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Hey, yours looks great too! The TC2X may be pushing it though. I think the generally accepted wisdom is that the TC1.4X is really as far as you can push the 400 F5.6 without losing quality.
I finally broke down and got myself a tripod. Here's the 400 F5.6 with the TC1.4. 100% crop.
Another great moonshot. I gave up moonshots, and high-resolution astroimaging in general, in order to concentrate more on fainter widefield targets. For example: Telescope Reviews: M42 in disguise
Another great moonshot. I gave up moonshots, and high-resolution astroimaging in general, in order to concentrate more on fainter widefield targets. For example: Telescope Reviews: M42 in disguise
Ahem. You sir, are in another league. Unbelievable images on your website.
I've been thinking of trying a little astrophotography. We just moved to AZ (from Rockland County, NY, BTW), and we get some pretty clear skies out here. I figured I'd need some kind of equatorial mount. Then I saw your reference to a "barn door tracker", I googled around, and maybe that's a good way to get started. Is that a good forum to join to learn about this stuff? Thanks.
Ahem. You sir, are in another league. Unbelievable images on your website.
I've been thinking of trying a little astrophotography. We just moved to AZ (from Rockland County, NY, BTW), and we get some pretty clear skies out here. I figured I'd need some kind of equatorial mount. Then I saw your reference to a "barn door tracker", I googled around, and maybe that's a good way to get started. Is that a good forum to join to learn about this stuff? Thanks.
The pictures on that website are all old ones taken with the barndoor tracker. The more recent images are still waiting to be uploaded to Pbase, once I get a chance (I've been busy getting a 2nd home in the last few months). Note that I'm still a beginner at astrophotography, trying to move up into an intermediate skill level.
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"Cloudy Nights" would be the best forum (in English) to get info about astrophotography.
There are two main branches of Astrophotograpy:
- photon-starved DSO imaging, requiring multiple long accurately-tracked exposures with autoguiding, and special combining techniques to improve the s/n ratio.
- panetary/lunar/solar imaging that uses extraordinary techniques to improve image resolution, despite the atmospheric turbulence.
The Barndoor + DSLR + camera lens (assuming you already have a DSLR and lenses) would be a good cheap way to start down the DSO imaging path, while you gain imaging experience and study what to purchase next. This would normally be a small APO refractor plus a good photographic tracking mount (like the Astro-physics AP900 or AP1200), along with a guidescope and autoguider and suitable filters.
Note that these two branches of astrophotography usually require totally different imaging setups: DSOs need a great mount, a decent scope, and an highly-efficient imaging camera, preferably with a large sensor, along with provisions for autoguiding, and perhaps narrowband filters.
Planetary imaging needs a big scope capable of high resolution, a mediocre tracking mount (that automatically provides "dithering"), a webcam or video cam (probably with a small sensor) that can grab thousands of images in a minute, and then special software to select and combine the luicky images that were grabbed between "twinkles" of the atmosphere. (I know very little about planetary imaging, BTW.)
The pictures on that website are all old ones taken with the barndoor tracker. The more recent images are still waiting to be uploaded to Pbase, once I get a chance (I've been busy getting a 2nd home in the last few months). Note that I'm still a beginner at astrophotography, trying to move up into an intermediate skill level. [...]
Thanks for all the great info. For a beginner, you're sure doing some great work.
Sorry, just had to post this. I believe this is technically my best moon shot ever. I took several shots, and they all came out well tonight. The funny thing is I shot the moon last night, took dozens of shots, and they weren't up to par. I can't believe the lighting was that much different in one day. I did take this shot at dusk, and last night's failures were late at night. So moon position may have played a factor, and of course the atmosphere is always a wildcard.
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Tonight's moon
