Telescope Ideas?

Grasshopper

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I am keen on landscape photography and have seen quite a few shots of planets and stars cropping up in the landscape comment and critique area. I would love to give this a go but wondered how much I would need to spend to get a telescope that would make it worth while and also how do you go about connecting your camera to it? Thanks for any help.
 
Right.

You need totally different things for planets, stars and nebulae. So... which do you want to start first with (it's akin to asking do you want to do landscapes, portraits or birds - feathered)

By the way, it is expensive to do it well. It is also extremely difficult for all but the simplest of objects (i.e. the moon!).....
 
Moon is easy. Any scope will do, but planets are a really steep learning curve, not to mention needing longer focal length scopes, and cameras with much smaller sensors to fill teh frame properly. Most astronomers actually use webcams to image planets otherwise they are very small within teh frame.

Deep sky objects, galaxies, nebulae etc... then you're into much more money, an even steeper learning curve and specialist guided mounts that track the earth's rotation precisely.

Stick with the moon for now, and see if the astronomy bug bites, because it's a very steep learning curve and a very expensive venture if your interest is photographic only.

I recommend a Skywatcher Explorer 150P. You won't need a motorised mount to shoot the moon, and you can upgrade the mount later if you decide you are serious.

You need a T adaptor ring for whatever camera system you have.

Not all scopes will focus properly with a DSLR attached, even though you can get a camera adaptor ring to fit. This is why I recommend the 150P.. because I have one, and I can guarantee it will focus just fine.



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super shots there .
Rob.
 
Wow, love the galaxy shots - were they taken with the 150P? motorised mount?
 
That's great, thanks for the help David. That exactly the sort of thing I wanted to know. I think, as you said, I would like to get hocked up and start with just the basics and see how it goes. I have always been interested in the sky and started getting more serious with my photography so I think it could be something I will really enjoy. I will have a look at a 150. Is it the sort of thing I could pick up second hand or better to buy new?
 
I would also recommend the Skywatcher 150P and a basic EQ3 mount that’s how I started. These pics were taken with the 150P and Nikon D5000.

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Once you have viewed some of these amazing sites your be hooked and your wallet will be forever empty :lol:
 
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