HELP HELP !!

jack

I would really like to snap awsome pictures of Saturns rings , the moons of Jupiter and other wonders in the night sky . is there any specific equipment i should buy ? I'm totally new to this and don't have a clue where to start. help would be appreciated.

John_Brady

Hi Jack, images can even be got of the Moon/planets with a normal digital camera held to the eyepiece. Although it can be a bit hit and miss.

But like anything, it all depends on how much you want to spend. Check out episodes 239, 240, and 241 of the brilliant Astronomycast, all about getting started in astrophotography http://www.astronomycast.com/2011/11/ep-239-astrophotography-part-1-the-gear/ listen online, read the transcript, or download from iTunes.

Our member Raygil is also a brilliant photographer and astrophotographer with lots of experience.

jack

thanks Betelgeuse ! I will definitely try holding my camera to the eyepiece. The link really gave me an idea of what im doing. Thanks again !

RayGil

I have written an afocal guide which may help?

http://www.raygilchrist.co.uk/afocal.html

Ray

jack

Thanks Ray this was very helpful!

sdf76

Reading the link to astronomycast it seems that astrophotography is really expensive and complicated :(
I had hoped that by buying a better telescope than my beginner skywatcher 90 and adding a camera to the new telescope I would get some decent photos but it seems this is not the case? I was thinking to spend about £500 on the telescope and about£250 for a camera ( I'm happy to buy 2nd hand stuff)-am I being unrealistic?
sue :)

John_Brady

Hi Sue, check out this video by Mark Thompson from Stargazing Live. You can get even shots of the Moon and planets just by holding a normal digital camera to the eyepiece, which I have done myself. Try it. Like anything it depends on how much you want to spend, but it doesn't have to be a fortune ! Good luck

andyavery

For under £20 you can get a cradle on eBay that will hold the camera up to the eyepiece. I got one of these for my 130mm Skywatcher scope and use a budget Panasonic compact camera (Lumix FS30 - 14mp). Here is link to the mount I got:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300852023691

For anything more advanced like ultra long exposures you need expensive cameras and also mounts that track very accurately.

If you've not seen my moon shots taken using this method, have a look here:

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjE3qEF4

Oh also best to put it on 10 second delay so touching the camera button doesn't shake the photo!

sdf76

Thank you so much Betelgeuse and andyavery :) for both giving me very useful information. :) I am much happier now. I just want to record what I see as photos and I think I will now be able to do that. :)
sue :)

thatmonkey

Hey everyone,just about to try this for the first time,,,,wish me luck,
Mark.

binocularview

Good luck mark ! :)

karl

Let us know how it go's mark ;)

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