How to start?

[Ricardo_Savino]

<p>Hi folks.</p><p>Well,&nbsp;finally&nbsp;I&nbsp;manage&nbsp;to&nbsp;save&nbsp;some&nbsp;money&nbsp;to&nbsp;buy&nbsp;a&nbsp;telescope&nbsp;and&nbsp;enter&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;astrophotography&nbsp;world!</p><p>But&nbsp;I&nbsp;have&nbsp;a&nbsp;small&nbsp;problem,&nbsp;I&nbsp;don&acute;t&nbsp;know&nbsp;where&nbsp;to&nbsp;start.&nbsp;Ok,&nbsp;I&nbsp;know,&nbsp;I&nbsp;know,&nbsp;a&nbsp;telescope&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;camera&nbsp;will&nbsp;be&nbsp;a&nbsp;nice&nbsp;step&nbsp;but&nbsp;I&nbsp;don&acute;t&nbsp;know&nbsp;ecxatly&nbsp;wht&nbsp;to&nbsp;buy!&nbsp;I&nbsp;mean,&nbsp;the&nbsp;camera&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;a&nbsp;problem,&nbsp;since&nbsp;I&nbsp;have&nbsp;a&nbsp;large&nbsp;options&nbsp;at&nbsp;hand,&nbsp;but&nbsp;the&nbsp;telescope&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;problem.</p><p>&nbsp;Theres a wide range to choose, refractor, reflectors, cassegrain, dobsonians... and, always that I make a research I find many sites that tells me the pros and the bad of each one. So, I&acute;m kind confused.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Let&nbsp;me&nbsp;tell&nbsp;you&nbsp;my&nbsp;idea.&nbsp;I&nbsp;wanna&nbsp;take&nbsp;photos&nbsp;from&nbsp;nebulas&nbsp;and&nbsp;galaxies&nbsp;mostly,&nbsp;planets&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;my&nbsp;go,&nbsp;but,&nbsp;a&nbsp;jupiter&nbsp;or&nbsp;two&nbsp;is&nbsp;never&nbsp;too&nbsp;much.</p><p>I&acute;m&nbsp;a&nbsp;good&nbsp;naked-eye&nbsp;observer&nbsp;and&nbsp;I&nbsp;can&nbsp;recognize&nbsp;many&nbsp;stars,&nbsp;constellations,&nbsp;planets...&nbsp;so,&nbsp;the&nbsp;night&nbsp;sky&nbsp;is&nbsp;not&nbsp;new&nbsp;to&nbsp;me.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The&nbsp;fact&nbsp;is,&nbsp;I&nbsp;live&nbsp;in&nbsp;brazil,&nbsp;so,&nbsp;this&nbsp;kind&nbsp;of&nbsp;equipamente&nbsp;is&nbsp;kind&nbsp;expensive&nbsp;here,&nbsp;importation&nbsp;taxes&nbsp;and&nbsp;other&nbsp;abuses&nbsp;are&nbsp;common.</p><p>Let&nbsp;me&nbsp;put&nbsp;in&nbsp;this&nbsp;way,&nbsp;just&nbsp;for&nbsp;you&nbsp;guys&nbsp;understand&nbsp;price and taxes here:</p><p>A&nbsp;telescope&nbsp;that&nbsp;costs&nbsp;300&nbsp;dollars&nbsp;in&nbsp;US&nbsp;will&nbsp;cost&nbsp;in&nbsp;reais&nbsp;about&nbsp;4.83&nbsp;times&nbsp;more&nbsp;(see&nbsp;the&nbsp;abuse?&nbsp;the&nbsp;dolar&nbsp;cost&nbsp;here&nbsp;1.70&nbsp;reais).</p><p>So,&nbsp;I&nbsp;have&nbsp;only&nbsp;400&nbsp;dollars&nbsp;to&nbsp;buy&nbsp;something.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Wht&nbsp;do&nbsp;you&nbsp;guys&nbsp;recomend&nbsp;to&nbsp;me?&nbsp;I&nbsp;never&nbsp;had&nbsp;one&nbsp;real&nbsp;telescope,&nbsp;but&nbsp;I&nbsp;think&nbsp;it&acute;s&nbsp;not&nbsp;that&nbsp;hard&nbsp;to&nbsp;use.</p><p>So,&nbsp;I&acute;m&nbsp;counting&nbsp;on&nbsp;you&nbsp;to&nbsp;help&nbsp;me!!!<img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" />&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>CHeers,&nbsp;and&nbsp;many&nbsp;thanks!!!&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#ff0000"><font size="3">Look up and feel small!</font></font></strong> </div>

 

[RixPJ]

<p>Ricardo,</p><p>That's a tough question to answer.&nbsp; If you already own a laptop computer then the cheapest kind of astrophotograpy to get into would be planetary imaging using a webcam.&nbsp; This doesn't need the telescope to track automatically (although it certainly helps).</p><p>Deep space imaging requires long exposures, so the telescope needs to automatically track (which is more expensive).&nbsp; Eventually you will find that automatic tracking alone is not accurate enough and so the next step will be 'autoguiding', but that requires more equipment. </p><p>I think you are going to have difficulty in finding a GoTo (computerized tracking) scope and suitable camera for deep space imaging all within your $400 budget.&nbsp; Maybe you can buy your imaging rig one step at a time.&nbsp; For $400 you could get a small GoTo telescope and use it for visual use while saving for the camera etc.</p><p>The best value scopes I have seen are those sold by Orion Telescopes&nbsp; </p><p>They do a nice 4.5in imaging reflector at a very cheap price but you would still need a mount for it.</p><p>Some useful articles on Astrophotography (including one by me <img src="http://sitelife.space.com/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif" border="0" alt="Laughing" title="Laughing" />). </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Ricardo_Savino]

<p>Hmm...&nbsp;now&nbsp;I&nbsp;can&nbsp;see&nbsp;my&nbsp;dreams&nbsp;being&nbsp;smashed&nbsp;by&nbsp;an&nbsp;asteroid!&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Ok,&nbsp;I&nbsp;see&nbsp;the&nbsp;problem&nbsp;here&nbsp;is&nbsp;mostly&nbsp;money...&nbsp;so,&nbsp;it&acute;s&nbsp;in&nbsp;fact&nbsp;not&nbsp;a&nbsp;huge&nbsp;problem&nbsp;since&nbsp;I&nbsp;can&nbsp;work&nbsp;a&nbsp;little&nbsp;bit&nbsp;more&nbsp;and&nbsp;save&nbsp;some&nbsp;money.</p><p>I&nbsp;can&nbsp;imagine&nbsp;that&nbsp;a&nbsp;good&nbsp;tele&nbsp;and&nbsp;a&nbsp;good&nbsp;can&nbsp;worth&nbsp;some&nbsp;extra&nbsp;months&nbsp;of&nbsp;extra&nbsp;works.</p><p>Im&nbsp;looking&nbsp;here&nbsp;some&nbsp;models&nbsp;that&nbsp;can&nbsp;fit&nbsp;in&nbsp;my&nbsp;pocket&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;months,&nbsp;so,&nbsp;</p><p>I&nbsp;wish,&nbsp;if&nbsp;you&nbsp;may&nbsp;Rix,&nbsp;help&nbsp;me&nbsp;out&nbsp;here.</p><p>The&nbsp;models&nbsp;that&nbsp;I&nbsp;can&nbsp;buy&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;next&nbsp;months&nbsp;are those:&nbsp;</p><p>http://www.astroshop.com.br/produto.asp?CodProd=31145</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>http://www.astroshop.com.br/produto.asp?CodProd=11049</p><p>Which&nbsp;one&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;best?&nbsp;Are&nbsp;they&nbsp;really&nbsp;good&nbsp;for&nbsp;photography?&nbsp;I mean, worth the price (almost 1.000 dollars here in brazil)?</p><p>&nbsp;The camera is not a problem to me, since I can buy it later or even use one of the cameras I have!</p><p>I&nbsp;don&acute;t&nbsp;wanna&nbsp;buy&nbsp;a&nbsp;tele&nbsp;only&nbsp;for&nbsp;observation,&nbsp;since&nbsp;I&nbsp;think&nbsp;that&nbsp;photograpy&nbsp;is&nbsp;the&nbsp;top&nbsp;in&nbsp;this&nbsp;subject&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /><br />I really apreciate your help, not to mention your amazing shots!! </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Many&nbsp;Thanks&nbsp;Rix!!!&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#ff0000"><font size="3">Look up and feel small!</font></font></strong> </div>

 

[RixPJ]

<p>Ricardo, the reflector could cause a problem because they often have problems with cameras due to not enough 'in' focus travel.&nbsp; There are special reflector scopes available that are designed with cameras in mind, so that may be an option.&nbsp; The Nexstar 5 'Mak' would be a good scope for planetary imaging.&nbsp; That scope also has an equatorial tilt plate on the tripod which would allow you to polar align the scope&nbsp; for longer exposure imaging.&nbsp; It wouldn't be very precise though.&nbsp; </p><p>Have you thought about buying second hand?&nbsp; All my scopes were bought second hand and I have had no problems.&nbsp; It allowed me to have much better equipment than I could afford to buy new. &nbsp;</p><p>I would recommend that you look for a GoTo equipped German Equatorial Mount (GEM) and a refractor telescope such as the William Optics 66SD or an Orion ED80.&nbsp; Unfortunately the cost for these would be about twice as expensive as your budget. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>If you have to choose one of the two scopes you listed then go with the&nbsp; Nexstar 5 but if you can wait and save longer then I think that you would end up with a much more capable setup. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[Ricardo_Savino]

<p>Thanks for your attention Rix.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As&nbsp;you&nbsp;can&nbsp;see&nbsp;I&nbsp;don&acute;t&nbsp;understand&nbsp;enough&nbsp;of&nbsp;scopes.&nbsp;&nbsp;In&nbsp;fact,&nbsp;I&nbsp;was&nbsp;reading&nbsp;about&nbsp;astrophoto&nbsp;and&nbsp;every&nbsp;article</p><p>I&nbsp;saw&nbsp;tells&nbsp;me&nbsp;this:&nbsp;"If&nbsp;you&nbsp;are&nbsp;a&nbsp;begginer&nbsp;in&nbsp;scopes,&nbsp;our&nbsp;advice&nbsp;is&nbsp;-&nbsp;Forget&nbsp;about&nbsp;astrophotos&nbsp;for&nbsp;now!"</p><p>Sad&nbsp;reality!&nbsp;But,&nbsp;anyway,&nbsp;I&nbsp;wanna&nbsp;buy&nbsp;something&nbsp;that&nbsp;allows&nbsp;me&nbsp;to&nbsp;use&nbsp;in&nbsp;astrophoto&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;future,&nbsp;since,&nbsp;</p><p>as&nbsp;I&nbsp;told&nbsp;before,&nbsp;is&nbsp;kinda&nbsp;expensive&nbsp;here&nbsp;in&nbsp;brazil.</p><p>THe&nbsp;problem&nbsp;with&nbsp;second&nbsp;hand&nbsp;scopes&nbsp;here&nbsp;is&nbsp;they&nbsp;are&nbsp;kinda&nbsp;rare&nbsp;and&nbsp;not&nbsp;that&nbsp;cheaper&nbsp;than&nbsp;a&nbsp;new&nbsp;one,</p><p>so,&nbsp;I&nbsp;have&nbsp;no&nbsp;guarantee&nbsp;if&nbsp;the&nbsp;scopes&nbsp;come&nbsp;with&nbsp;some&nbsp;kind&nbsp;of&nbsp;problem&nbsp;in&nbsp;the&nbsp;mirror&nbsp;or&nbsp;lens.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>I&acute;ll&nbsp;try&nbsp;to&nbsp;save&nbsp;more&nbsp;money,&nbsp;maybe&nbsp;the&nbsp;double&nbsp;that&nbsp;I&nbsp;have&nbsp;for&nbsp;now&nbsp;and&nbsp;look&nbsp;for&nbsp;those&nbsp;that</p><p>you&nbsp;recommend!</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Many&nbsp;thanks&nbsp;Rix,&nbsp;you&nbsp;help&nbsp;me&nbsp;a&nbsp;lot&nbsp;with&nbsp;your&nbsp;tips!!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <strong><font color="#ff0000"><font size="3">Look up and feel small!</font></font></strong> </div>