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11/26/2004 04:18:38 AM · #1 |
Anyone have any suggestions on a good beginner to intermediate telescope for astrophotography?
I am interested in getting started with astrophotography. I plan on using my Nikon D-70 and Nikon N80. |
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11/26/2004 06:10:17 AM · #2 |
There are many choices, what is suitable for you depends on how much you afford, what your expectations are and what kind of celestial objects you want to observe and photograph (planets, deep sky)
Many amateurs prefer the catadioptrics (Schmidt-Cassegrain or Maskutov optical design) which have very good overall performance.
I have a Celestron C8 SCT which is still portable and a great choice for beginners as well as experienced amateurs.
For superb image quality you will pay the price for an apochromatic refractor, otherwise there are also the achromatic refractors.
You can search the web for manufacturers like Celestron, Meade, Takahashi, Vixen and others.
Have a look also in www.skyandtelescope.com and www.astronomy.com you will find very useful informations.
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11/26/2004 08:35:12 AM · #3 |
I'll second Pascal's thoughts on the SCT (and similar) designs. I also have an 8 inch SCT (older Meade) and find that this size is easily transportable, but heavy enought that hanging the camera off the back does not upset the mount & drive system.
For astrophotography, keep in mind that the newer computerized "go-to" scopes have one problem because of the way their mounts are designed: field rotation. They require additional equipment to really be suited to astrophotography. Though they are more of a pain to set up (manual polar alignment), an older scope with an equatorial mount is a great choice.
If you know what you're getting into buying used can be a great thing. When I bought my Meade earlier this year I paid about $700 for the scope, tripod, drive unit, and a few other accessories.Only catch is that the drive unit needed some minor work, which I was willing to do myself.
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