Natural Progression

[John Wick]

Hi

What is the next 'step' after imaging with a DSLR and lens (135mm) in my case? 

Do I  go to an astrophotography camera, scope etc

Where do I go next? 

Many thanks 

[happy-kat]

What mount are you currently using?

[The Lazy Astronomer]

30 minutes ago, John Wick said:

Hi

What is the next 'step' after imaging with a DSLR and lens (135mm) in my case? 

Do I  go to an astrophotography camera, scope etc

Where do I go next? 

Many thanks 

Equipment order of importance:

1. Mount

2. Mount

3. Mount

If you're thinking of moving on from a lens to a telescope, then it's likely a mount will be your best investment.

[ONIKKINEN]

Assuming you have a tracking mount (if not, that is step #1) you should look into autoguiding as the next step.

Tracking mounts dont really track all that accurately over long exposures, even good ones, due to periodic error in the worm gears. The ones that do have encoders built in and now you are looking at 2k at minimum investment.

Autoguiding however is not so expensive and a simple finder scope and ASI 120MM combo will run whatever mount much better. You will need a computer to run the software, but if you have an old laptop lying around that issue is also solved.

After accurate tracking is in play the next step would be a cooled dedicated astronomy camera to couple with your existing lens. These are pricey though, so your budget will determine if its worth looking for right now. Expect to spend at least 500 (€/£/$) for a used one, maybe double or triple that for a new one with a large sensor.

[Elp]

You need to have a long hard think about how much more money you want to sink into the hobby.

Each purchase will have its associated tier of additional items to buy.

I wanted goto, so bought one of the cheapest around (azgti) and it has its associated costs of getting it running in EQ mode, but with it I wanted autoguiding so that was another cost. Stability = another tripod. Mono cam = filters etc etc.

What are you wanting to image and achieve is another train of thought and has avenues to follow.

How is your post processing, as that in essence is where most of the effort comes from and takes time to learn and refine to get to where you want to be.

[900SL]

On 31/10/2022 at 20:49, John Wick said:

Hi

What is the next 'step' after imaging with a DSLR and lens (135mm) in my case? 

Do I  go to an astrophotography camera, scope etc

Where do I go next? 

Many thanks 

Do you currently use a tracker?

Are you looking to move to a go-to mount?

What is your budget?

Are your interests planetary, wide field nebula, DSO, galaxy?

Do you intend to travel or shoot from home location? If home, what is your light pollution level?

Your initial query is as long as a piece of string. Unable to compute 😂