Hi all
I have been reading this forum with special interest and have come to the conclusion that this is possibly the way to go. I have seen some fantastic photos from the likes of Paul Corfield and DiegoBe which made me conclude I should try this. Paul’s depth of knowledge, ingenuity and willingness to impart (impartial) advice is exemplorary (as is everyone elses). I currently use a Nikon D90,Sigma 150-500mm APO and also an Opticron ES 80 ED with either a Ricoh GX100 or Nikon P6000. I have had some really great shoots with both setups but sometimes I need more ‘reach’ than the D90/Sigma and better quality than the digiscope setup (plus it can be a bit ‘fiddly’ and has other ‘niggles’). I also have 2 Kenko TCs (1.5 and 2x) but as you know, IQ is degraded using these (I have heard and assume IQ is not so compromised on primes, which is essentiaally what refractor scopes are). I also can not (yet) justify the amounts of money for a big prime lens when thay are the same price as a small car !!.
So here are my questions:
1/ What ‘basic’ equipment would I need to start with my D90 (I am also cosidering a 2nd body, maybe a Canon). I have read of people using Skywatchers, Astro Techs and Celestrons – which one to go for.
2/ as I already have 2 TCs (Nikon fit), what else could I use for increasing focal length (I have read of ‘barlows’ and other TCs but not fully understanding the advantages/disadvantages etc)
3/ In connection with above, what equivalent focal lengths could I achieve.
4/ How would I meter available light, My Nikon does not seem to offer this when using my Opticron and a T2 slip on adapter, its purely guesswork (but following the Sunny F16 rule)
5/ Focusing, is focusing achieved on the scope or is there some other way(s) to achieve this.
6/ What should I look for on (possibly) a 2nd body to dedicate to this.
7/ Eyepieces – are there eyepieces available to use as say a normal spotting scope, ie to give me a dual/triple purpose for a setup – astronomy, birdwatching and photography.
8/ What’s ‘collimating’ – should I worry aboout it, do I need to know ?
9/ Any supliers recommended, also after doing some basic searches it seems that most come as ‘kits’ with bits I would not need such as tripods ( I would use a sturdy Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod I have along with a Manfrotto 393 gimbal head ), they also have ‘red dot sights’ which I already have and 45 deg eyepieces – can you get just the basic assemblies (where from)
My budget would be £5/600 to start with (scope setup, 2nd camera body will be setup later but have seen quite a few Canon 450Ds under £300 on oboy)
Hope my post is not too long, there will probably be other questions later as well.
Many thanks.
Vic
I have been reading this forum with special interest and have come to the conclusion that this is possibly the way to go. I have seen some fantastic photos from the likes of Paul Corfield and DiegoBe which made me conclude I should try this. Paul’s depth of knowledge, ingenuity and willingness to impart (impartial) advice is exemplorary (as is everyone elses). I currently use a Nikon D90,Sigma 150-500mm APO and also an Opticron ES 80 ED with either a Ricoh GX100 or Nikon P6000. I have had some really great shoots with both setups but sometimes I need more ‘reach’ than the D90/Sigma and better quality than the digiscope setup (plus it can be a bit ‘fiddly’ and has other ‘niggles’). I also have 2 Kenko TCs (1.5 and 2x) but as you know, IQ is degraded using these (I have heard and assume IQ is not so compromised on primes, which is essentiaally what refractor scopes are). I also can not (yet) justify the amounts of money for a big prime lens when thay are the same price as a small car !!.
So here are my questions:
1/ What ‘basic’ equipment would I need to start with my D90 (I am also cosidering a 2nd body, maybe a Canon). I have read of people using Skywatchers, Astro Techs and Celestrons – which one to go for.
2/ as I already have 2 TCs (Nikon fit), what else could I use for increasing focal length (I have read of ‘barlows’ and other TCs but not fully understanding the advantages/disadvantages etc)
3/ In connection with above, what equivalent focal lengths could I achieve.
4/ How would I meter available light, My Nikon does not seem to offer this when using my Opticron and a T2 slip on adapter, its purely guesswork (but following the Sunny F16 rule)
5/ Focusing, is focusing achieved on the scope or is there some other way(s) to achieve this.
6/ What should I look for on (possibly) a 2nd body to dedicate to this.
7/ Eyepieces – are there eyepieces available to use as say a normal spotting scope, ie to give me a dual/triple purpose for a setup – astronomy, birdwatching and photography.
8/ What’s ‘collimating’ – should I worry aboout it, do I need to know ?
9/ Any supliers recommended, also after doing some basic searches it seems that most come as ‘kits’ with bits I would not need such as tripods ( I would use a sturdy Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod I have along with a Manfrotto 393 gimbal head ), they also have ‘red dot sights’ which I already have and 45 deg eyepieces – can you get just the basic assemblies (where from)
My budget would be £5/600 to start with (scope setup, 2nd camera body will be setup later but have seen quite a few Canon 450Ds under £300 on oboy)
Hope my post is not too long, there will probably be other questions later as well.
Many thanks.
Vic