Astrophotography - Utilise my current equipment

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kilbofragins

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Adam
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Hi
I currently have a Canon 7D with the 70-300 IS USM lens (and tripod ofc). I am love looking at Astrophotography and want some help getting set up. I want to be able to get crisp pictures of the moon, and the 300mm helps, but need that bit more range. Can anyone help me (I dont want to spend £1000 + on a new lens as I dont have that cash) I am happy to fork out some cash to enhance my current equipment within reason but have no idea what I actually need. I have searched the web and found very little, as most is a compact down a telescope :(

If anyone is into Astrophotography and can maybe help me out by listing the names etc of equipment I would need then I can look into cost and if I can afford it.

Little surprised there is no specific Astrophotography section in the forums :shrug:

Thanks in advanced
Adam
 
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Hmm... How about a 1.4 or 2x teleconvertor and manual/liveview focus. The moon is a bright object, so you should get enough light to be able to focus. The real problem with astrophotography is that you have to counter the effects of the atmosphere on the moon/planets. You can end up spending an awful lot on bigger telescopes and video cameras as that's what's best to combat the atmosphere which can becopme very noticable at higher zoom lengths.

I'd try starting out with something like a Kenko DG or DGX 300 TC with your lens. Should be able to get one for £50-£75... Anything longer than 600mm focal length and you're starting to get into more expensive telescope territory
 
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Thanks, will look into the TC. Plus the £50-£75 price tag seems like my kind of range ;)
 
I know the 70-300is is not compatible with the canon tc's as it does indeed have the protruding glass element.

That said, i didnt do too bad a moon shot using my 70-300 and a 450d :cool:
 
RacingSnake said:
I know the 70-300is is not compatible with the canon tc's
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is that the same for the IS USM model? And is that specific to canon TCs?
 
Yes, the usm is the same, i wa just lazy and missed it off :D
I have heard that some tc's will fit... I know the canon doesnt! Lol
 
Do a search on Astrophotography on google and you will find that your current kit will offer opportunities for images.

A teleconverter is not the way to go for images with your current kit, apart from the 2 stop loss and the image degradation the magnification will cause you all sorts of problems with the starfield.

Long exposures are needed for anything other than shots of the moon, and these are usually many images stacked together to provide the necessary amounts of light to record the starlight.
 
Thoughts from me - a good tripod, remote shutter release (timer shutter release as a minimum), use live view at x10 magnification, mirror lockup. That process and stuff should get you some good moon pics, you'll have to crop a little if you want it bigger. Use manual and I use f/8 and just keep adjusting the shutter time until you have a nicely exposed image. Hope that helps.
 
EdBray said:
A teleconverter is not the way to go for images with your current kit, apart from the 2 stop loss and the image degradation the magnification will cause you all sorts of problems with the starfield.

Long exposures are needed for anything other than shots of the moon, and these are usually many images stacked together to provide the necessary amounts of light to record the starlight.
Click to expand...

And

kilbofragins said:
Hi
I want to be able to get crisp pictures of the moon, and the 300mm helps, but need that bit more range.
Click to expand...

The clue is in the original post ;)
 
Darthchaffinch said:
I'm in your position and am going for a kenko 1.4.
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Darthchaffinch will you let me know how you get on please?

Also thanks everyone for comments :)
 
One of my best shots came from attaching my camera to a telescope that cost me £60 from Lidl. And it can be used for normal astro viewing without a camera.
 
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