Astrophotography set up

7 years 8 months ago #490300 by Robert Hardy
I came across this good video that shows a basic set up for starting up.  Was helpful to me.  Hope it is to you too!

This guy has Explore Scientific 80mm telescope and Sky-Watcher mount and well the rest you'll need to watch the video.  



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7 years 8 months ago #490307 by Silver Fox
Good click, just to show you don't need the biggest gear to get into taking amazing photos of the sky.  


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7 years 8 months ago #490310 by effron
Astrophotography can be done with basic gear, deep sky photography is another genre. Its all good though....

Why so serious?
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7 years 8 months ago #490323 by Flash Steven
:agree:  when you are ready, jump into a workshop or attend a monthly meeting that many astrophotography groups hold.  

Canon 7D w/grip, Canon 40D, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS L Canon MPE 65mm f2.8 macro; Sigma 70-300mm f2.8; Sigma 150mm f2.8 macro; Sigma 8-16mm f4.5-5.6
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7 years 8 months ago #490369 by neal1977
Is Sky Watcher a good brand?


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7 years 8 months ago - 7 years 8 months ago #490377 by astrodave
Like everything else in life there is a need to know a budget. If you have unlimited budget I have a $25k mobile observatory with everything already to go. Top of the line gear and mobile. 

If not There are trackers for $300ish that work well at under 300mm. 

Additionally one of the major issues is weight the mount can carry. For some of us its the amount of weight we can carry. My main astro mounts can carry 250 lbs but they weigh in at 120 lbs so they are a pain to lug about hence my observatories.

For a DLSR setup a Star Adventurer or an Astrotrac are pretty easy to use and track well up to about 15lbs. I'd recommend either of those to someone wanting to "dabble".

Just my $.02


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7 years 8 months ago #490385 by Ryan Obryan
Hey Dave, just to clarify, you are talking about this one from Sky-Watcher:  www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home...%2C&is=REG&A=details

right? 


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7 years 8 months ago #490521 by Superman
I'm just getting started myself.  My 2 best friends have been into astro photography for a few years.  So it's tough not to be reminded I need to get gear.  

Nikon D90 & D40 18-55mm, 55-200mm, 35mm, 50mm, 105mm, SB600
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7 years 8 months ago #490640 by Eliffman

astrodave wrote: Like everything else in life there is a need to know a budget. If you have unlimited budget I have a $25k mobile observatory with everything already to go. Top of the line gear and mobile. 

If not There are trackers for $300ish that work well at under 300mm. 

Additionally one of the major issues is weight the mount can care. For some of us its the amount of weight we can care. My main astro mounts can carry 250 lbs but they weigh in at 120 lbs so they are a pain to lug about hence my observatories.

For a DLSR setup a Star Adventurer or an Astrotrac are pretty easy to use and track well up to about 15lbs. I'd recommend either of those to someone wanting to "dabble".

Just my $.02



That mobile observatory sounds so cool, is that something you tow?


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7 years 8 months ago #490666 by Wyrick Photography
There's a lot gear and a lot of set up.  Check out here - 


Canon 5d Mark II • Canon 24-105mm F/4.0 • Canon 135mm F/2.0 • Canon 50mm F/1.8 • Tamron 28-75mm F/2.8 • Canon 580ex ii
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7 years 8 months ago #490674 by effron
My advice (Dave might agree) attend a star party, visit a local astronomy club etc, prior to investing in scopes and mounts and the like. Also, go out and shoot some star trails, Milky Way landscapes or night time lapse and see if its for you. You can spend a lot of cash on deep space object (astrophotography)......

Why so serious?
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7 years 8 months ago #490703 by ShutterPal
:agree:  plus in some of the meetings, telescope manufactures have demo gear for you to try out.   


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7 years 8 months ago #490710 by EOS_Fan
Crappy part where I'm at is the light pollution.  Makes star gazing tough.  :( 


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7 years 8 months ago #490717 by Ian Stone
Try living in NYC, I need to drive a good couple hours in any direction if I have any hope of escaping light pollution!  


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7 years 8 months ago #490785 by effron

Ian Stone wrote: Try living in NYC, I need to drive a good couple hours in any direction if I have any hope of escaping light pollution!  


It could be worse. In the mid Adirondacks there are a couple places that are nine of ten on the dark sky map....ALL cities suck, but when the grid goes down many night photographers will be thrilled....

Why so serious?
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