Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

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morganb4
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p.1 #1 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

Hi Group,
I remember a while ago seeing lots of great astrophotography stuff on here and having chats with some of those individuals but I can not remember who they are ☹

A good friend of mine is wanting get a telescope I have suggested that a GPS enabled one would be a start and there may well be a requirement to take images of what he sees at some point down the track.

The question he has is what should he be looking for in a telescope and what are the good brands, what is a good starting point for him. Knowing the level of quality he looks for, I would say that he isn’t necessarily looking for the budget option here but that doesn’t mean silly money either.

Can probably do without the SLR mount right now but it would be nice for him to have the option to add a mount at some point.

Can anyone help me or point me to forum members who could?

TIA
Ben

Jan 14, 2013 at 12:19 AM

Amateur Tom
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p.1 #2 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

Most would be in agreement that when it comes to Astronomy and Astrophotography it is mount first , optical tube second. Purchase the best quality Computerized ( Go-To) German Equatorial Mount you can afford. This will usually mean a investment in the $2,000.00 and up range and then an optical tube assembly of your choice. The OT could be a Refractor, Reflector or Schmit-Cassagrain. Other OT designs are available but are expensive. The later mentioned OT's will vary on a wide range of cost based on quality. With astronomy equipment..........you get only what you pay for.

This hobby can be great fun DSLR's and web cams along with freeware offered for processing has opened many doors for Astrophotography by the backyard amateur. Build a backyard observatory to cover your gear and away you go.......

http://www.pbase.com/amateurtom/_my_astrophotography

2013 © Amateur Tom

Jan 14, 2013 at 02:26 AM

morganb4
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p.1 #3 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

Thank you for your input.

As a beginner, I think that my friend was looking for a simple 1-box solution. Its looking like a celestron 8 or 6 series

Jan 15, 2013 at 09:57 AM

Scott Stoness
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p.1 #4 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

I looked at the Celstron 8 and 6 series last weekend. The kit does not come with a wedge mount - which means that it cannot track for long, for pictures. So either the Celstron 3 - which includes a wedge or an upgrade to Wedge with Celstron 8 or don't expect long pictures. However, it is a great starter kit for short pictures.

I am debating a german equatorial mount with a refractor but I am still reading.

I bought the astrotrac and am going to experiment with that for a while before moving back to the telescope idea.

Scott

Jan 16, 2013 at 05:17 AM

Jim Bau
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p.1 #5 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

Scott,
Will you post your results and overall impressions on the Astrotrac after you've used it for a while?

Jan 16, 2013 at 08:41 AM

Scott Stoness
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p.1 #6 · Astrophotography - help buy a telescope please

JIm Bau: Sure will. I keep waiting for a clear night when I am not working but it will come. Scott

Jan 17, 2013 at 01:11 AM

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