© Reeth Informal Astronomy Group unless otherwise indicated
Reeth Informal
Astronomy Group
covering the Northern Yorkshire Dales
That is all well and good Sean, but what if I have physical limitations, or I want to get into Astrophotography?
Ah, the traditional answer is be prepared to spend a lot more money…… or maybe not. I am also in this situation and the biggest thing to look at is the second hand market. You can get a lot of enjoyment in astrophotography with just a camera and tripod set up. This is where my main interest is at the moment and I am only just starting. Look around the second hand market for DSLR cameras. I managed to pick up a Canon 450D body with a shutter count of less than 8000 in good condition for £100. So the 450D doesn’t record movies but as a starter camera for astrophotography it is highly recommended on online forums. But I will warn you astrophotography has a very steep learning curve and the price of equipment can run up to the thousands if you really want to take those images that are posted online or in magazines.
Unfortunately a Dobsonian telescope isn’t recommended for astrophotography and they can be heavy – but light weight telescopes suitable for entry level astrophotography are available depending on how much you are willing to spend. Many people go for motorized and computer goto systems for mounts for astrophotography.
Goto is nice, and here I will say that for general observation then an AZ goto mount is the way to keep the price down. It will be limited for astrophotography but astrophotography can still be done with short exposure (less then 25 seconds) and stacking (that is combining images)/. For image processing software you can go the buying route or look at open source. Gimp is free and is a very close competitor to Adobe Photoshop in terms of function and utility, for stacking images and basic processing there is a lot of free software online which will do what you want. The only way is to actually go out and search for it. Looking at Astronomy forums along with YouTube for equipment reviews and help is also a good way to go.
This is by no means a definitive guide – just my own experiences – but I hope you find it helpful. Clear Skies!
Sean Murcott.