astrophotography

[Bill]

Is anyone into astrophotography? I'm considering getting into Astronomy, and astrophotography, but the many different types of telescopes is quite daunting. I have started doing some research on them and getting used to the different constellations and all.

Well, if anyone else is into this, I'd love to chat!

[Learner]

Check out Westronomer on Flickr.com. He has been doing astrophotography for quite awhile I understand. Hope this helps.

[Merlyn]

This site may help you with your projects. Lots of good astro shots. Maybe of interest, there are even cameras dedicated to taking only astro photos. Also it is a good site for everyone to check out for getting good weather shots.

http://www.weather-photography.com/index.php

[Bill]

Thank you for the responses. The weather photography site has some good information.

And I searched flickr for Westronomer but I couldn't find him.

I'll continue my research, and if I decide its a feasible endeavor, I'll post pics when I take them!

[soxboston]

Astrophotography can get quite pricey if you want to get into it seriously. Dedicated astro CCD cameras can go into the $10,000's, but you can definitely use your DSLR as well, even without a telescope. Some of the problems with DSLR's are that they often use IR filters, which is great for everyday shooting, but when it comes to deep space objects such as nebulae or star clusters, it can cut out some of the red that you would like to capture. But then again, if you won't be using a telescope with your camera, then you probably don't need to worry about it. Star trails, the moon, comets, and anything else bright in the sky can be captured with your DSLR (normally using the bulb setting mind you).

[wrpowell2002]

I have been interested in astrophotography for a long time and just in the past two years using digital cameras. As someone previously stated it can be a rather expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. Starting simply can be not only rewarding, but you can get some very high quality images with less expensive equipment. I would highly recommend the book "Digital SLR Astrophotography" by Michael A Covington, ISBN: 978-0-521-70080-8. There are other titles available which you can find with a basic web search. Regards.//Bill

[Bill]

I have been interested in astrophotography for a long time and just in the past two years using digital cameras. As someone previously stated it can be a rather expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. Starting simply can be not only rewarding, but you can get some very high quality images with less expensive equipment. I would highly recommend the book "Digital SLR Astrophotography" by Michael A Covington, ISBN: 978-0-521-70080-8. There are other titles available which you can find with a basic web search. Regards.//Bill


i will look into this book... Thank you very much. I posted this a few months ago, and haven't yet done much since, but it is still something that I'm interested in.

Before I get the book, in what ways do you suggest going about it, without it being too expensive?

[Bill]

I have been interested in astrophotography for a long time and just in the past two years using digital cameras. As someone previously stated it can be a rather expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be. Starting simply can be not only rewarding, but you can get some very high quality images with less expensive equipment. I would highly recommend the book "Digital SLR Astrophotography" by Michael A Covington, ISBN: 978-0-521-70080-8. There are other titles available which you can find with a basic web search. Regards.//Bill

also do you recommend any specific books on astronomy outside of astrophotography?

[jblaschke]

Bill, other good, introductory books on astronomy are NIGHTWATCH and THE BACKYARD ASTRONOMER'S GUIDE, both by Terence Dickinson. They're good primers, the first being more introductory and the second getting into more detail with 'scopes, etc.

The three basic types of telescopes to choose from are refractors--traditional lens scopes that generally provide excellent imagery but are expensive to make and get VERY pricey once your primary lens becomes larger than 3"; reflectors, which use curved mirrors to collect light and focus it to an eyepiece--these offer the most bang for the buck, since you can get large apertures relatively inexpensively, but the drawback is that the scopes can quickly become huge, heavy and unweildy; Catadioptric telescopes are essentially compound creations, combining lenses and mirrors to make much more compact scopes. These are the most flexible and useful for a wide variety of viewings other than astronomy, but image quality can occasionally be inferior to the others. Price falls somewhere in between.

You can piggyback your DSLR on a tracking scope, or get a camera adapter to shoot using the scope itself as your lens or shoot through an eyepiece.

I recommend checking out the Cloudy Nights (http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/) discussion boards as well to get additional advice.

[inkista]

I know nothing of astrophotography, but I find myself fascinated by Samir Kahusi's postings on dpreview (http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/postersprofile.asp?poster=hgiyijizhy). His website (http://www.samirkharusi.net/) and pbase gallery (http://www.pbase.com/samirkharusi/image/32869221) are chock-full of amazing images; many of them taken without telescopes. (e.g., this one of the Milky Way (http://www.pbase.com/samirkharusi/image/32869221) taken with a Tamron 14mm f/2.8 lens).

His "Beginner's Deep Sky Astrophotography" gallery on pbase (http://www.pbase.com/samirkharusi/beginners) is a blast.

[jblaschke]

Color me impressed. I'm hoping seriously to get back into astrophotography once my scope is back up and running. I bought a t-ring and adapter for a Canon AE-1 way back when, and eventually got a few decent moon pics, but I didn't really understand photography at the time and it got too expensive to continue learning by trial and error, so I eventually gave up.

Now that all this software is out that allows stacking and all sorts of other digital niftyness, I'm chomping at the bit. Too bad my skies are terribly light polluted. :(

[inkista]

Yeah, Kahusi's got a definite advantage, living in Oman as he does, when it comes to light pollution.