Astrophotography

lucas_900 · Jun 20, 2005

I have been lookin around for a fairly decent scope to buy and was suggested here to get a Orion Inteliscope. I agree this looks a lot better than my original idea, but I would also like to do some astrophitography and so for that I need a scope that can track objects so im back to my original scope. Basically Im wondering if this is a good scope to start with with astrophotography, and if not what would be? I don't want to spend too much but I do want a reasonably good apature which is why I was drawn to that scope, but im a complete novice so would appreciate your advice/ comments.

tfwthom · Jun 20, 2005

See link.. http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=askastronomer&Number=7962&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart= Forget about astrophotography for now. No that isn't a good scope for astrophotography....mount isn't stable enought. Scopes and mounts for astrophotography cost big bucks...even though Brad gets some nice pics on a shoestring. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> www.siriuslookers.org </div>

bbrock · Jun 20, 2005

Lucas If you are new to amature astronomy, you have an enormous learning curve to climb and much equipment to become proficient with before you attempt astrophotography. -- give yourself time to learn. I suggest you start with a Dobsonian Telescope. Learn the sky and attend star parties. Astrophotography is tough business to jump into up front. You will likely fail at great expense and frustration. I suggest an Orion Dobsonian www.telescope.com . Clear Skies Bill

nevers · Jul 1, 2005

Hi bbk, The only one messing up the thread is me - by not paying attention to it - sorry, I'm only just finding your pix today. Can you tell us a little about them? How many frames if more then one. Exposure times? I think you said it was with a cam corder - is that right?

Astrosag · Jul 23, 2005

Hey all, hope alls it well with everyone. I've had my newtonian reflector (6") for about four years now and have thoroughly and utterly enjoyed it. Now that i have some money (from an internship), I am looking into astrophotography. I know very little and really just need a basic understanding of it. Furthermore, I've been looking into getting a DSLR camera for regular use but thought that it'd be best for me to buy one for regular use and one that works well for astrophotography. So which camera, to those who are experienced in the matter, would you suggest getting? I looked into the Nikon D70 but I hear its not great for astrophotography (only from one review so its not a solid judgement I'm making here). The Canon 20D (which I'm assuming replaces the 10D- which I hear is great for astrophoto) is also another camera I'm looking at. Lastly, I'm up in Everett, Washington interning for Boeing right now and a few friends and I are planning on going to this massive (700 people) star party in early august called the Table Mountain Star Party. I was wondering if any of our fellow space.com posters were also attending this event. I think it'd be cool to run into a fellow space.com-er. Anyways I appreciate any help you can lend me (as always) and hope you have a good weekend.

bbrock · Jul 23, 2005

I asume you have tracking on your 6" scope. Have you thought of the Meade DSI or DSI Pro. I'm an astrophoto idiot, but I use this with some success. Clear Skies Bill

Astrosag · Jul 23, 2005

I do have a dual axis motor drive for my equatorial mount but I have never used it. I have not looked into the Meade DSI but will look into it.

bbrock · Jul 26, 2005

I have a question. I have been using Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 and I have found out that LRGB images are combined with more advanced versions of Photoshop. I checked into Photoshop and it seems there are many to choose from. Which is best for astrophotography post processing? Which is the latest and greatest? Clear Skies Bill

igorsboss · Jul 26, 2005

I also live near Everett, and I've done some astrophotography, and I've been to the table mountain star party twice. Regarding the star party: DON'T MISS IT! If you've never been to a star party, this is a great one to experience. Expect to camp out for the night. Does your telescope have a clock drive? You'll need this for astrophotos.

igorsboss · Jul 26, 2005

Oops, I should have read closer... Yes, you have a clock drive and an equitorial mount. Great! Everett seeing is terrible, but you can still practice precise polar alignment of your scope. Make sure you can do this very well before the star party.

spacehead · Jul 26, 2005

I live in Downtown Seattle, i'd like to go to that star party for three reasons: 1. i never been to a star party 2. I'm a noob to astonomy. 3. I never been to Everett I was recently given an old Meade 60Az-M , But i am looking forward to purchasing a much more powerful telescope. Does anyone here have any suggestions they can give me? My budget will be around $300-$400 U.S. I dont have a car to attend this star Party but will be having time off that month, what are the dates for this event. If anyone can help me out with info regarding the Party and purchasing a telescope (along, with a possible way to get to this party) i'd highly appreciate it. v_magal916@msn.com

igorsboss · Jul 27, 2005

Uh oh... According to http://www.tmspa.com/, registration for 2005 is closed, because they have reached their 700-person limit. Walk-ins will not be permitted. Please respect this limit. I've been there... The camping and parking facilities are extremely limited, and the access road is narrow and winding. Maybe next year. Or, grab a telescope and go next week. The site is very dark, probably the best site in our area. You don't need a star party to enjoy the view...

bbrock · Aug 5, 2005

I have a question. When using a focal reducer, the imaging speed increases due to a faster focal ratio. Why? The aperture is the same, only the telescope focal length has be effectively reduced. ???? If I use a 0.5 focal reducer on a f/5 refractor, the focal length is now f/2.5, the field of view has doubled, the magnification is cut in half, how much will this affect the exposure time? -- all other things being equal. Clear Skies Bill

Astrosag · Sep 18, 2005

Hey all, been a while since I posted, but worry not, still here! I'm looking into getting a camera (DSLR) both for recreational use (landscape, people photography) and for a step towards getting into astrophotography. I'm looking at the Canon 20D (the Canon 20Da, suited better or astrophotography, is simply too much). Anyways, I was just hoping to get some feedback...good or bad. I'm by no means a pro and photography won't be a serious hobby...casual photography. But I do want a camera that will do justice to the national parks and hiking trips I take and people photos. Anyways, I'm looking, in terms of feedback from this post, on astrophotography and if the 20D is well suited, overkill, or just right for it. I'm sure its well suited, but not sure if there are other cameras that I should be looking at. Thanks in advance to any help you can give. Good day!

nevers · Oct 30, 2005

Hey all, It's been a long time coming - I finally got off my duff and set up my picture taking 'scope. This is the end result of my efforts.

nevers · Nov 20, 2005

This will probably get lost in the shuffle in no time at all, but, tonight I rigged my little Orion 80mm ST Refractor onto the AstroView mount and tried to take a few pictures. There are always questions about different kinds of 'scopes and what their disadvatages and advantages are. I thought I'd try for an example of what Chromatic Abberation looks like through an Achromatic type Refractor. Below is a shot of Mars and only 17x. The details of how I took it are on the picture. It is a fairly good representation of what I see through the eyepiece - as far as the coloring goes. At 17x I cannot see Mars as a disc but the camera can. It's the purple coloring that I'm trying to point out. On Venus, Jupiter and Saturn, the coloring is even worse. For the sake of the 'scope, it does a very good job on large DSO's in dark skies as well as the Moon.

markj_87 · Nov 21, 2005

Hi all, I would like to get into basic astrophotography, but I'm unsure how. All I'm looking to do right now is take nice photos of the moon and the sky in general with nothing more than my digital camera. It's a FujiFilm Finepix S304 and has 3.4 megapixels and 6x zoom. It's a nice camera for the price. There is a review of it here: http://www.dcviews.com/_fuji/s304.htm I can take good pictures of sunsets and clouds and such but whenever I take it outside on a clear night to get some photos, I have trouble getting anything at all. I have fairly dark skies, but stars and planets don't show up in photos and the moon is barely even visible on them! I know it's not a specialist astrophotography camera or anything but I expected to be able to get shots of the stars and such. I've heard things about 'time exposures' and 'image stacking' but I'm not sure what these are or if I can do them. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.

nevers · Nov 21, 2005

Hi Mark, Your camera is less adaptable to taking astrophotos then mine but it is still certainly possible to take some nice astrophotography. It looks like your shutter will only stay open a maximum of 3 seconds and your ISO rating is 100 - those are the things that will hinder your efforts. Your best bet at trying to capture anything will be to attatch the camera to the eyepiece of a telescope - it's called afocal photography. A couple of companies sell the attatchment for around $20. A telescope that has a tracking motor will be a must also. If you don't have a telescope it's going to be tough going. Have you tried setting your camera on it's maximum exposure time while trying to capture stars? Very dark skies will help your efforts. The stacking program is here: RegiStax 3 - it's a free download! Good luck to ya, don't hesitate to ask more questions. Astrophotography can be very gratifiying but also one of the most frustrating things I've ever tried to do. As with almost anything, money will solve most of your problems. Most people that take astrophotos have probably spent at least a couple grand on equipment if not more. Keep in touch!

markj_87 · Nov 21, 2005

Thanks for all the info, Brad - that was very helpful. At the moment I don't own a telescope and I'm not really looking to buy one yet. I will eventually, but that may be some years off. I don't really have the right kind of money to buy a worthwhile telescope right now. Just at the moment I'll be happy taking photos of constellations and planets and the general night sky with just my camera. Tonight is another clear night so I think I'll get outside and see if I can work out how to use the 3 second time exposures because I'm yet to use them. Hopefully I'll get some better results.

Would you mind explaining to me what an 'ISO rating' is and why it's important? Thanks again for the info. Mark.

nevers · Dec 12, 2005

Today, somebody that visited my website wrote me and asked me a question about a bright star in the sky - I'm assuming it was Sirius. Anyway, just to make sure (from her description of it's position) it wasn't Mars she was asking about, I opened up Starry Night and found an interesting thing - tonight, Mars would be very close to the Moon. So, I set my little 'scope up in the backyard in anticipation of some clear skies. I got them and this picture!

markj_87 · Dec 12, 2005

Nice picture, Brad! I remember seeing that event but I wasn't able to take a picture. I hear the moon will occult the Pleiades at certain times next year, so that should be a great photo opportunity.

tfwthom · Feb 21, 2006

Bump this just cuz I like NEVERS's pics and some good info <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> www.siriuslookers.org </div>

nevers · Feb 22, 2006

I lost my SteadyPix camera mount...ARGH...!!! I guess that's what I get when I was going to use it to try and take pictures of airplanes instead of stars...

tfwthom · Mar 17, 2006

Digging around my hard drive since SDC was down last night and found this test shot. (I don't remember if I posted it before) I was just testing film for color and the lens for field. Cygnus area from clubs dark site Stoneman Lake area. About 7500 ASL taken last spring 5 min exposure Pentax ME 28mm Macro lens Fuji 800 Piggybacked on LX90 mounted on the wedge <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> www.siriuslookers.org </div>

tfwthom · Mar 17, 2006

A what not to do photo. Test photo of Milkyway. LX90 not on the wedge (LX90 in alt/az) Wrong film (Kodak 800) doesn't pick up red. I just attached the camera without moving the piggyback mount to the front of the scope. (dark shapes are the scope and the telrad) This is just a test shot I took to see if the Kodak would work. I hadn't planned on taking any astrophotos that night and had the Kodak film in to do some daytime shots. That's why the first post says "To anyone new to astronomy that is thinking about astrophotography my advice is to FORGET ABOUT IT! Astrophotographers are masochists. Astrophotography can test one's patience and dedication to the limits and at the same time be both satisfying and rewarding. Save you sanity and just look at the pictures someone else has taken." <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> www.siriuslookers.org </div>

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