Come join the friendliest, most engaging and inclusive astronomy forum geared for beginners and advanced telescope users, astrophotography devotees, plus check out our "Astro" goods vendors.
Come join the friendliest, most engaging and inclusive astronomy forum geared for beginners and advanced telescope users, astrophotography devotees, plus check out our "Astro" goods vendors.
Hi, I am very new to astronomy having just received my first telescope for a birthday present. I cant wait for clear skies to get out and use it.
I have a Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 5" SCT.
I really like the StarSense feature which should make it easier for me as a beginner to explore the night sky when it is clear.
I would like to take some photographs of what I see up there but all I can see are smartphone mounts or DSLR mounts. I have a Sony HX400 bridge camera and am wondering if there will be a way of using this other than a smartphone (which is being used for the StarSense) or DSLR which I don't have.
Very nice birthday present as well! You should get some great views with that. As for your camera, you need a T-ring/adapter for it; this link from Sony might help.
Good luck, hope your skies clear and let us know how it goes or if you have any questions
All the best,
Mark
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4 & AZ-EQ5 mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D.
Stephen
- - - - - Telescopes: Questar 3.5 Standard SN 18-11421; Stellina (EAA) Solar: Thousand Oaks white light filter; Daystar Quark (chromosphere) Hα filter Mounts: Explore Scientific Twilight I; Majestic heavy duty tripod Local Club: New Hampshire Astronomical Society
Looking forward to your adventures with your new Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 5" SCT!
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), ZWO OAG, 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, ASI 220mm mini , 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/
-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
Scope: Apertura AD10 with Nexus II with 8192/716000 Step Encoders EPs: ES 82* 18mm, 11mm, 6.7mm; GSO 30mm Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars List Counts:Messier: 75;Herschel 400: 30;Caldwell: 12; AL Carbon Star List: 16 Brett's Carbon Star Hunt
Hello and welcome!
A piece of advice: if you plan to get additional gear, it's a good idea to ask here first, to get stuff that are compatible with your telescope. All the stuff don't always play nicely with other stuff. I learned that the hard (expensive) way.
- Juha
Senior Embedded SW Designer
Telescope: OrionOptics XV12, Mount: CEM120, Tri-pier 360 and alternative dobson mount.
Grab 'n go: Omegon AC 102/660 on AZ-3 mount
Eyepieces: 26 mm Omegon SWAN 70°, 15 mm TV Plössl, 12.5 mm Baader Morpheus, 10 mm TV Delos, 6 mm Baader Classic Ortho, 5 mm TV DeLite, 4 mm and 3 mm TV Radians
Cameras: ZWO ASI 294MM Pro, Omegon veLOX 178C
OAG: TS-Optics TSOAG09, ZWO EFW 7 x 36 mm, ZWO filter sets: LRGB and Ha/OIII/SII
Explore Scientific HR 2" coma corrector, Meade x3 1.25" Barlow, TV PowerMate 4x 2"
Some filters (#80A, ND-96, ND-09, Astronomik UHC)
Laptop: Acer Enduro Urban N3 semi-rugged, Windows 11
LAT 61° 28' 10.9" N, Bortle 5
I don't suffer from insanity. I'm enjoying every minute of it.
Hi Malcolm. It's great to have you join us here on TSS and you should enjoy that new StarSense Explorer DX 5" SCT for many years. Welcome to the forum Malcolm and the best of wishes on your astronomy hobby adventures.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
Welcome, nice starter scope. Should give years of fine visual use. I would suggest just getting to know your way around the sky first, lots to look at.
Astrophotography is a deep money pit to avoid at first. Your scope, while of high quality and nice size, is not setup for astrophotography. However, quick snaps with a smart phone of the moon should work out OK. I don't know anything about your Sony camera, but on quick glance, I would say it will not work.
Good luck,
Steve
Scopes; Meade 16 LX200, AT80LE, plus bunch just sitting around gathering dust
Cameras; Atik 460ex mono, Zwo ASI1600MC-cool, QHY5L-II color and mono
to you on 
Thanks for joining us 
