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Hello, everyone, just starting out and actually planning to do some "comparison shopping" of the images here to make future equipment decisions. It's a daunting task, your images are all so incredible! Right now I all have a modified DSLR and a 16mm f/2.0 lens which was enough to "get my feet wet" (basically Milky Way images thus far). I'm leaning toward an APO refractor and looking at WO, Explore Scientific, and Orion, especially the very low-cost Orion 80ED. Feel free to share your thoughts on any of these! Clear skies! --Bob |
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Welcome to the Astrobin community from another Phoenix area guy! I think you will find Astrobin to be a terrific resource. I did the same thing as you are doing, i.e., looking at all the wonderful work on this site and trying to glean as much information as I could about equipment. I think your idea of going with a small-ish refractor is a very good idea and I don't think you can go wrong with the Orion ED80. It has a great price-point but I think it is good enough so that you will likely want to keep it a part of your "arsenal" for many years. I would advise you to learn as much as you can about mounts. In my humble opinion, that is the single most important element of an imaging system. Lots of them out there costing from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. An option for these things and more is the pre-owned equipment route. Anyhow, I wish you luck and I hope you get the great enjoyment out of this avocation that I get! |
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Thanks, neighbor!  Appreciate the feedback, I sometimes have to check myself from going the "this is the least expensive" route and then kicking myself for not spending a bit more. But in this case, it seems to be a pretty well-regarded and respectable imaging instrument. Orion sells it in a kit with their Sirius mount + diagonal and eyepiece for $1750 and that's probably the path I'll take (unless Bill Gates adopts me...).Thanks for the advice, I should look at the pre-owned options. Cheers, --Bob |
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Welcome Bob! I'm in the east valley.. been doing Astrophotography for about 3 and a half years now. I enjoy this site a lot. You will learn a lot from people on this site. sounds like you are on your way with a small refractor and the Sirius mount. I would suggest buying PixInsight. I wish I would have bought it before I did. It's a all in one package... calibrate, integration, and post processing. It's really not that expensive, one time fee, and you have it forever. Anyways, the most important thing is to have fun. Good luck, I look forward to seeing your images! Mike |
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| Thanks Mike! Good to know, I’ve seen references to PixInSight (and Deep Sky Stacker of course). I have to sort of laugh at your “cost” disclaimer, if buying a software tool is a concern you’ve probably chosen the wrong hobby! |
