lets photograph Andromeda

[itsamomentintime]

hello all

i am a beginner to this

rather than ask 'whats the best setup to see Andromeda' and because i don't know how many pieces of equipment are required image, monitor (motorised stand) to take a photo

i'm asking - what do you recommend (on the cheap if possible) to get a decent photo of Andromeda?

i.e please can you list what is required, and an honest price/equipment recommendation?

 

might get pricey.....

[Daf1983]

Hi,

I'm no expert, but when I started a year and a half ago, I had a similar goal, and used the following equipment:

- Canon 600d (£200 2nd hand)

- Carl zeiss 135mm lens (£30)

- Tripod (£40)

- Intervalometer (£10)

- Skytracker (depends, star adventurer is about £250, I used a mechanical tracker which I picked up for £80 2nd hand).

This is what I got with the above equipment, not sure if it qualifies as decent🙈

Be aware, since taking this photo I've spent a further £2k+, this hobby can be addictive and pricey!

[vlaiv]

Yes, that is about minimum equipment that you'll need.

Camera, lens, tripod, some sort of tracker.

It really does not need to be expensive if you go second hand / DIY route. DSLR can be found for very fair price second hand, and for star tracker - do internet search for "Barn door" tracker. It is very cheap DIY solution.

By the way - welcome to SGL.

[ollypenrice]

That's a really good answer from Daf1983 with an image to prove it. 

Olly

Edited March 12, 2022 by ollypenrice

[scotty38]

And for the avoidance of any doubt that's a cracking image!

[itsamomentintime]

22 hours ago, Daf1983 said:

Hi,

I'm no expert, but when I started a year and a half ago, I had a similar goal, and used the following equipment:

- Canon 600d (£200 2nd hand)

- Carl zeiss 135mm lens (£30)

- Tripod (£40)

- Intervalometer (£10)

- Skytracker (depends, star adventurer is about £250, I used a mechanical tracker which I picked up for £80 2nd hand).

This is what I got with the above equipment, not sure if it qualifies as decent🙈

Be aware, since taking this photo I've spent a further £2k+, this hobby can be addictive and pricey!

thats a beauty

could i add a telescope, then use the camera to take the image?

[itsamomentintime]

21 hours ago, vlaiv said:

Yes, that is about minimum equipment that you'll need.

Camera, lens, tripod, some sort of tracker.

It really does not need to be expensive if you go second hand / DIY route. DSLR can be found for very fair price second hand, and for star tracker - do internet search for "Barn door" tracker. It is very cheap DIY solution.

By the way - welcome to SGL.

thanks!

[Daf1983]

33 minutes ago, itsamomentintime said:

thats a beauty

could i add a telescope, then use the camera to take the image?

It depends on your mount. With the mount used on this image (which was the omegon lx2 by the way), I could get 30s exposures before I had star trails, that was with a 135mm focal length lens. With a telescope, you will have a longer focal length, so you will need a better mount.

I've never used the star adventurer, but I think you could use a small telescope on it, like the redcat or the evostar 72ed. But then your in a different price range compared to a budget lens.

When I started out (and I'm still very much a beginner), everyone told me to spend most of my budget on the mount. This is so true.

Personally, budget permitting, I would get a skywatcher star adventurer, a small telescope/telephoto lens and a dslr.

[vlaiv]

59 minutes ago, itsamomentintime said:

could i add a telescope, then use the camera to take the image?

Depends on your budget.

When you move away from the lens and go into telescope astrophotography, cost increases by at least factor of say 3-4 or even more.

Even small setup like StarAdventurer star tacker + small refractor telescope can end up costing close to £1000.

 

[Iem1]

A star tracker, small refractor and a DSLR is a great way to begin astrophotography and I would highly recommend it.

If you have no experience with photography/astronomy/Image processing it can be a massive and frustrating learning curve, starting with simpler and easier to manage and more forgiving equipment helps as you get a feel for the basics like PA, focusing, sky navigation, data handling etc that will carry through when using more expensive and complex set ups.  

I used a Sky guider pro, WO Z73 (430mm) and a Astro Modded 600D for the first 6 - 7 months and I had an absolute blast learning the ropes. The scope + DSLR was pushing the star tracker to pretty much its limits though, 30 second exposures are pretty consistent, 60 second is possible but very unreliable and not worth the hassle as there is no margin for error. 

A 'Starless' image of M31 using the above equipment, Sky guider Pro + WO Z73 + 600D, I think it was around 2.5 Hours of 30 second exposures.

 

[wongataa]

15 hours ago, itsamomentintime said:

thats a beauty

could i add a telescope, then use the camera to take the image?

With a suitable mount yes you could.  In regards to Andromeda, it is actually pretty big - about 6x full moon width so you don't need a very long focal length to get it all in in one frame.

[900SL]

If you want a mount that will track accurately without guiding or using a PC or ASI Air pro, the Fornax Lightrack 2 blows all the others into the weeds on performance/price. Combine with a DSLR and a decent 200mm scope you are set for long exposures and good tracking. 

I did a review in the review section, my set up involves a fair bit of accessory gear but the basic LT2, polariscope, and WO wedge will set you back 500 or so used. That may be over budget so the alternative would be a skyguider pro.

[itsamomentintime]

On 13/03/2022 at 10:18, Iem1 said:

A star tracker, small refractor and a DSLR is a great way to begin astrophotography and I would highly recommend it.

If you have no experience with photography/astronomy/Image processing it can be a massive and frustrating learning curve, starting with simpler and easier to manage and more forgiving equipment helps as you get a feel for the basics like PA, focusing, sky navigation, data handling etc that will carry through when using more expensive and complex set ups.  

I used a Sky guider pro, WO Z73 (430mm) and a Astro Modded 600D for the first 6 - 7 months and I had an absolute blast learning the ropes. The scope + DSLR was pushing the star tracker to pretty much its limits though, 30 second exposures are pretty consistent, 60 second is possible but very unreliable and not worth the hassle as there is no margin for error. 

A 'Starless' image of M31 using the above equipment, Sky guider Pro + WO Z73 + 600D, I think it was around 2.5 Hours of 30 second exposures.

 

that looks like a supernova in Andromeda, to the left

[callisto]

13 minutes ago, itsamomentintime said:

that looks like a supernova in Andromeda, to the left

It does, but it's the satellite galaxy M32 😉