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08/16/2006 10:26:47 PM · #1 |
Hi everyone!!!
I am not sure whether this is right forum or not but my question is with the telescope.
I want to do some astro photography and for that I am looking for a telescope.
Can some one suggest any site(s) where I can find reviews? or some scope that you can suggest :) |
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08/16/2006 10:49:14 PM · #2 |
What is the absolute upper limit on your budget? This is a vital question and one that you must confront before you even consider making a purchase.
Message edited by author 2006-08-16 22:49:28. |
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08/16/2006 10:55:35 PM · #3 |
Originally posted by strangeghost:
What is the absolute upper limit on your budget? This is a vital question and one that you must confront before you even consider making a purchase. |
This is really a good question and answer to that is I did not think about that :):)
I would say about $500.
also what should I look when I buy one. |
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08/16/2006 10:55:41 PM · #4 |
There are many sites and tones of information for every possible question. You will need at first a lot of patience, read carefully and don't be dissappointed because this procedure of "getting know how" will take many weeks if not months
//www.astropix.com/
//www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?Cat=
//skytonight.com/howto/astrophotography
//www.astronomy.com/asy/cs/forums/
you can start from the above sites, there are many more that you will find by yourself if you search in Google.
To choose a telescope is a complicated thing.
What exactly (or mostly) you want to observe and photograph? The Moon and planets, deep sky objects, the Sun?
Apochromatic refractors are probably the best scopes around for all practical purposes, have a look at Takahashi, TeleVue and Astrophysics for the best quality of optics, while ED ("semi")apochromatics are good for the money you will spend (Vixen, Celestron, Meade, Orion etc)
Otherwise a very good choise is a catadioptric scope of 8 inches in diameter or more.
Don't forget that the more crucial part of your equipment in astrophotography is the mount. The precision of tracking is very important. It's better to spend money for a high quality mount and a moderate scope than the opposite.
Clear Skies!
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08/16/2006 11:09:45 PM · #5 |
Originally posted by pgirish007:
I would say about $500.
also what should I look when I buy one. |
I would advise that you consider very strongly NOT getting into astronomy at that budgetary level. I generally advise people in the market for a telescope to cut their budget in half, and to spend THAT much on the scope, and plan for the rest for various accessories.
Cutting your max of $500 in half would leave you $250 for a telescope and honestly, there's just nothing you can really get for that price, especially if astrophotography is your real goal.
Just to give you an idea of accessories, once you have a telescope, you need a way to connect your camera to it, either by mounting it on top of the telescope ("piggybacking") or by attaching it to the prime focus and shooting "through" the scope. Either method requires hardware (mounting brackets, coupling rings, etc.). Just tossing figures off the top of my head, those goodies would be between $150 and $200 bare minimum. And that's really just the beginning of the accessory game (eyepieces, finderscopes, etc.). Then for your camera, do you have a remote timer (~>$100)? I could go on for hours.
I'm not trying to discourage, just to give you a realistic assessment of what's required. Depending on where you're located, you should see if there are any astronomy clubs around. Visit them and talk to the members. Find out who's involved in astrophotg and pick their brains. Educate yourself VERY WELL before you write that first check! |
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08/16/2006 11:16:42 PM · #6 |
Take strangeghost's advice, he knows his stuff!
An alternative you may not have considered is not to use a telescope at all. With your regular lenses and a decent tracking mount (which can be had in your budget range) yoiu can do some excellent wide field work. Getting your feet wet with this is a great way to familiarize yourself wiht the skills required. Then research telescopes. And research some more.
With telescopes, as with long telephoto lenses, good ones that will not disappoint are going to be expensive. |
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08/16/2006 11:24:35 PM · #7 |
| I had not seen the posts as I was writting the previous one, but stangeghost was right, this is a very limited budget for astrophotography. It's better to save money while you will study and learn in Astronomy topics. This is a long way to go, but it is wonderful at all stages! |
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08/16/2006 11:51:35 PM · #8 |
If you want to get into astrophotography a bit cheaper until you know if you really want to jump into it, you might just start out using your camera. If you are interested in taking star trails, just find the North Star, lock your tripod down and let it expose for awhile. If you are interested in capturing the stars and deep space stuff, you are going to need something that will let your camera compensate for star movement. This can be as cheap as making your own hand cranking barn door tracker to keep up with the stars to buying a equatorial mount to put your camera too. You can skip the telescope all together for awhile. I've seen some amazing images from people that just used their camera and motorized equatorial mount.
I took a bunch of night shots last winter using my 10D and 24-70 2.8L lens. Since I didn't have a equatorial mount, I was limited to 30 second shots so as to minimize star movement. I'd take about 5 or 6 shots and then layer them together in Photoshop later to get more detail and depth in the shots.
I was incouraged with the results, but then I started looking into the price of what I would need to get into it further. I didn't mind spending the money so much, but then I started looking into how much I'd actually be able to use it. To really get good night shots, you need somewhere that is fairly dark... especially in the direction you want to shoot. We have a lot of great dark sky areas in Centeral Oregon, but that is about 3 hours away for me. To drive 3 hours, shoot most of the night (for multiple long period shots) and then drive back... not to mention the best time is in the winter when it's COLD... well, as much as I wanted to shoot stars, I didn't think I'd have the dedication that some people do to make it worth while spending the money to get a good set up. Even if I didn't get a telescope.
So besides spending the money, you have to be willing to commit to what it's going to take to be able to get the shots when the skys are clear. Nothing is more frustrating than being all ready to go spend a night and have the sky overcast. Here in western Oregon, that happens a lot during the winter.
Anyway, I just wanted to throw out the idea of starting out without a telescope at first... unless you have already gone that route and are ready to take the next step.
Mike
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08/17/2006 12:21:17 AM · #9 |
I started into this backwards. I got my telescope first, before I ever had a camera. I knew that the scope I had would allow me to take pictures in the future so I thought I was set. Once I got my camera, one of the first things I wanted to do was put them together. I found out very quickly that I had not done all the homework I should have (and I still have more to do). You will need to spend some considerable money on the accessories if want to get into astrophotography. There are sooo many things that are required if you want to do more than shoot the moon or wide field shots.
I have a Schmidt-Cassegrain scope (Celestron Nexstar 8), a T mount, and T adapter. This allows me to attach my camera to my scope and take pictures of the moon. I have found that this is just the beginning if I really want to do some astrophotography. Here is what I DON'T have that I still need to get for me to shoot deep sky objects (this may not be a complete list):
Wedge: This allows you to polar align your scope so you can take long exposure shots without the drive motors blurring your images.
Tele-Extender: This do-dad is so that you can install your telescope's eyepieces in front of the camera.
Camera Remote Release: Allows you to fire your camera with out touching it. The slightest vibration will ruin any shot of the moon or planets. Using the self timer is one way around this. However, make sure your camera has a "Mirror Lock-up" option. This allows you to raise the mirror before the shutter releases. Just the mirror popping up is enough to blur your pictures.
Bottom line. Please listen to everyone's advise and do your homework before you start down this path. There are a lot of hidden costs associated with this, and I still don't know if I have discovered them all.
Good luck! |
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08/17/2006 11:21:48 AM · #10 |
I would suggest you hook up with an astronomy club in your area. They are usually filled with friendly and knowledgable folks. Some one there may be willing to allow you to use their scope if you provide the appropriate adapter to afix your camera body to thier scope.
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08/24/2006 11:11:20 PM · #11 |
Thank you so much for all your feedback!!!
I made up my mind and go with as what most of you suggest. I first take some star trails shot and make sure every thing is coming as expected and then buy stuff for astro photography but again slowly because I can not invest all in one!!!
Thanks again for your time and sharing the thoughts!!!!!!
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09/03/2008 11:52:38 AM · #12 |
| Just got this article from NASA describing how home astronomers are capturing meteor impacts on the Moon using backyard telescopes and video cameras. It includes a link to software called LunarScan, which is used to analyze the video to help find the impact flashes more quickly. |
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