First scope with other eye on future photos

hi OP.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in astronomy, astrophotography or any other topic discussed here. I have tried my hand at them though so i think I can give some useful advice from the point of view of a beginner trying to get some results.

If your a complete beginner to astronomy and astrophotography, IMO, i wouldnt waste time on DSO's just yet. There is a fair learning curve just getting used to the scope, locating objects, famaliraizing yourself with the sky etc.

Then there is a learning curve to trying to image what you see. At the simplest level you capture images of solar system objects using a small webcam, but even the learning curve to this can be steep. with the limited clear skies we get and if you have a regular job, it will take you a few weeks/months/years to become expert in this. I tried this, got some ok-ish results but due to lack of time, inability to stay up all hours and lack of clear skies i just couldnt get enough practice.

Then there comes the cost. for good imaging of DSO's you are talking a lot of money. you can fool yourself into thinking you can get great results wtih a CG5 motorized mount, and you will get ok results but they will be nothing to write home about. simple fact is you need an expensive mount, expensive CCD, filters, guide scope, guide camera and a host of other things to do decent DSO photography ( experts, please correct any of this if its wrong). I remember creating a basic shopping list a few years ago and it was well over 10k euros. for a beginner, and for something that is not my source of revenue i couldnt justify it.

I would suggest, from my expereince, start with a decent beginner scope on an equitorial mount, at least 6", preferably 8" in size. Get the nexImage web cam, download registax and learn to use that. cut your teeth on solar system objects.

With learning to use the learning curve in learning to make the most of your new gear, imaging and processing of your images, you have a huge amount to learn. If you see it through, become a pro at it then it would be worth making the investment to some more high end gear.

Worst thing would be to drop 15k on gear and have it sitting in a loft in 18 months time due to loss of interest.

This is what ive learned purly from my experience. I couldnt dedicate the time or monetary investment. my goal in the long term is to get a nice big DOB ( or build one, i still have the plans for the cell you drew me Phil, I will make use of them!) and enjoy the sky in a simpler fashon.

Whatever path you chose, good luck.

FGuihen,

Thanks for the post. I've at least postponed any ideas of photography for sometime in the future. As you suggested, I'm going to learn the sky and solar system first. Knowing about half the constellations in the northern hemisphere is not good enough I know.

I've heard a good newtonian refractor is much better for viewing the planets in the solar system. But I had my heart set on a reflector and the 10" or 12" Skywatcher looked to me to be the biggest bang for your euro.

But, with your suggestion, I may look again at an 8" with an eq mount. We will see.

Thanks again for the post.

RandomPillars wrote: I've heard a good newtonian refractor is much better for viewing the planets in the solar system.

I'm less convinced that the above is true as I look through more scopes. Sure a 10"APO will probably beat the views you'll get from other equipment, but you will pay for it. Paying comparable amounts you will be better off with a reflector (10" newts seem to cost roughly the same as a 4" refractor). The thing with reflectors for planetary viewing is that the optics need to be very well collimated.

You can mount a dob on an EQ mount but you need a very good mount. I had the Meade 10" LXD55 on the supplied eq mount for a few years and in the end stopped using the mount and converted it to a dob; it just wasn't heavy duty enough.

Hi Sean,

You're probably reeling from all the advice, but here goes anyway. I'm a relative newcomer too; I was really keen as a kid, but lost touch with astronomy for decades and when I returned about 18 months ago it was a different world. Big scopes, GoTo mounts, astroimaging, etc. were all new to me and I'm gradually getting to grips with them, though I still have an awful lot to learn.

My experience ties in with what several other posters have said. Bottom line is that I am now happy with a system that allows me to play around with imaging and is OK for visual too. Its a 200 mm f/5 Newtonian on a Celestron CG-5 equatorial mount. The scope is from Teleskop Service, but is a rebranded GSO (Guan Sheng Optical) and I chose it because it was very reasonably priced and is significantly lighter than the equivalent SkyWatcher offering. The CG-5 copes with it OK. The 1000 mm focal length means that it can be used for planetary imaging with a webcam, provided you add a 3x or 4x Barlow lens. For DSO imaging I use a DSLR (the family camera) and the mount really struggles, but with a cheap autoguider (see one of my earlier posts for details: www.irishastronomy.org/index.php?option=...9617&Itemid=40#89645 ) the combination works fine.

This setup is an affordable 'jack of all trades', but also 'master of none'. My images are very modest, but I still enjoy imaging and am content to work within the limitations of my skills, equipment and site. With a range of eyepieces of different focal lengths, it is reasonable for visual observing too and is quite easy to carry around and to set up. It's a good kit for learning about the many different aspects of amateur astronomy and and I'll stick with it for the moment and won't spend any more unless my interests change.

We are all different and have different interests and requirements, so there is no setup that will suit everyone. However, I would recommend that you consider a 200-250 mm Newtonian on an equatorial mount (CG-5 or HEQ6) as a good (and good value) all-rounder that would probably keep you well satisfied for quite a while as you explore your new interest. A Schmidt Cassegrain on an equatorial mount will offer very similar capabilities, and may be more convenient to use, though it will be significantly more expensive.

Clear skies, and have fun!

Mike

Hi Albert,

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I've decided trying to manage a dob on an eq mount would be too difficult (like balancing a full pint of Guinness on a pencil). Unless I was to spend a ridiculous amount of squids on a NASA standard mount. Even then I think I'd be bouncing around on the top of a ladder!!!!!

That dream is over. I'm just still so stuck between a big(ger) dob for visual or a smaller reflector on eq for possible goto and imaging. To be perfectly honest, I don't even know how far this hobbie will go! I've only really just got into it in the last few months. But I do know I have to spend a decent bit of money for a good kit- else I be really put off by a crappy and cheap scope. Life is a balancing act. Thanks for the post.

Hi Mike,

Great post- thanks for your thoughts. Still stuck. Christmas coming up and want something to freeze my nuts off in the winter nights. Nothing like a good scope (i hope) and a cheapy pair of gloves and a hat from Dunnes to do the trick.

One of the original scopes I was looking at was a 200mm goto on eq5 mount. I think i'm kidding myself into thinking that the difference between 8"-10" could be the difference between everything and nothing. A 250mm on HEQ6 would be quite expensive, no? I'll have a look at that. If I can afford something like that, I'd be very happy as I think it would give me the best of both worlds. (Well, maybe not best of both, but decent bash at both)

Thanks again for the great post.

I don't want to say "Clear Skies" because I don't feel like I've earned that privilage yet. I'll just say

Absence of Clouds and atmospheric disturbances