Astrophotography gurus wanted

[scott s]

after the search feature failed me, i am after some astro photographers to point me in the right direction.
my kids want to try astrophotography, so i said i'd look into it.

any tips on where to start, shops to visit and good beginner type equipment that isnt too 'crappy'

cheers
scott

[tommyg]

Contact Big V - he can answer any question on this subject

[Steffen]

If you want to get into astronomy and astrophotography you must check out the http://www.iceinspace.com.au community and their forums. Lots of expertise and advice there, and very friendly to beginners.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Big V]

Scott - what type of astrophotography? star trails or high res guided shots? If you want to do this..

Then you are going to need the following.
A t adapter for your camera so that you can attach it to a telescope
A motor driven mount - must be able to be guided or it is really going to be expensive i.e many thousands of dollars.
A telescope
Lots of time - that photo is eight hours of data and a high threshold to frustration
If you want to do this,

Then you will need
Camera
Tripod
Camera Lens
Shutter cable
You can also do this with a 30 second exposure, using only camera tri pod and lens if you are in a dark sky location

[scott s]

thanks for the pointers and links
i've come across a meade etx 125 with motor drive and hard case for ~$800 from artamon which might be a good start (and can always be ebayed later).

[Killakoala]

thanks for the pointers and links
i've come across a meade etx 125 with motor drive and hard case for ~$800 from artamon which might be a good start (and can always be ebayed later).

Good choice.

Consider purchasing a camera mount bracket for the telescope so you can mount the camera to the top of the telescope and use the motor drive to rotate your camera as well as the telescope. (Not a T-adapter for using the telescope as a lens.) (But get a T-Adapter as well anyway.

[Big V]

Be advised that if you do mount your camera this way, you will not get images like the above unless you place the scope on a wedge and polar align it. If you use the scope in its alt az configuration you will get trailing and massive rotation in your images which will spoil them. If you do use a wedge, then all will be fine, assuming that you have correctly aligned for true south (not magnetic) and your latitude.

[scott s]

i think i read that this telescope has a camera port at the back which can be used instead of the eye piece. or was that a different one.....

[Big V]

Yes the etx range does have a camera port but you will still need to put it on a wedge and polar align it if you want shots like the first. Astrophotography is not easy - if it was everyone would be doing it and quite frankly it is with utmost sincerity I always suggest that there is going to be a lot of frustration involved in producing a decent well exposed image that is of value.
I hope you do your research and the fact that you are asking questions is excellent but you need to know what you are in for, so good luck with the venture and I wish you well and I am able to answer any questions that you may have when it comes to this challenge.