Nexstar 6se,Canon

[jim d]

I have a Canon EOS RebelT1I is this any good for pictures of moon or Saturn with my scope if it is how do I do it?What settings should camera be on etc.I can hook up to my scope and tried to shoot moon and go just a blob of light This is all new to me so be gentle thanks

[jgs001]

Jim, I've not tried it with a Nexstar6SE... but the principle is the same. I don't recognise the camera model, is that the 500d ? If so, use spot meter, on the moon, and set the exposure by that, under expose by about 1 stop. I think the 6SE is f/10, so probably ISO100, around about 1/20 for the crescent and perhaps 1/200 for the full moon... they are approximate, but will do as a start point. Use the liveview at 10x to make sure you have the focus as good as you can, take your time on the focusing, it needs it, then check with full zoom on the preview.

That's for the moon of course. An SLR is not really the right tool for the planets, a webcam is a much better bet, but you could try using EOSREC, of perhaps the video mode if you have one.

[smudgeball]

Hi

Yeah you've got a f10 scope ( and probably the best telescope to own )

I've used my 40D on the moon with settings around what John has mentioned.

Don't bother on Saturn, that is really webcam territory. ( but have a go by all means)

But the settings John has mentioned look fine to me and I'm definately no expert at this.

Blob of light suggests you may need to get the f stop down (i.e. too much light getting in) Set the camera on manual and play with the shutter and f stop until you get something that you're happy with.

The moon is normally that bright that short exposures are fine.

Good luck

Neil

[E621Keith]

I also use the 6SE. To photo the moon, I will just trial and error on the exposure. The high f ratio of the 6SE doesn't really matter for moon and planets. However, I suspect a DSLR chip will be too large for Saturn. A small chip industrial camera or a web cam may do a better job.

[jim d]

I keep hearing about using a webcam,what is that?

[jim d]

another stupid question.What is live view at 10x?

[smudgeball]

Well I'll answer the live view and let someone else explain why webcams are the choice of planetary imaging.

Live View is when you press the set button at the back of the camera in any of the "manual" modes (it won't work with auto or at least not on my 40D)

When you press it, the mirror is lifted to show you what the photo will look like.

You can then press the "+" or "-" buttons to zoom in at 5x or 10x hence the 10x quote.

Hope that helps

Neil

[jgs001]

A webcam, has a number of benefits over an SLR. The SLR you have has a 1.6x crop factor, Whereas a webcam has a crop factor of about 8.5x, so you effectively multiply the focal length of the scope by the crop factor. For the planets, the image scale and sensor size of the SLR means that the planet might cover a few pixels, but you really need it to appear larger in the frame to get the best detail. And whilst that is, in theory, possible with an SLR, it's really hard to actually achieve, and even with 20x worth of barlowing, it's not really enough, but of course your exposure time gets into the order of 10's of seconds. The webcam, with an 8.5x crop, is already that much farther in front of the SLR thanks to it's smaller sensor.

The frame rate also makes a large difference. Running a webcam at 10 fps, allows you to capture 1000 or so frames in a video, then you stack the best 25% of those, allowing you to only use the frames which are least affected by the atmospherics. The thought of taking 1000 frames of something with an SLR is rather depressing...

This is a very good choice as a starting point, it's cheap, cheerful and there's plenty of people on here using them.

Cheap Philips SPC880 webcam - 49269 - discounts & offers

Beyond that, you can spend a very large some of money to get a dedicated camera that's capable of very high frame rates.

[Nexus 6]

Hi Jim, I had a 6se, my 1st scope and bought the 1000D at the same time, I did not really do much imaging with it, see my poor results on my pic profile, mind you I had no idea what I was doing, still don't

I have tried the camera with my 925 the once but I realized I am really only interested in visual astronomy, just as well some imaging gear costs a fortune, although a web cam as mentioned is a cheap way to get started, so am glad I did'nt get the bug

Will no doubt try and improve the terrible Moon pics I have posted

[Marcus daniel]

Jim i have a 6SE the picture below was taken using this along with my Canon 350d rebel. Its a good scope.

[CGolder]

I have recently been taking some picts with a 6SE, i am pretty impressed with what can be achieved with some patience and selective targets

I use a modified 400d and a focal reducer for deep sky, then a webcam and barlow for planets and moon

My images are in my album if you would like to view them, i am very new to imaging (1 week) but very happy with the results considering the limitations

[jim d]

One more question is there any way to use webcam with an Apple MacBook Pro and thanks for all the help:headbang:

[jgs001]

I'm sure you can, but have never tried it. I think Craig stark released a version of craterlet for apple (webcam capture software)

[Demonperformer]

One thing you could try if you were inclined ...

Try getting a shot of Saturn and its moons using the Canon and 6SE - the wider field of view (which makes Saturn look smaller) is ideal for that and the longer exposures you can get with the Canon make the moons possible, but Saturn would be WAY over exposed.