New to the hobby!

Discuss what equipment, AP Software, AP Apps you are using.
zoom_one
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New to the hobby!

#1

Post by zoom_one »


Hello All! I hope this is in the right place..

I'm fresh to the hobby, however been obsessing over it for the last decade, and researching for hours a day lately. I'm finally ready to splurge and purchase what I need.

I'm mostly interested in deep space photography, but wouldn't mind doing landscapes of the Milky Way as well. The amount of information out there in regards to cameras is overwhelming. I know the differences between APS-C and FF and know the pros of cons of each. My question is deciding on which DSLR I will be able to grow into. The cameras I'm debating on are:

Canon T8i
Canon 80D
Nikon 5600
Nikon 7500

All of these are priced within my budget. Is it worth spending the extra for a refurbished 6D MkII or another full frame? I've seen great results with the Rebel Series but am more unsure of Nikon's astrophotography capabilities. I'm also open to any recommendations!

The equipment I'll be using is a iOptron Skyguider Pro mount, and a Red Cat 51(if they ever ship). I won't be autoguiding yet as I want to slowly learn the ins and outs.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: New to the hobby!

#2

Post by JayTee »


Please read this article for some ideas on how to narrow down your search.
https://theskysearchers.com/app.php/art ... hy-journey

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Re: New to the hobby!

#3

Post by JayTee »


Since ALL of the DSLRs you listed are great choices and all work with image acquisition software (APT and BYE/N), your greatest consideration, given the mount you are using, is WEIGHT! The lightest camera should win.

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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Re: New to the hobby!

#4

Post by mbocca »


Hey Zoom_One,

Welcome to the forum. I see this is your inaugural post. I can't speak much for Canon, but I have been using the D7100 for the last 7 years. I purchased it as a kit with 18 to 55 an 80 to 300mm lens. I have used both lenses for astrophotography, and I have also used the camera with a 102mm refractor and 11" SCT. The 7100 was the predecessor to the 7500. Just be sure the camera you purchase supports the BULB option, as some do not. Some have a max of 30 second exposure.

There is also a freeware software package for controlling the camera and capturing the images, DigiCamControl. It works with bot Nikon and Canon. I used that for 5 years as it developed and it is pretty good. I never used BYE/N, but have heard it is very good.

Welcome to the hobby and be careful, it can be all-consuming.
Mike
Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 Triplet APO, Celestron Edge 1100HD, Orion ST80
Mounts: Celestron CGE Pro, SkyWatcher Star Adventurer
Cameras: ZWO ASI1600mm Pro, Nikon D7100, Orion SSAG, ZWO ASI120MC
Control Software: Sequence Generator Pro, PHD2, ASCOM, Stellarium
Post Processing: PixInsight, GIMP 2.0
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Re: New to the hobby!

#5

Post by Voyageur »


Welcome! So glad to see you made it here.

Mary
Scopes: Vixen VMC200L, D=200mm, F=1950, f/9.75; Televue 2" Everbright diagonal. Coronado PST; AstroTech EDT 80mm, F=480, f/6.
Mounts: Vixen SXW/Starbook (original); Stellarvue M2C alt-az.
Eyepieces: Televue: 55mm Plossl, 22mm Panoptic, 17.3mm Delos, 13mm Nagler, c. 1980, 11mm Plossl, 7mm Nagler, 5mm Radian; Meade 15mm Super Plossl; VERNONSCOPE 2.4X BARLOW
Binoculars: Leica 8x32 Trinovids, circa 1997; Orion Megaview 20x80, Orion Paragon Plus mount.
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Re: New to the hobby!

#6

Post by helicon »


Hello and Welcome to the Forums!
-Michael
Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope
Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50
Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl
Camera: ZWO ASI 120
Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs
Latitude: 48.7229° N
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Greenman Great Britain
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Re: New to the hobby!

#7

Post by Greenman »


:text-welcomewave: Hi, and welcome on board!
Cheers,

Tony.

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Smart Scope: Dwarf II - Club and outreach work.

AP Refractor: Altair 72EDF Deluxe F6;1x & 0.8 Flatteners; Antares Versascope 60mm finder. ASIAir Pro.Li battery pack for grab & go.

Celestron AVX Mount; X-cel LX eyepieces & Barlows 2x 3x, ZWO 2” Filter holder,

Cameras: main DSO ASI533MC; DSO guide ASI120MM; Planetary ASI224MC; DSLR Canon EOS100 stock.

Filters: Astronomik IR cut; Optolong L-Pro; Optolong L-Enhance.

Binoculars: Celestron 15 x 70.

Latitude: 52.219853
Longitude: -1.034471
Accuracy: 5 m
Bortle 4 site. https://maps.google.com/?q=52.21985,-1.03447

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Re: New to the hobby!

#8

Post by Lady Fraktor »


Hello and welcome to the forums :)
See Far Sticks: Antares Elita 103/1575, AOM FLT 105/1000, Bresser BV 127/1200, Nočný stopár 152/1200, Vyrobené doma 70/700, Stellarvue NHNG DX 80/552, TAL RS100/1000, Vixen SD115s/885
EQ: TAL MT-1, Vixen SXP, AXJ, AXD
Az/Alt: AYO Digi II/ Argo Navis, Stellarvue M2C/ Argo Navis
Tripods: Berlebach Planet (2), Uni 28 Astro, Report 372, TAL factory maple, Vixen ASG-CB90, Vixen AXD-TR102
Diagonals: Astro-Physics, Baader Amici, Baader Herschel, iStar Blue, Stellarvue DX, Takahashi prism, TAL, Vixen flip mirror
Eyepieces: Antares to Zeiss
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Re: New to the hobby!

#9

Post by Juno16 »


Hi Zoom-One and welcome to TSS!

There are many Nikon and Canon dslr’s that will work well too if price is a consideration. Good luck!
Jim

Scopes: Explore Scientific ED102 APO, Sharpstar 61 EDPH II APO, Samyang 135 F2 (still on the Nikon).
Mount: Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro with Rowan Belt Mod
Stuff: ASI EAF Focus Motor (x2), Orion 50mm Guide Scope, ZWO 30 mm Guide Scope, ASI 220mm min, ASI 120mm mini, Stellarview 0.8 FR/FF, Sharpstar 0.8 FR/FF, Mele Overloock 3C.
Camera/Filters/Software: ASI 533 mc pro, ASI 120mm mini, Orion SSAG, IDAS LPS D-1, Optolong L-Enhance, ZWO UV/IR Cut, N.I.N.A., Green Swamp Server, PHD2, Adobe Photoshop CC, Pixinsight.
Dog and best bud: Jack
Sky: Bortle 6-7
My Astrobin: https://www.astrobin.com/users/Juno16/
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Richard South Africa
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Re: New to the hobby!

#10

Post by Richard »


Hi and welcome to TSS
Reflectors GSO 200 Dobs
Refractors None
SCT C5 on a SLT mount
Mak 150 Bosma on a EQ5
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Re: New to the hobby!

#11

Post by Peter802 »


Hello.
Welcome to the forum.
Clear Skies.
Regards,

Peter
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Re: New to the hobby!

#12

Post by UlteriorModem »


Welcome to the 'hobby'.

I will leave you with these words of advice...

When it comes to astrophotography ~ It's all about the mount ! ~

Do yourself a favor and put your money where your mount is!

Tom

Current Equipment:
Mount: Celestron CGX-L
Scope: 130mm f7 APO
Cam: ASI071mc-pro
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Sandy04 Great Britain
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Re: New to the hobby!

#13

Post by Sandy04 »


Welcome!

Although I am personally invested in Canon fitment optics (sold my T3 recently), of that bunch, my choice would be the D5600.
zoom_one
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Re: New to the hobby!

#14

Post by zoom_one »


Thanks for all the advice! I'm going with the D5600, and splurging a bit on a Sirius EQ-G or HEQ5 (Whichever I can find first), to pair with a RedCat51. I'll stick with a small refractor for a while and learn the ropes before investing in a bigger scope. Won't be autoguiding for a while.
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Re: New to the hobby!

#15

Post by Butterfly Maiden »


Hello and welcome to the Forum.
Vanessa

Nikon D82 Fieldscope with 30x/45x/56x angled eyepiece.
Olympus DPS-1 10x50 binoculars.
Leica 8x32BN binoculars.
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JayTee United States of America
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Re: New to the hobby!

#16

Post by JayTee »


zoom_one wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:08 am Thanks for all the advice! I'm going with the D5600, and splurging a bit on a Sirius EQ-G or HEQ5 (Whichever I can find first), to pair with a RedCat51. I'll stick with a small refractor for a while and learn the ropes before investing in a bigger scope. Won't be autoguiding for a while.
All good choices. Let us know how you fare.

Cheers,
JT
∞ Primary Scopes: #1: Celestron CPC1100 #2: 8" f/7.5 Dob #3: CR150HD f/8 6" frac
∞ AP Scopes: #1: TPO 6" f/9 RC #2: ES 102 f/7 APO #3: ES 80mm f/6 APO
∞ G&G Scopes: #1: Meade 102mm f/7.8 #2: Bresser 102mm f/4.5
∞ Guide Scopes: 70 & 80mm fracs -- The El Cheapo Bros.
∞ Mounts: iOptron CEM70AG, SW EQ6, Celestron AVX, SLT & GT (Alt-Az), Meade DS2000
∞ Cameras: #1: ZWO ASI294MC Pro #2: 662MC #3: 120MC, Canon T3i, Orion SSAG, WYZE Cam3
∞ Binos: 10X50,11X70,15X70, 25X100
∞ EPs: ES 2": 21mm 100° & 30mm 82° Pentax XW: 7, 10, 14, & 20mm 70°

Searching the skies since 1966. "I never met a scope I didn't want to keep."

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SMPhotography
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Re: New to the hobby!

#17

Post by SMPhotography »


Have you considered a Nikon D500? I use it with my 600mm f/4 ED IF AIS Nikkor (new to the telescope astrophotography world, in fact my Celestron Nexstar 8SE is back ordered until March) and get great images. It has very low noise, even at ISO's like 1200 or even 1800.
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Re: New to the hobby!

#18

Post by SMPhotography »


mbocca wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 2:42 pm Hey Zoom_One,

Welcome to the forum. I see this is your inaugural post. I can't speak much for Canon, but I have been using the D7100 for the last 7 years. I purchased it as a kit with 18 to 55 an 80 to 300mm lens. I have used both lenses for astrophotography, and I have also used the camera with a 102mm refractor and 11" SCT. The 7100 was the predecessor to the 7500. Just be sure the camera you purchase supports the BULB option, as some do not. Some have a max of 30 second exposure.

There is also a freeware software package for controlling the camera and capturing the images, DigiCamControl. It works with bot Nikon and Canon. I used that for 5 years as it developed and it is pretty good. I never used BYE/N, but have heard it is very good.

Welcome to the hobby and be careful, it can be all-consuming.
Mike
I second that motion for DigiCamControl! I have been using it for portrait work for the last 5 years or so and it works fantastically well. And of course, the price is right! You really cannot trust the LCD on any DSLR for critical work, even high end cameras like my D850. It is at best an approximation. But with this simple plug and play program you can see exactly what the camera is seeing on your laptop or desktop.
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SkyHiker United States of America
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Re: New to the hobby!

#19

Post by SkyHiker »


Of your choices the Nikon 7500 looks best. Here's a low light comparison of your 4 cameras raw at 6400 ISO:

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image- ... =1&x=0&y=0

Consider also the Canon 6D, a great FF camera that you can find on EBay for $550 or so (body only). I added a link also with my own Fuji X-a1 that is very hard to beat for $150 on EBay (body only).

https://www.dpreview.com/reviews/image- ... =1&x=0&y=0

You may want to consider an articulating screen because bending your neck for alignment gets old real quick. Like JT said, consider the weight as well. Th Fuji X-a1 is a super light system camera with articulating screen, I am sure the other DSLRs are heavier.

Then of course you can have one modified for IR filter removal by LifePixel, or buy a modified camera from them. It will boost the IR photons and will reduce noise after color normalization.
... Henk. :D Telescopes: GSO 12" Astrograph, "Comet Hunter" MN152, ES ED127CF, ES ED80, WO Redcat51, Z12, AT6RC, Celestron Skymaster 20x80, Mounts and tripod: Losmandy G11S with OnStep, AVX, Tiltall, Cameras: ASI2600MC, ASI2600MM, ASI120 mini, Fuji X-a1, Canon XSi, T6, ELPH 100HS, DIY: OnStep controller, Pi4b/power rig, Afocal adapter, Foldable Dob base, Az/Alt Dob setting circles, Accessories: ZWO 36 mm filter wheel, TV Paracorr 2, Baader MPCC Mk III, ES FF, SSAG, QHY OAG-M, EAF electronic focuser, Plossls, Barlows, Telrad, Laser collimators (Seben LK1, Z12, Howie Glatter), Cheshire, 2 Orion RACIs 8x50, Software: KStars-Ekos, DSS, PHD2, Nebulosity, Photo Gallery, Gimp, CHDK, Computers:Pi4b, 2x running KStars/Ekos, Toshiba Satellite 17", Website:Henk's astro images
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BABOafrica Kenya
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Re: New to the hobby!

#20

Post by BABOafrica »


zoom_one wrote: Thu Dec 10, 2020 4:08 am Thanks for all the advice! I'm going with the D5600, and splurging a bit on a Sirius EQ-G or HEQ5 (Whichever I can find first), to pair with a RedCat51. I'll stick with a small refractor for a while and learn the ropes before investing in a bigger scope. Won't be autoguiding for a while.
That is a great combination.

And welcome to the FORUM!!! Looking forward to seeing your FIRST LIGHT ...

BABO
"In lumine tuo videbimus lumen."

Scopes: Stellarvue SV80 Raptor Carbon Fiber ED Doublet / Celestron SCT C8
Williams Optics 66mm APO / DIY 8" f/4 Newtonian astrograph / Nikon 180mm f/2.8
Mounts: Orion Atlas EQ-G / Celestron AVX / DIY mini-equatorial
Cameras: QHY163m / Fujifilm X-A1 (modded) / Fuji X-A2 (not modded) / Orion StarShoot Auto Guider
Filters: ZWO 7nm NB set / ZWO LRGB set / ZWO Dual Band / Astronomics UHC
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