what would be my best choice????

thoffmann · Joined: 01 Jan 2005 Posts: 1

I'm looking to get into Astgrophotography and I'm in need of some help as far as what kind of scope I shouild get. I want to do some ( of course ) Astrophotography but would also like to do some terrestrial photography as well.These are the scopes I have been looking at so far.

Konusky 150 Refractor
Konus MOTORMAX-150HM
Orion SkyView Pro™ 127mm
Orion SVP 120 Eq
Meade AR-5 Achromatic Refractor
Meade AR-6 Achromatic Refractor

Now as far as F rating I should try to stick with a scope at around a F/8 right??? or doesn;t it matter that much???

Thanks

Guest · Posted: Sat Jan 08, 2005 8:30 pm Post subject:

Hi

The mount you choose for astrophotography may be as important as your choice of telescope. The best telescope money can buy will never take decent photos if you place it on a flimsy mount.

For serious astrophotography, the mount of choice is a quality,motorized equatorial mount, preferrably one with a hand control to adjust slewing (tracking) speed. This will allow precise tracking during the long exposures often needed to capture faint objects on film.

Unfortunately, an equatorial mount is not a good choice for daytime photography - you'll wrap yourself into a pretzel trying to line up an equatorial on fast moving wildlife. Your better off with an alt-az mount for that application, or better yet, a spotting scope.

Another option, is an SCT or Mak on a motorized fork mount. It's not quite as precise as a good equatorial, but it can definitely be used for daytime photography as well.

F ratio does indeed make a difference for astrophotgraphy. A low f-ratio makes for a faster lens and cuts exposure time and work. A low f-ratio will also give a wider field of view if you are looking to take pictures of large, extended objects such as nebuale.

On the other hand, if you are looking to take photos of planets, the higher magnification delivered by a long focal length refractor may be a better choice.