I imagine a lot of beginners are like me. Get a telescope, start checking out all of these great
AP photos, then thinking, "I'll do that, too!". And as a professional photographer, this is something I definitely want to do... at some point. For now, I'm going to do the best I can with what I have. I have a nice scope for a beginner, although not the best option for
AP (but doable, as I've seen from others). But, the NexStar 8SE is great for viewing with what I have.
CURRENT SETUP (all of this for right around $2K)
This should be plenty good for checking out the Cosmos with my 11yo son Charlie
- Celestron NexStar 8SE SCT
Baader Hyperion Zoom 8-24mm EP (72°)
Orion 1.25" Variable Polarizing Filter (1%-40%)
Celestron Solar Filter
Celestron Lens Shade
Celestron f6.3 Corrrector/Reducer
Celestron SkyPortal Wi-Fi Module
Celestron Vibration Pads
Celestron AC Adapter
Celestron Power Tank
Celestron Universal Smart Phone Adapter (might still want to get some moon, sun and eclipse shots)
Celestron Lens Pen Optical Cleaning Tool
Celestron Sky Maps
NEAR FUTURE ADD-ONS FOR ASTRONOMY
- Baader Hyperion Aspheric 31mm EP
Starlight Instruments Feather Touch Micro Focuser (the focuser on the 8SE could be better)
Baader 2" BBHS Sital Mirror Diagonal w/ 2" SCT Lockring
A few dedicated 82° Explore Scientific EPs (still undecided)
Celestron SkySync GPS
Red Light Lamp
Adjustable Chair
Larger Space Heater (It's fricken COLD out there late at night!)
Of course, that doesn't mean I won't attempt some Milky Way Astrophotography with the Canon EOS1DX on a very solid tripod (Manfrotto w/ 3047 3-way head, with levelers). Even without an
EQ mount, a solid tripod and good full-frame camera with high ISO range and low noise can still produce some excellent shots, at least until I can afford something more. With the basics, I believe it will help me to understand proper lighting, ISO range, focusing, and how much exposure time I can get out of that setup.
Once I'm ready for the next step, I think I've got a decent game plan. I've watched some videos (particularly from "AstroBackyard"), and it appears the best way to get started in
AP is to start with a very wide field refractor scope with a decent
EQ mount. Thoughts?
NEXT PHASE OF
AP EVOLUTION
- Canon EOS Rebel SL3 (or T7i) DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens
William Optics RedCat 51 (The Internet says this is a good first AP refractor, and the Internet is always right. lol)
Celestron AVX EQ Mount (scaled down for now, will upgrade later - not intending THIS one for the SCT, only lightweight DSLRs)
Would love to eventually go full out and get a larger
EQ Mount, Cooled Imager, Tracking Scope, etc. But all of that adds many more thousands of dollars to the project. I'll stick with the basics, for now (the above set up still runs just over $2K). I'm learning that there's so much more to
AP than just getting the equipment. it's the learning curve with regard to Stacking Programs and separation/processing of colors in Photoshop that will take some getting used to. Probably will need to get out there with the local Astro group and learn OJT
BTW, I'm an excellent landscape and sports photographer, shooting professionally since 1998, so I really want to explore
AP, but I need to get it right. With the right education and equipment, I know I will be able to capture some absolutely STELLAR deep space images - one day. But first I need to learn how to crawl before I can run. Now, how do I locate the moon again?
Clear Skies everyone!