Telescope?

[Leon]

Hi guys

 

I think I read someone was into Astrophotography?  my lad keeps saying he wants a telescope, I do too! so I think for xmas we will get him one, question is what to buy?  it will have to take a t-mount so I can attach my camera to get shots.

 

I'v been looking at these ones, we only have a small budget.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-21035-Travel-Scope-Telescope/dp/B001TI9Y2M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381788173&sr=8-1&keywords=telescope

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seben-700-76-Reflector-Telescope-incl/dp/B00426KOQI/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1381788173&sr=8-12&keywords=telescope

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Celestron-Travel-Refractor-additional-Eyepiece/dp/B006MCYAH4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1381788173&sr=8-8&keywords=telescope

 

guess it's a little like photography, bigger (wider) lens the more light so better? 

 

think we can stretch to £70 then I'll need a t-mount too.

 

does not have to be portable it will generally only be used in the back garden, or maybe a trip to the moors in the car now and then. (no jokes about finding abandoned carparks on the moors thanks) 

[Barbara]

Don't know anything about this at all Leon , I have a friend who does it and the results are amazing. You may be interested in this, I just picked it up from my Blip Page

http://www.blipfoto.com/blog/2013/09/24/photography-that-s-out-of-this-world-astronomy-photographer-of-the-year-2013

[Guest DaveW]

Photography through terrestrial telescopes is called "digiscoping" (still pronounced digi-scope-ing, why they leave the "e" out I do not know!) and you will find a lot on the web if you Google "Digiscoping", meanwhile these may describe it and indicate what to look out for:-

 

http://www.scopesnskies.com/essentials/digiscoping/digital-cameras.html

 

Edited October 15, 2013 by DaveW

[Leon]

anyone else??  thought we had a resident expert?

[NannyFerret]

I think I frightened him off, Mr W.

[Terry]

Hi Leon

Have a look at the link below. Hopefully this should give you a clearer picture of what is available. If you want the scope for photography rather than general viewing you will need to go for an equatorial mount. Even at low magnification things like the moon pass across the field of view at fair old rate. 

 

 

http://www.telescopesandbinoculars.co.uk/acatalog/WhichtelescopeforMe.html

Edited October 16, 2013 by Terry

[Guest DaveW]

Presumably in your case Leon photography is only a secondary requirement to the telescopes prime purpose for visual observation, but the pro's and cons of using it for bird or terrestrial photography versus a long lens are discussed here:-

 

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/general-chit-chat/201620-telescope-vs-lens-photography.html

 

As pointed out in the link if you use a telescope using mirrors, just as with a mirror lens, out of focus highlights become circles or "doughnuts" rather than the normal circular out of focus blobs sometimes called "gallstones":-

 

http://www.darrencarroll.com/blog/2011/11/time-to-make-the-donuts-going-old-school-with-mirror-lenses/

Edited October 16, 2013 by DaveW

[Martyn]

anyone else??  thought we had a resident expert?

 

DaveS was the man but he's not been on the forum for a week or two. You could try sending him a message or visiting his website.