week. If you don't know what I am talking about definitely watch (or read) The Right Stuff  

[Moonshed]

54 minutes ago, ecuador said:

Chuck Yeager, (played by Sam Shepard) passed away last week. If you don't know what I am talking about definitely watch (or read) The Right Stuff  

I was sad to learn of the passing of Chuck Yeager, an American hero, the first man to fly through the “sound barrier”.  I have read the book, it’s a great read.