Astroscope + DSLR = Setups! (1 Viewer)

bogert · Apr 6, 2012

Here is a link to a photo of my birding setup
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbogert/6846904160/in/photostream
I'm using an Astro-tech 72 ED, 430mm telescope, a Canon 500D and a big sturdy tripod. It all fits nicely into my camera backpack.
I'm looking to get a 1.4x tele-convertor for some extra reach.

punta · Apr 14, 2012

Starwave 80ED Semi - APO Refractor

I have been offered one of these scopes without a eyepiece. Quick question are they suitable for astrophotography, if so are they the same/similar to skywatcher 80ED glass quality.

Paul Corfield · Apr 14, 2012

Starwave is FPL-51 so you may see a little blue fringing, nothing major but be aware there may be some. Saying that, FPL-51 can be ok depending on the matching element but most FPL-51 scopes I've seen photos from will have a tiny bit of blue fringing around bright, high contrast subjects. Depends on the price of the Starwave. Things like the free fringekiller plug in for Photoshop are a 1 click solution that will completely remove it too. Apart from that the scope would be fine.

Edit - just re-read your question and see you mention astrophotography. What sort of astrophotography are you think of?

Paul.

punta · Apr 14, 2012

Paul Corfield said:
Starwave is FPL-51 so you may see a little blue fringing, nothing major but be aware there may be some. Saying that, FPL-51 can be ok depending on the matching element but most FPL-51 scopes I've seen photos from will have a tiny bit of blue fringing around bright, high contrast subjects. Depends on the price of the Starwave. Things like the free fringekiller plug in for Photoshop are a 1 click solution that will completely remove it too. Apart from that the scope would be fine.

Edit - just re-read your question and see you mention astrophotography. What sort of astrophotography are you think of?

Paul.

Thanks paul,

You really do know your stuff with these scopes o

Not sure why i put astrophotography in, as i want to use it for bird photos. Was offered one for £250 did a hunt on ebay and see they are available for £200

punta · Apr 15, 2012

Ok I have decided not to get the starwave. I have bought a skywatcher 80ED :t: collect it tomorrow

I have already got a Canon 40d camera, but I want to just leave this on my normal lens, so now I want a camera that i can just leave on the 80ED all the time ready to go.

Any reco's. I would like a camera with a decent iso (better than the 40D), focus confirm is a must, cuz I aint great in manwell mode

+ decent burst rate.

Are any of these mirrorless camera's being used by any one yet ?

Cant wait to get going haha

punta · Apr 16, 2012

Well after much messing about by me I have got one - will be having a play tomorrow. Sold my Max dslr and 2 inch extension tube that I bought previously :-C

But I do have a T2 mount and some macro tubes so should, hopefully be able to set it up tomorrow. Looks like I will need to do something about my tripod head for mounting this beast as well.

Paul Corfield · Apr 17, 2012

Note - on the lens cap you can pull off the smaller protruding cap to expose a 50mm hole. This allows you to stop down the scope from 80mm f7.5 to 50mm f12. This gives more depth of field plus more chance of getting birds in focus plus on a sunny day you don't drop too much in shutter speed.

There's various methods for mounting onto a tripod. I drilled two holes in my scope tube and mounted a metal plate to it at the balance point with camera attached. With yours being brand new you may not want to start drilling holes in it though. The big tube rings add unwanted weight, probably don't need the finder scope attached either.

Paul.

punta · Apr 17, 2012

I have finished work now, so have set up my scope.

Taken a few shots hand held and they looked awfull, looked overexposed and blurry around the edges. I Just set the camera to Manual and made sure the arrow was in the middle on the exposure bar, + adjusting the iso to get a decentish shutter speed, but light not great today. Will try and sort out a tripod and see if that helps, which i am sure it will

Photo attached. Does it look right please.

Paul Corfield · Apr 17, 2012

Set up looks fine. On my 450D I find exposure is generally ok with the needle well to the left, about -1 on my scale. The scale goes from -2 to +2 on my 450D.

I use spot metering or centre weighted.

Paul.

punta · Apr 17, 2012

Paul Corfield said:
Set up looks fine. On my 450D I find exposure is generally ok with the needle well to the left, about -1 on my scale. The scale goes from -2 to +2 on my 450D.

I use spot metering or centre weighted.

Paul.

Thanks for the heads up

I reckon the 40D wont be much different with the settings. I have not had chance to get it on the tripod as yet. Will get it sorted tomorrow and post a few photographs hopefully.

punta · Apr 19, 2012

Just quickly set up the scope in the conservatory for a quick few shots through glass in very poor light between heavy rain showers.

I think I will need to get some practice with this scope – but it looks fun.

Few photos attached.
Not sure what i am doing in getting these photos listed mind you, I used a action for sharpening and web sharing that i found free on the net to get these up. :eek!:

Cheers Paul

alphan · Apr 23, 2012

Excellent, I would say for a beginner. With some practice, you'll be posting fantastic pics soon. Keep it up.

Tord · Apr 30, 2012

Hi all,

I have taken the plunge and ordered bits and pieces the other week. With some minor modifications i mounted the Skywalker ED80 tube on my Lensmaster Gimbal tripod.

When assembling the setup this afternoon I noticed there seems to be quite many pieces of dust or fibres inside the scope tube quite a few of them large, sticked to the back of the front lens. The matte tube coating seems damaged, and I guess these pieces are simply fragments of paint. I contacted the seller (www.teleskop-express.de) who have been really service minded, answering my questions and being responsive to emails, they offered to replace it without questioning. 5/5 as far as service is concerned.

Anyway, the setup is nice to operate, focuser smooth and the AF confirm chip provides some extra support. Not that F7.5 is difficult to use, on the contrary the image contrast and brightness in the viewfinder was quite good.

I could not resist the temptation to take some pictures in my garden before sending the scope back for replacement. Apologies for posting samples in this thread meant to discuss setups.

600 mm, F7.5, Olympus E520 @ ISO 400, 1/320s (the EXIF says 50mm F2.8 but that is output data from the AF confim chip that signals it is working OK). Shooting distance about 8-10 meters, pictures 50% cropped. I also found out I had to underexpose about -1EV for correct exposure.

I believe the results are quite promising, considering that the front lens has quite a few paint speckles on it.

I will keep you updated. Stay tuned...

/Tord

Tord · May 1, 2012

Here is my newly acquired setup, as depicted:

Skywatcher ED80 600mm F/7.5
50 mm extension tube. I quite immediately found 50 mm is not enough, so I added a 25 mm Olympus original extension tube (that is the one closest to camera body)
True-2 Olympus 4/3 Prime Focus Adapter with Nikon fitting
Nikon to 4/3 adapter with AF confirm chip
(25 mm extension tube, might not need if I mount a longer extension tube)
Olympus body (E620/E520). The good thing is these bodies are light, the setup is already someahat back heavy as it is.
Lensmaster Gimbal GH-2 head
Giotto long plate. Drilled one extra hole through the plate to attach to the scope rail.
Manfrotto aluminum tripod

What do you think? Any potential improvement areas?

/Tord

Paul Corfield · May 2, 2012

Tord said:
What do you think? Any potential improvement areas?

/Tord

Camo tape?

I know it's new and you may not want to modifiy it. If it were mine I'd take off the tube rings and rail and mount the Giotto plate directly to the scope. You can get the scope much better balanced by mounting your own plate but it generally requires drilling a couple of mounting holes in the telescope tube.

Paul.

alphan · May 3, 2012

Paul, you should take a look Oly OM D. Very impressive results reported. 2X crop still produce crisp, clean low noise when compared to 1.5X crop camera. Mirrorless...

Paul Corfield · May 3, 2012

alphan said:
Paul, you should take a look Oly OM D. Very impressive results reported. 2X crop still produce crisp, clean low noise when compared to 1.5X crop camera. Mirrorless...

It looks pretty good but quite a few people seem to really hate it and I've read a fair few reports of people sending it back. At around £1000 in the UK I think I'll wait. It's about double the price that I would consider spending on a new camera. Image quality looks good enough and I'd consider buying a second hand one for the right price.

Paul.

Mark9473 · May 4, 2012

Tord said:
What do you think? Any potential improvement areas?

I would add a red dot finder.

alphan · May 4, 2012

Paul Corfield said:
It looks pretty good but quite a few people seem to really hate it and I've read a fair few reports of people sending it back. At around £1000 in the UK I think I'll wait. It's about double the price that I would consider spending on a new camera. Image quality looks good enough and I'd consider buying a second hand one for the right price.

Paul.

Very interesting. Saw a few ads in Singapore of people selling within a week or two. One would rather stick to his NEX 7 but not knowing what he usually shoots, can't comment on it.

JvdM · May 4, 2012

Hi Mark

If you are using the "red dot finder" can you please expand on the use and benefits?

Much appreciated

Jaco

Astroscope + DSLR = Setups! (1 Viewer)

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

JvdM

Similar threads

Users who are viewing this thread