Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

First accessories?

  • 11-08-2020 10:59am
    #1
    oceanclub
    Registered Users Posts: 3,411 ✭✭✭


    So I finally got to try my Sky-Watcher Discovery 150i out last night and now I'm wondering what accessories I should first get. A Barlow lens seems a no brainer - should I get x2 or x3? Also are there any mounts I should get so I can attach a camera to the telescope?

    EDIT: Given the _theoretical_ magnification of my scope is 300x (twice the aperture of 150mm), and my highest magnification without a lens is 750mm/10mm = 75x, then adding a Barlow to bring that up to 225x (still a good bit lower than the theoretical limit taking into account light and atmosphere conditions in Dublin) makes sense? Or should I be conservative and get the 2x Barlow?

    P.


Comments

  • #2
    Popoutman
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Popoutman


    Either get a 2x Barlow, or a shorter eyepiece such as a 6mm eyepiece. Also a wider field lower power eyepiece will likely get more use as most of the observing with a smaller scope is generally at lower power anyway.

    As for a camera adapter, you can get a smartphone holder to get a steady afocal pic through the eyepiece. The mount on the Discovery is designed for visual work and definitely not designed for astrophotography, but you might get some pleasant results mounting a camera+lens to the tube and taking 30 second exposures and stacking in DeepSkyStacker. Longer exposures will show some field rotation due to driving an alt-az mount on the curved path needed to follow the stars. Some tripod quick releases will fit in the mount dovetails and can be a reasonable way to mount a camera+lens for astrophotography.

    I would not recommend trying deep space astrophotography through this scope, as the mount is a very limiting factor in that - you will only get frustrated and disappointed. Afocal planet pics will work moderately well. Afocal moon pics will also work very well. The focal length of the scope is a little short to get reasonable image scale for taking video of the planets but it's worth a try, depending on the camera you have.


Advertisement