Advice on telescope for astrophotography

Wailin

I'm not new to amateur astronomy and have gazed at the sky since I was 10. About 3 years ago I bought my first decent telescope, an 8" Dobsonian reflector, which I enjoyed immensely. After a period of non use I decided to sell it along with all my eyepieces and filters.

With the lovely clear skies we've been getting lately and my impulsive nature, I've decided to splash out again on a telescope and I am keen to get into astrophotography as a hobby. Been checking out lots of telescope reviews, pros and cons of refactors v reflectors and have decided to go for a refractor this time around (not apochromatic, don't have that kind of money!).

The point of this post is I would love some advice from experienced folk on refractors and astrophotography. Most guys I know have the celestron SCTs which I know are very decent but for some reason I want to go for a refractor and 2 I've been looking at are a Bresser (link: http://www.astroshop.eu/bresser-telescope-ac-152-1200-messier-exos-2/p,21525#tab_bar_1_select) and a Skywatcher (http://www.astroshop.eu/skywatcher-telescope-ac-150-1200-evostar-bd-neq-5/p,20310).

I want to photograph planets and deep sky objects and I know it will take alot of time and patience before I start getting half decent results. Are these scopes suitable or do people have other advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance.

Nerro

Wailin wrote: »

I'm not new to amateur astronomy and have gazed at the sky since I was 10. About 3 years ago I bought my first decent telescope, an 8" Dobsonian reflector, which I enjoyed immensely. After a period of non use I decided to sell it along with all my eyepieces and filters.

With the lovely clear skies we've been getting lately and my impulsive nature, I've decided to splash out again on a telescope and I am keen to get into astrophotography as a hobby. Been checking out lots of telescope reviews, pros and cons of refactors v reflectors and have decided to go for a refractor this time around (not apochromatic, don't have that kind of money!).

The point of this post is I would love some advice from experienced folk on refractors and astrophotography. Most guys I know have the celestron SCTs which I know are very decent but for some reason I want to go for a refractor and 2 I've been looking at are a Bresser (link: http://www.astroshop.eu/bresser-telescope-ac-152-1200-messier-exos-2/p,21525#tab_bar_1_select) and a Skywatcher (http://www.astroshop.eu/skywatcher-telescope-ac-150-1200-evostar-bd-neq-5/p,20310).

I want to photograph planets and deep sky objects and I know it will take alot of time and patience before I start getting half decent results. Are these scopes suitable or do people have other advice or recommendations? Thanks in advance.

hi,
i think you are looking at this hobbie the wrong way.
your end results will be as good as your mount not your scope...you can get the best possible refractor for thousands of euros but if the mount aint up for the job...well nothing good aint going to happen.

Wailin

Nerro wrote: »

hi,
i think you are looking at this hobbie the wrong way.
your end results will be as good as your mount not your scope...you can get the best possible refractor for thousands of euros but if the mount aint up for the job...well nothing good aint going to happen.

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yeah, I do know the mount is very important for photography. As you can see the refractors I'm interested in are not very high end, just average, and although the photography aspect is important I also want a decent scope for normal use looking at the moon and planets. Thats why I want something that will give good magnification. Why are the mounts with these scopes not suitable? I thought they were.

Nerro

first of all they are manual mounts, you would need to get motor drives for them to track objects.
the skywatcher ota weigh is 13kg...thats a bit too much for photography with this mount.plus you have to take into acount the weigh of the camera etc.so really its around 15kg and thats neq6 territory.ofcourse for visual use its good but for AP useless...
i cant coment on the second set up as really dont know anything about those mounts.but i would think it would be the same.
the best entry lvl mount would be skywatcher heq5 pro.on that mount you could mount up to 10kg of payload for AP.thats where you should start...

Wailin

Nerro wrote: »

first of all they are manual mounts, you would need to get motor drives for them to track objects.
the skywatcher ota weigh is 13kg...thats a bit too much for photography with this mount.plus you have to take into acount the weigh of the camera etc.so really its around 15kg and thats neq6 territory.ofcourse for visual use its good but for AP useless...
i cant coment on the second set up as really dont know anything about those mounts.but i would think it would be the same.
the best entry lvl mount would be skywatcher heq5 pro.on that mount you could mount up to 10kg of payload for AP.thats where you should start...

Dear god the mount alone is over 900 euro (http://www.astroshop.eu/equatorial-with-goto/skywatcher-mount-heq-5-pro-synscan-goto/p,4071) and thats entry level?! This astrophotography is way more expensive than I thought.

Nerro

well you could go for syntrec version of the mount or look for celrstron cg5-gt.it is in the same category and will hold up to 10kg gor AP.
I know there are meade lxd 75 mounts but i dont think they are made anymore.i know a couple of users over here have them and bought recently second hand for 300e or something.
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056781439?page=8
And yes this hobbie is very expencive,i read a saying somewhere :
"how to get a small fortune?start with big one and get into astophotography..."
says it all.

Wailin

Nerro wrote: »

well you could go for syntrec version of the mount or look for celrstron cg5-gt.it is in the same category and will hold up to 10kg gor AP.
I know there are meade lxd 75 mounts but i dont think they are made anymore.i know a couple of users over here have them and bought recently second hand for 300e or something.
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056781439?page=8
And yes this hobbie is very expencive,i read a saying somewhere :
"how to get a small fortune?start with big one and get into astophotography..."
says it all.

If I was to go for the NEQ6 Pro would that enable me to track an object for exposure shots and would it be accurate? Also, what type of scope would you recommend (size and type), I don't want a scope just to start out with and then upgrade, I'd prefer to begin with a decent scope to keep for normal observation and photography. Thanks for the tips.

Nerro

Well first thing first you have to have a look where you live.If your area has a lot of light pollution then probably you would like something more transportable, as trust me you will want to head to darker sites for AP and NEQ6 weights a ton...its a monster of a mount.I used to own one myself but had to sell as i moved to apartament block and draging the thing was a real nightmare.
Regaring tracking with NEQ6 and around 12kg payload you could get 1min shots if you nail polar alligement and balance.I use to mount 80mm triplet and was getting 2min shots without star trails.
Same with HEQ5 if you will stay well below recomended weigh you will be alright.A good rule is to have your payload about half the recomended weight for AP.you can mount more but then you will start to get issues.
As for the scope itself i would recoment newtonian.If you will go for NEQ6 then Skywatcher 200pds
http://www.ktectelescopes.ie/Top-Sellers/Skywatcher-200PDS-Ota.html
Its great for observing as have a large aperture and its fast for deep space photography.near enough an all rounder.
I know you can even get away mounting the fella on HEQ5.But if there is even a slight wind then you can forget about photography.
Another thing to have a look at is guiding for those fainter fuzzies which needs longer exposures.Its costly but makes a lot of difference.

Wailin

Nerro wrote: »

Well first thing first you have to have a look where you live.If your area has a lot of light pollution then probably you would like something more transportable, as trust me you will want to head to darker sites for AP and NEQ6 weights a ton...its a monster of a mount.I used to own one myself but had to sell as i moved to apartament block and draging the thing was a real nightmare.
Regaring tracking with NEQ6 and around 12kg payload you could get 1min shots if you nail polar alligement and balance.I use to mount 80mm triplet and was getting 2min shots without star trails.
Same with HEQ5 if you will stay well below recomended weigh you will be alright.A good rule is to have your payload about half the recomended weight for AP.you can mount more but then you will start to get issues.
As for the scope itself i would recoment newtonian.If you will go for NEQ6 then Skywatcher 200pds
http://www.ktectelescopes.ie/Top-Sellers/Skywatcher-200PDS-Ota.html
Its great for observing as have a large aperture and its fast for deep space photography.near enough an all rounder.
I know you can even get away mounting the fella on HEQ5.But if there is even a slight wind then you can forget about photography.
Another thing to have a look at is guiding for those fainter fuzzies which needs longer exposures.Its costly but makes a lot of difference.

Great thanks nerro. I am wondering why your recommending a reflector, I thought refractors were optically superior for photography, even achromatic lenses. I live in Dublin so trips to dark sites is needed but I believe you can get good lunar and planetary results from the backyard? Weight does not bother me to be honest and that would not put me off.

Nerro

Wailin wrote: »

Great thanks nerro. I am wondering why your recommending a reflector, I thought refractors were optically superior for photography, even achromatic lenses. I live in Dublin so trips to dark sites is needed but I believe you can get good lunar and planetary results from the backyard? Weight does not bother me to be honest and that would not put me off.

To answer the question its yes and no...
Most achromats are 'slower' scopes with higher f ratio.Which is good for the planets but not for DSO's.The higher f-ratio helps an achromat to show less false color, but it also makes the scope dimmer. You collect more light, in a shorter amount of time, with a lower (faster) f-ratio. You'll notice that the APO refractors used by most refractor-imagers tend to be f7 or lower (faster).Plus you can get focal reducers/flateners for APO's.So what you really looking for is "fast" scope for DSO and "slow" for planets.but you can always add a barlow for planetary imaging on a "fast" refractor.
The other drawback for achromats is false color or Purple-fringing (chromatic aberrations) are for some people annoying. Some do not care.It usually appears where you have strong contrast. So stars suffer, planets suffer, moon suffers but nebulas I do not believe that will show chromatic errors, as they lack high-contrast areas.
Hope that helps if it makes any sense to you...

Wailin

Nerro wrote: »

To answer the question its yes and no...
Most achromats are 'slower' scopes with higher f ratio.Which is good for the planets but not for DSO's.The higher f-ratio helps an achromat to show less false color, but it also makes the scope dimmer. You collect more light, in a shorter amount of time, with a lower (faster) f-ratio. You'll notice that the APO refractors used by most refractor-imagers tend to be f7 or lower (faster).Plus you can get focal reducers/flateners for APO's.So what you really looking for is "fast" scope for DSO and "slow" for planets.but you can always add a barlow for planetary imaging on a "fast" refractor.
The other drawback for achromats is false color or Purple-fringing (chromatic aberrations) are for some people annoying. Some do not care.It usually appears where you have strong contrast. So stars suffer, planets suffer, moon suffers but nebulas I do not believe that will show chromatic errors, as they lack high-contrast areas.
Hope that helps if it makes any sense to you...

Thanks for explaining the f-ratio, its always something that i never really understood and I was wondering the difference between a 150/1000 refractor and a 150/750. I appreciate you offering this good advice and thakns for taking the time to share it, great stuff.

Nerro

no worries.if you have any more questions just ask.
all of us at some stage had the same questions and i know how confusing it can be.

ZeRoY

Talking about the LXD75, here's one now on Adverts.ie

http://www.adverts.ie/telescopes-binoculars/meade-lxd75-6-newtonian-reflector/2411084

Pictures on this thread were done using same scope/mount and a Canon 1100D

Wailin

ZeRoY wrote: »

Talking about the LXD75, here's one now on Adverts.ie

http://www.adverts.ie/telescopes-binoculars/meade-lxd75-6-newtonian-reflector/2411084

Pictures on this thread were done using same scope/mount and a Canon 1100D

Thanks Zeroy, nice pics too. Im after ordering an SW 80ED Pro and NEQ6 mount from Ktec telescopes so hopefully I'll be uploading decent pictures myself in the near future. Can't wait to get started.

ZeRoY

Wailin wrote: »

Thanks Zeroy, nice pics too. Im after ordering an SW 80ED Pro and NEQ6 mount from Ktec telescopes so hopefully I'll be uploading decent pictures myself in the near future. Can't wait to get started.

That's very decent gear you got!! Looking forward to your pics!

Nerro

Wailin wrote: »

Thanks Zeroy, nice pics too. Im after ordering an SW 80ED Pro and NEQ6 mount from Ktec telescopes so hopefully I'll be uploading decent pictures myself in the near future. Can't wait to get started.

Thats a serious gear you will have.Congrats.
if you will get stuck setting up the mount dont hesitate to give me a shout as from experience i know that manual on it is useless

Wailin

Thanks Nero, it looks a complicated piece of equipment so I may be asking your advice alright! Manuals are never up to much when you need them!

Tzetze

The ED80 is a great wee scope. You'll certainly enjoy using it. I'm very envious of your new mount!

ThatDrGuy

Me too. Trying to retro fit a wedged mount is driving me crazy. Ive welded 2 of the bits together to reduce vibration and Ive had to CAD design a latitude adjuster. Sent it off to China for manufacture, results should be interesting .... I'm beginning to wish I listened in Metalwork class. I also cant help but notice that since my scope has been out of action clear nights have increased by about 400%