0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Hi, I am looking at setups like the following and was curious if anyone has shot with either of them:
Any examples of images shot with the exact setups above? Thanks! |
 #... |
|---|
|
The Orion setup looks good, but the scope's focuser is single-speed. For safer focusing in photography a dual-speed (10:1) focuser is worth gold. Please also bear in mind that you may wish to add an optional "field flattener" to compensate for comatic aberration. The Meade refractor is an achromat, meaning it will produce chromatic aberration which disqualifies the scope for imaging. Spending money on the mount will pay on long term. A stable mount with halfway accurate tracking is essential for imaging. Payload is important because you may wish to plug in a larger (heavier) telescope later. A specified max payload of 15kg means your gear should not exceed, say, 8kg. Since you will need to employ autoguiding for longer exposures say, over 60 seconds, a super-rock-solid-heavy mount is not essential for short APOs. |
 #... |
|---|
|
Ap under 2000 dollars is not possible in my opinion. mount, guiding camera, scope, reducer, flattener, focuser, masks, guide scope, software, pole alignment camera, guiding camera, main camera, filters, wires, shield, dew shields, accessories, 10k minimum. set a plan, otherwise, it will cost you 2x 10k, due to poor early choices. filters and wheel alone maay cost you 1 - 2k, Good images requires good equipment, a good mount is 2 or 3x 2k and don't do what i did, ccd color, a waste of time and money. Mono is better in my opinion. But my opinion, means very little. Answer your first question, planets or wide field (nebulae) or both? Expand your budget a little and Good luck. Map it out before you start buying. Goto mount will set you up on the 2x 10k road... and remember, what i think, is based on the road I took. Many roads lead to the same place. i will upload for you 10 to 40s unguided images taken with goto mount. clear skies. map 1: GE mount ~ 50 lbs pay load , rrefractor f4 or lower, mono cmos, guide scope, guide cmos (no filter) = black and white very detailed images. Strong platform to built on... take short exposure at first and start learning how to guide... images are better and better. map2: goto mount, cmos camera, unguided, 10 to 40 s dso, -> no details, poor images due to field rotation, no more improvements -> equipment obsolete within 6 months, buy again map3: wait, ask questions, difference between goto and ge, understand scope F, camera pixel size, etc. refine your purchases so it can scale up the image quality. i started with map 2. Map 2 is good to see if you will enjoy the hobby. Note: 10k canadian dollars ~ 6,000 us $ |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Thanks guys! I've decided to do a custom build with an HEQ5, WO scope, and a ZWO ASIAIR PRO guide setup to being then build it out from there. Ill be up and running soon! |
#... |
|---|
 150 x 20 sec taken with a goto mount compare the image above with a guided image. the image below is not good, but you can see what longer exposure will do. More details, more colors etc. m51 -guided. 10x 240 s same uncooled ccd camera for both images. |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
Rich Sky: Thanks, Rich! im slowly pricing together my build and should be shooting soon. Follow me to be one of the first to see my entry into this realm. I couldn’t do it without all the help from folks like you on AstroBin. |
#... |
|---|
my sct evo goto mount setup for visual and planet camera attached. |
#... |
|---|
|
Schmaks, equipment is only 40% of an image. The other 60% is processing. you can have the best scope, but not have an image without good data processing. clear skies |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
Rich Sky: In time I’ll work through all the wrinkles in the learning curve. Fortunately, part of what I do for a living is digital imaging so some of my skill set will prove helpful. More soon! |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
Rich Sky: Very nice—looks fun! Where in the world is that beautiful vantage point? |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
Rich Sky: Very nice—looks fun! Where in the world is that beautiful vantage point? |
 #... |
|---|
Rich Sky: Stunningly beautiful Rich! Although, looks too cold for me ole Floridian 😉! I would like to stop by in the summer! |
#... |
|---|
|
Hi Uwe, good to hear from you. You are welcome to visit. You and I go in opposite direction. Sometimes, i make my way to Switzerland, from mountains to mountains. Boring lifefor some, as a structural geologist, I thrive in high places. the higher the village in swiss land, the better for my family and i. a few winter ago while heliskiing, the pilot was from Zermatt, and jokingly, i told him I prefered Saas Fee. It was a joke, and then I told him all the vilages i had visited, his reply was, well, you know more places in suisse than I do... He is/was a great pilot, with precision and safety. Yesterday was -27C with a foot of new snow. I have not been imaging due to clouds. i saw your recent images, well done as usual. Clear skies Uwe. Richard i try to pass on the knowledge i got from you  |
#... |
|---|
|
Thanks Rich for the nice words, and I am all with you on the high mountains, in the summer that is! I spent a lot of vacation time in the western US and Canada, love that area! One day I will go there in the Winter time, maybe once I retired! Schmaks: about your choices (if these are the only ones!!): no brainer for me, the Orion ED80 is probably a very good starter telescope (single speed focuser is not the greatest though), and you will be surprised how many wonderful images you can get with it! Guiding is essential, unless you spend a ton of money for a stationary setup with a very expensive mount, then no guiding might be an option (see for example the most prominent imager here on AstroBin "Equinoxx" (Andreas)). Or you go with very low focal lengths; believe me ... they are great but you want more after some time :-). I started with the Explore Scientific 4" refractor (f=714mm, with reducer down close to 500mm), in hindsight a good choice for a beginner. Long focal lengths (over 1000mm) are tough to handle at the beginning, I still struggle with it since my mount is not quite perfect for it. There is always the question: how much money do you want to spend for something that you are not (yet) sure if you will continue with it. And unfortunately the starting costs are already pretty steep, hence double difficult to decide. I am in the process to finish up a presentation dealing with this problem, title is: Astrophotography for the beginner. I will present this probably this year to a broader audience at work (my company I am working at has quite a few employees ;-), the solar eclipse presentation filled the large room). There are some ways to start up cheaper, but Rich is correct, it will cost around $2000 for a decent setup if you do not have a DSLR already that you are ready to modify for the night sky. Warning though :-): if you are stuck with it expect costs that will be much closer to $10000, I believe I already passed this margin, not sure since I do NOT want to know :-). Processing will be another important part, I do have PixInsight and Photoshop, I can only recommend. There are other programs out there, but since I do not know them I cannot judge. Hope this helps with your decision. Maybe one more advice: look at all images here and look what setup was used to obtain them. Or you can search for a specific scope or mount and see the results. That will guide you as well for sure!! Uwe P.S.: watch the YouTube channel Astrobackyard, Trevor has a lot of good tips for beginners. One thing though that I got out of it was bad: NEVER buy an uncooled camera, and if possible a MONO chrome, you will not regret it! |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Thanks, Uwe! I broke the ice and bought an HEQ5. I’ll grab a WO scope here soon to start shooting! From there I think a ZWO setup for guiding and build up from there! Everyone on here has been very helpful and all the images are inspiring (including yours). Where on the globe are your shooting from? I’m currently in Texas. |
#... |
|---|
|
I believe that is a very good choice, I love the WO scopes, will get a new one soon (the 132). Before that I have to work on my mount, has to be more accurate than it is now. I made some progress, the dec axis looks pretty much perfect for the setup I have (not stationary, have to set it up every nigt I am out). The RA axis is still a bit shaky, at the equator I cannot get the guiding better than 1.3", which is for very high magnification not good enough. You will find out soon that guiding is a menace sometimes, I hope you are luckier than I was! I am shooting into the sky from Florida, close to Jacksonville. Bortle 6 to 7. RGB is a challenge under these conditions, but narrow band works pretty well, which is very nice since getting your gear up and running at a remote darker site is not that easy. Once I retire I will go for that once a year, that will be fun! If we are all still around at that time ... scary times right now! All the best! And clear skies!! Uwe |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Thanks, Uwe! We are in a similar bottle level here in Austin—and I look forward to making some trips to clearer skys, but will take advantage of those nights that are clear. Stay tuned and thanks for the good wishes! |
