Mike Turner |
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Telescope photography
I am very interested in Moon photography and perhaps even astral photography. How would I go about getting started? i.e what range of telescope should I purchase? what are all the accessories I would need to hookup the camera to the telescope? t-mount and what else? Is photography the same or does it change slightly? Any other tid bits you can provide. Thanks.Michael
September 06, 2001
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John A. Lind |
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Mike,
Within astrophotography there are sub-fields, such as Moon, Sun, planetary, star fields and deep space (nebulae, etc.). To some extent this will determine the telescope required. Typical hookup to a telescope is via a t-mount although specific details can vary depending on specific make/model of telescope.Among the biggest consderations are being able to very accurately track an object while the Earth rotates, and shake or vibration of the telescope with the camera attached. Specific film type and speed, and its reciprocity failure characteristics become very important also. The "mirror slap" on an SLR can vibrate the system significantly at the magnification levels involved. Several features you want for your camera body:
(a) Manual exposure mode.
(b) "B" or "bulb" shutter speed.
(c) Ability to use a cable or remote release, to lock the shutter open for very long exposures.
(d) Mirror lock-up. The details of how to go about it easily fill a book. One of the better ones readily available is:
"Astrophotography for the Amateur" by Michael Covington (2nd Ed. 1999), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-64133-0 (hardback), 0-521-62740-0 (paperback)
A large library may have it in their holdings. -- John
September 05, 2001
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John A. Lind |
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Oh . . . forgot to add:
Micheal Covington has a web site also:
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/astro/index.htmlThere are hyperlinks there to other resources, and see this web page in particular for some very basic information:
http://www.CovingtonInnovations.com/astro/astrowhat.html BTW, I have used a very fast 50mm f/1.4 lens on tripod and run exposures around 30-40 seconds with Fuji Provia 100F on an ultra-clear night before moonrise. Much longer than 30 seconds without tracking produces star trails from Earth rotation. Aimed it at recognizable constellations. It is quite amazing the enormous number of faint stars the film captures that are too dim to see with your eyes. -- John
September 05, 2001
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