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| Have been doing wide-angle work (Milky Way, star trail shots, etc.), and would like to get more into astrophotography - initially using my DSLR and a reasonably-priced telescope to do planetary and DSO work - but maybe I'm asking too much. I can see that to do any of these well, it seems that a specialized (expensive!) setup with CCD cameras and possibly multiple telescopes is needed. Any recommendations for a relatively reasonably priced setup that can produce good-quality images? |
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Hello Malibyte! I'm new to AP, only having been doing this for six months. I used my Canon mirrorless with stock lens until June and then got a RedCat 51 and Star Adventurer. The few images I've posted here use the Canon, RedCat and Star Adventurer. That's a pretty basic setup and I'm happy with what I've been doing so far. There will always be next steps--bigger, better, whatever! Everybody here has been very nice and helpful to me, so just reach out! Clear Skies, Daniel |
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Hey @Malibyte! I’m also new, shooting mostly wide-angle and in SoCal! If it were me (and it is) I’d start with a tracking mount so you can get more integration time. When I was out shooting the Perseids last week I was SHOCKED that M31 was clearly visible in my 16mm shots. When I get my SAM pro, I’m going to test out what I can do with my 70-300mm on M31. Welcome to the struggle. Clear Skies, Clint |
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Hi, Daniel! I have a Star Adventurer Pro Pack, a Nikon D750 with full range of lenses - 14-24mm f/2.8, which I use for Milky Way landscapes and star-trails shots, a 28-300mm Nikon f/3.5-5.6, and Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3. I'm hoping that I can use the two longer lenses for some deep-sky shooting in the meantime. The RedCat has a 250mm focal length, right? So how is it more useful (with a DSLR) than the lenses I already own? Thanks very much for the come-back! Bob |
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Hi, Clint - I just got the SAM Pro set up, and I'm waiting for a beefier tripod than the CF one I currently use to come from Amazon (the SAM Pro + my camera and the long lens together weigh something like 10 kg, so I ordered one that can handle 12). So, I haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'm very surprised that you can clearly see M31 in a wide-angle shot! That's one I want to shoot. Where in SoCal are you? Beat the heat! Bob |
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Hej Bob! First, I'm new and no expert on anything except my own ignorance...and even that I'm not sure about... Having said that, I'd say that your lenses will suit you fine (mine did), but I opted for the RedCat because it is specifically designed for astrophotography. The optics in our day-to-day lenses are meant for daytime work and that becomes evident when you start looking to post-process your data... BUT, I'm no expert and you certainly don't have to get new glass to do some great work. What I did was push the limits of my existing equipment until it became too frustrating, and I moved on from there...for me, the RedCat was a baby step, but qualitatively was a huge improvement in my imaging (I only had a 150mm lens, unlike you). Clint's words here are particularly wise--you have some good glass--get a tracking mount first and worry about lenses later... and... Welcome to the struggle! Daniel |
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Hey Bob! Welcome. I am also fairly new to this and am 3 months in coming from stock camera and lenses......... I am a canon man  .With my limited experience I know that with what you have you can do Deep sky, planetary etc But you will not have great resolution and you will struggle with processing your images. You will be better off sticking to large objects in particular like Andromeda and some of the larger nebulae. What you will find with time is that your camera has a couple of limitations, 1. It’s not cooled and 2. It’s got a filter which is biased towards green (there is not that much green in space) which will cause you frustration. If you want to start with small steps I recommend getting an equatorial mount and a small refractor 70-80mm (this will be forgiving and won’t need maintenance) and stick with your existing camera until you really get to grips and push everything to it’s limits. Using a mount will allow you to get longer exposures especially with a guide camera, allowing you to collect more light. You will need the mount to accommodate the weight of the scope which is where the Star Adventurer will fall down. Having said all of the above, you will be able to get some good images with your existing gear as long as you keep the exposures short and take lots of images. Explore this site and look at images that have used DSLRs and similar apertures to what you will use. You will get an idea of what you can do versus a scope for DSO, a scope for planetary and scopes for wide field. There is a lot to get your head around. I hope this this helps a little. Clear Skies! Brad |
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@Malibyte, my SAM pro is on backorder :|, really can’t wait to try it out. I’m in the San Diego area (Chula Vista specifically), you? -Clint |
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Clint: @Clint - Simi Valley, in eastern Ventura County. Yep - just got mine set up and calibrated yesterday - can't wait to actually start shooting! |
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Bradley Watson: Hi, Bradley! Thanks very much for the advice. I used to be a Canon guy - going way back to my old AE-1 film camera, but my last one was an early DSLR (20D). Went over to the "dark side" about 10-12 years ago. Both are great....I got seduced by a friend's Nikon back then and impulsively switched over, and have been with Nikon since. Right now, it seems that the Star Adventurer is able to handle my setup with the long lenses, but I agree, a telescope would be too heavy, most likely. Baby steps...for now I'm going to see what I can do with my current setup....inevitably I'll figure out that I will need more equipment (and more money) and will likely move up. I've been looking at scopes, and there doesn't seem to be a consensus as to which scope would be a best first one. The long focal-length ones are pretty well limited to solar-system objects, but the shorter ones don't do planets near as well. It looks like I'll eventually need to spend some money on both setups (don't tell my wife!) but your suggestion looks like a pretty good one. This site has a huge number of images, and hopefully by looking at the acquisition data, I'll be able to figure out some decent techniques. Thanks again! Much appreciated! Bob |
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Daniel Erickson: Thanks, Daniel! I will probably follow a similar course - do the best I can with my current setup for a while and then move up. Take care, and "clear skies!" Bob |
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@Malibyte, I lived in LA for ~12 years, been to Simi many times  . You’ve got easy access to some relatively dark sites up off the 5/grapevine!Clint: |
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The dark side I guess that makes me Yoda! Re long focal length scopes. I have a Mak 127 (1500mm focal) which I have been using for DSO, it’s primarily for planetary because it’s an f12 scope so needs bright objects. You can get long focal length scopes that have a low f-ratio which will enable you to do both DSO and planetary (as long as you can reduce the amount of light sufficiently), this I have learned the hard way. I have been spending hours collecting light and this has been difficult because of the demands on my mount due to the long exposures needed, it can’t give me the accuracy so stars are blurry and I throw away A LOT of images. I have a small refractor now, 1st use yesterday, it’s looking very good and I have round stars, it’s pretty good for large objects as its got a bigger field of view and I can image at a much faster rate. I won’t really use this for galaxies due to lower resolution. I have a Vixen ed80sf which has good glass so is really good value for money. Similar are skywatcher evostars 72 or 80 ed. If there is a purchase to be made make sure you get a good mount that can take you a long way with your increasing experience in AP. i think it’s possible to go on and go on so I will stop here. Good luck! |
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I am also in So Cal, just getting started in AP. I have a 72mm Skywatcher scope and an EQ6R Pro mount. I am interested in wide field DSO imagining and I am hitting a really steep learning curve trying to get all my gear to work. Finding little things like getting focus and PA to be a challenge, but I am sure I will figure it out. I am always looking for good spots to shoot without driving for hours to get away from the LA lights. So far, Malibu and Topanga are looking like the best candidates (Bortle 5 rather than 8+). Curious to know where everyone else goes and if there are any popular spots? |
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Clint: Yes...but my preferred spot(s) will be up the 395 up into the Owens Valley and Mono County (skies are clear and dark in Mammoth Lakes...hopefully will be skiing and shooting pictures up there this winter). :-) |
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Bradley - thanks for the recommendations! Hopefully next year will be less chaotic (and less expensive) and will begin looking for some added gear then and will be referring back to your message. Much appreciated! Bob |
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Douglas Thomas: There is a spot north of Moorpark a few miles northwest of me, off Grimes Canyon Rd., which is a class 4-5 (better than my backyard's class 6). That's where I shot the pic of the comet. Not great, but better than in the city. Still too polluted for good Milky Way photography, though. Went down to Zuma Beach not too long ago, still (depending on location) too bright. |
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| What LPF are people using? I just picked up the Optolong L-eXtreme. Looking forward to seeing what kinds result it gets. |
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Hello! I am also from SoCal. I am a beginner. I haven’t started imaging yet. Me and my dad have aligned and set up our starsense camera and we are just exploring whatever we can see with our celestron c6! Clear skies! - Precious |
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I am also from SoCal, and will soon mount a StarSense Explorer on my Explore Scientific 12" Dobsonian. I wish you guys success! BL Valencia, CA |
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Hello, I'm also in Southern California (LA, specifically the valley). Number one priority would be to get the beefiest and best mount you can afford. Telescopes, cameras, lenses, etc will come and go but a good mount will always be a constant. Something like on of the little skytrackers are great for short focal length wide field stuff (under ~200mm) but you'll outgrow it. That said, the sky trackers are great to have, I use one whenever I'm doing landscape work. But for serious deep sky stuff you've gotta start at the mount. During the summer you should check out Mt. Pinos. Parking lot at the top (search for Mt Pinos Nordic Base) can easily have 40+ astronomers set up on new moon weekend if the weather is nice. I typically go to Pinos if I only have one night, but I'll usually go to the Eastern Mojave/Death Valley during the winter and the Inyo Mountains during the summer. |
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Hey Dan, Thanks for the speedy reply. I am a member of the Santa Clarita Astronomy Group and we go to Chuchupate (near Mt. Pinot) all the time. I would be interested in specifically knowing exactly where you go in the Eastern Mojave/Death Valley and Inyo Mountains. Do you have the names of places or lat-longitude numbers? Thanks! BL |
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I generally stick to remote spots that are free and are isolated enough to where I don't have to deal with lights or campfires from other campers. Also like to let my dog hang out off leash. The majority of these spots are down dirt roads with no cell reception so always have a good spare tire. My current favorite spot in the Mojave in Granite Pass. 34.81408117699265, -115.61719375102717 It's a few thousand feet elevation and I've found it's sheltered from the wind more than most areas of the Mojave. Also has cell reception. You've got about a mile of dirt roads but it's doable by passenger car. There are seven or so dispersed camping areas, first come first serve and all of them have plenty of rocks and vegatation to block any light from other campers. I just spent five nights around the last new moon and I was the only person there the whole time. Little light dome from Vegas in the north west but not too bad. No services, pack it in pack it out. The last year I've started to create little videos of each spot, including timelapses of the night sky from the cardinal directions. Here is Granite Pass https://youtu.be/xBhKX96q3nw Amboy Crater is a popular winter spot in the Mojave, somewhat near Granite Pass. 34.557047592370644, -115.78112348990246 Little bit of light from Roy's Motel on Rt 66 but if you position your car strategically it's not a problem. You'll usually find other astronomers there around the new moon. Not a campsite, more of a parking lot for the trail head to Amboy Crater. There is also a large overflow lot just before the main lot. Bathrooms and picnic tables. So-so cell reception, paved roads. https://youtu.be/i7EhoaZFl6w Trona Pinnacles - 35.61838683208204, -117.37361593931524 Pretty dark, awesome place to do nightscapes. Pit toilet but no other services. If you have 4x4 you can go pretty deep into the pinnacles to find a nice secluded spot. Bit of a light dome to the North from the town of Trona. Got about seven miles of washboard dirt road, doable in a passenger car but better in a truck. There is usually cell reception. Panamint Valley - 36.08069657781777, -117.22202431285974 Just west of Death Valley proper but an hour or two closer. Head towards Ballarat and continue on Indian Ranch Road until you find a spot you like. Washboard dirt road for a few miles but should be doable in a passenger car. No reception or services. For Death Valley I'll usually do Eureka Dunes dry camp. 37.11216903883487, -117.68091043216666 Best to have a truck or SUV with high clearance, you've got 10 miles of washboard dirt road. No reception or services but it's very dark. Free and first come first serve. There is a small campground with a pit toilet at the GPS location I provided. There are some more private turn outs a little further east down Eureka Rd but the road turns to deep sand quick after the first dry camp so be sure to have 4x4. This is the darkest site I've been to in southern California. Another good spot in Death Valley is Mesquite Springs Campground. 36.9626809323363, -117.36767452942556 First come first serve and I think it's around $15 a night. Very dark, bathrooms, water, no cell reception. Easy to find a spot away from other campers and their lights/fires. Grandview Campground in the Inyo Mountains is excellent during the summer. 37.33381950354476, -118.18762330659612 Also first come first serve, you should be able to find a spot unless you show up on a Saturday afternoon. It's at 8,000' elevation and very very dry so transparency is great. This is a popular spot and you'll find at least one other person with a telescope set up. No cell reception, accessible by passenger car. https://youtu.be/clGNmVnkfgY |
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Dan, Thanks so much for the info. I will slowly go over it and plan to visit some of those sites. Grandview and White Mountain are at the top of our list, as well as Chuchupate near Mt. Pinot. What scopes do you normally use for visuals and imaging? Bruce |
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Dan, For visual I have a 20" F5 Telekit with a Galaxy Optics primary For imaging my primary scope is a DIY 8" f4 newtonian (Mirrors from Orion) riding on an EQ6 One thing I've noticed about Chuchupate vs Pinos... The parking lot at Chuchupate is never really much warmer than the top of Pinos (even though it's a couple thousand feet lower elevation), plus you have more local light pollution sources. If the road is open up to the top of Pinos the extra elevation can really help with transparency. It's also a little bit darker and the surrounding trees help block the light dome from LA. |
