Looking for DSLR Advice before my brain explodes

[NorthOfNorth]

Hi everybody.

I have recently inherited a telescope and mount from my father and am looking to continue his hobby. The equipment i have is

Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO Go-To

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED

ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera & mini guide scope

From what i can gather the only thing missing is a camera for the main imaging.

I have tried to do some research into what camera would be best suited for the equipment but the more i look into it the more confussed i get about what is best

I have a budget of between £300-400 and my interest is in deep sky objects.

I have a Nikkon D3300 at the moment but i have never seen this mentioned so disregarding it, also would a dedicated astro camera be better as i have a home dslr i am happy with??

 

so many questions lol.

Can anybody help me out because i am new it all just seems like numbers and prices

Thanks in advanced

[vlaiv]

I'd say start with what you have.

D3300 is nice camera to get you started in astrophotography.

You'll just need suitable connection ring. I think that this one is suitable:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/borg-nikon-f-adaptor.html

but I'm not 100% sure. Your camera should have Nikon F mount and you need T2 adapter for that mount.

[iapa]

24 minutes ago, NorthOfNorth said:

Hi everybody.

I have recently inherited a telescope and mount from my father and am looking to continue his hobby. The equipment i have is

Sky-Watcher HEQ5 PRO Go-To

Sky-Watcher Evostar 80ED

ZWO ASI 120MM Mini USB 2.0 Mono Camera & mini guide scope

From what i can gather the only thing missing is a camera for the main imaging.

I have tried to do some research into what camera would be best suited for the equipment but the more i look into it the more confussed i get about what is best

I have a budget of between £300-400 and my interest is in deep sky objects.

I have a Nikkon D3300 at the moment but i have never seen this mentioned so disregarding it, also would a dedicated astro camera be better as i have a home dslr i am happy with??

 

so many questions lol.

Can anybody help me out because i am new it all just seems like numbers and prices

Thanks in advanced

With that set up, some larger targets include:

• M31 - Andromeda
• M42 - Orion Nebula
• M45 - Pleiades
• Veil Nebulae,
• M81/82 Bode’s Nebulae

Some suggest the first two are probably not best suited to start due to the very bright cores which need a lot of processing. Personally I’d go for it anyway, you can go back and reprocess many times later.

I’d not bother with this just now, but, as you get more comfortable, the https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-85x-reducer-flattener-for-ed80.html it widens the field of view and also corrects for some curvature in the lens. (The ED80 has a lens for projecting to an eye ball which is rounded, camera sensor is flat.

[NorthOfNorth]

24 minutes ago, iapa said:

With that set up, some larger targets include:

• M31 - Andromeda
• M42 - Orion Nebula
• M45 - Pleiades
• Veil Nebulae,
• M81/82 Bode’s Nebulae

Some suggest the first two are probably not best suited to start due to the very bright cores which need a lot of processing. Personally I’d go for it anyway, you can go back and reprocess many times later.

I’d not bother with this just now, but, as you get more comfortable, the https://www.firstlightoptics.com/pro-series/skywatcher-85x-reducer-flattener-for-ed80.html it widens the field of view and also corrects for some curvature in the lens. (The ED80 has a lens for projecting to an eye ball which is rounded, camera sensor is flat.

OK thats what it is !! i already have that

[NorthOfNorth]

48 minutes ago, vlaiv said:

I'd say start with what you have.

D3300 is nice camera to get you started in astrophotography.

You'll just need suitable connection ring. I think that this one is suitable:

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/borg-nikon-f-adaptor.html

but I'm not 100% sure. Your camera should have Nikon F mount and you need T2 adapter for that mount.

We recently tried to connect it to my laptop for my son to do youtube videos and had a terrible time trying to connect it to any software. Would that be a problem while trying to learn?

[Davey-T]

Try this for astro' imaging.

BackyardNIKON - O'Telescope (otelescope.com)

Dave

Edited June 15, 2021 by Davey-T

[vlaiv]

1 minute ago, Davey-T said:

Try this.

BackyardNIKON - O'Telescope (otelescope.com)

Dave

It says D3300 is not supported.

I also checked APT website - D3300 is not supported, Ivo mentioned that Nikon does not publish comms library for this model (although it is basically the same as D5300).

10 minutes ago, NorthOfNorth said:

We recently tried to connect it to my laptop for my son to do youtube videos and had a terrible time trying to connect it to any software. Would that be a problem while trying to learn?

As far as I can tell - you won't be able to control it via computer and that is a bit of a problem - but won't be detrimental for starting in AP.

You can either work with 30s exposures to start with or get intervalometer for this camera - like this one:

https://www.amazon.com/PHOLSY-Control-Intervalometer-Shutter-Replaces/dp/B01N133BI6/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=intervalometer+nikon&qid=1623774250&sr=8-5

or similar.

You can use remote or tethered one for AP.

Save your subs to card and later transfer them to computer for processing.

[UCzerw]

Unfortunately, Nikon does not support BULB mode on the computer. I had the same problem with my D5100. The intervalometer is necessary for longer exposure times.

In less than 30 seconds, there is little point in guiding. Although it is worth training in guiding to make it easier in the future.

 

Edit: what about reducer/flattener? 

Edited June 18, 2021 by UCzerw

[PeterCPC]

There is a Canon 600d for sale in the Ads section. You might find that easier.

[Sabalias]

I missed the boat on DSLRs for sale on the forum so I recently spashed out on a 600D from MPB and then sent it to Astronomiser for modding (combined price is within your budget). I've not been able to use it in anger yet but I connected all my kit to my Astroberry and it worked without a hitch.

Stu

[powerlord]

Have a look on ebay if u decide to change. I picked up a full frame 6d for £320 because the lcd plastic screen cover was cracked. It works fine, but I fitted a new one from ebay for 6 quid anyway.

Recent polls showed most of the top dslr ap users use 6ds. 

But definately start with nikon and cheap t mount. Cheap intervalometer from ebay and yer cooking on gas.

Stu

[2 Scoops]

On 15/06/2021 at 18:47, iapa said:

With that set up, some larger targets include:

• M31 - Andromeda
• M42 - Orion Nebula
• M45 - Pleiades
• Veil Nebulae,
• M81/82 Bode’s Nebulae

 

I think the first 3 in that list are going to be tricky from Elgin around now, aren't they?

[rickwayne]

The gphoto driver used in INDI offers full support for the D3300, according to their web page. So KStars and Ekos should work for you. They run on Windows, Macs, and Linux, including Raspberry  Pi's, which is what I use. It's an exceedingly full-featured suite so it definitely takes some hours to get your bearings, but it certainly works.