good beginners book

hi guys.

before i jeopardise my kneecaps and fingers by going into debt to purchase a pile of new equiptment for astrophotography, i want to read up and be moderately well educated on how it all works, the theory and the terms used. there are a few books on amazon. would you guys recommend any of them , or any that are not on the list. i dont want to get a book specifically on ccd's or dslr's as i dont know what camera i will get.

the list is here
www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-024219...rds=astrophotography


thanks guys.

I only own two of those.

Astrophotography for the Amateur - Michael A. Covington

This was published in 1999 and I have not seen a later edition. For a few years it was regarded as the best book availble. I think now that people are doing more DSLR photography the book is somewhat loosing its relevance as it is very film orientated. It is still a good resource I would imagine, but probably not as useful for DSLR users. eg. I dont know how well the exposure guides for say lunar photography transfer to DSLR's; and since you have no overhead in developing you might as well just bracket until you figure it out yourself.

Handbook of CCD Astronomy, 2nd Edition - Steve B. Howell

This is from the Cambridge Research series. As such its great for going into lots of detail about CCDs and their operation and how to use them. It's very much aimed at grad students. As such it may just overwhelm you if you are starting out on your own and looking for a more general guide. However if you get a dedicated astronomical CCD and start taking your astro photography seriously (eg start doing photometry) I think it would make a good addition to your bookshelf.

Ron Wodaskis's book is excellent - that's how I got started. Not sure if that's a compliment to Ron however

The nice thing about Ron, is he regularly hangs out on a few boards and is quick to give further advice, clarifications etc - especially to newbies.

If I were you, I'd pick one book based on the reviews on these boards (me and Al so far) then sign-up to the various CCD boards. When you're ready, let me know and I'll send you a list.

Dave

I would agree with Dave; Ron Wodaski's book is excellent.

Like Dave and Michael Rons book was basically my bible and still gets regular outings.

Definitely Wodaski's book. An added bonus is that you can pay for the online version for $30 if you need it quickly. If you decide to get the paper based version you can then send pay another $20 + postage to get it shipped to you.

None of the other books I've read come anywhere near it.

Trev