First, Smart Telescopes - My thoughts and experiences: Simple, not-too-technical explanations, of the (affordable) Smart Telescopes: The Dwarf 2 and The Seestar S50. I've been using The Seestar S50 a lot more lately.
Have you taken a good look at some of the images captured with the Seestar S50 lately? You can always go to the Seestar S50 Official Group on Facebook, and just have a look. What you see, generally, are average people acquiring some phenomenal photos of deep sky objects - using just a Seestar S50.
Of course, there are some “outliers” who put in some extra effort, and a lot of extra time – and achieve really remarkable results. Probably the most amazing part of it, and this is coming from a bona fide astrophotographer, is that when compared to images acquired using conventional rigs: the results from the Seestar S50 are commonly as good, and often better, than those acquired while spending a lot more money (and time).
I have spent a lot of my free time recently, simultaneously, adding components to the conventional astrophotography rig I have; testing it, etc.
I've also been researching all of the different results which other hobbyists have been getting, using different combinations of equipment. Astrobin.com is a great resource, For doing some quick and easy searches – to see images acquired with specific equipment.
Of course, I’ve been looking up equipment similar to the rig I currently have, as well as possible combinations of scopes and cameras, which I’ve considered upgrading to.
There are almost a dozen different scope / camera combinations I've considered: From Newtonian astrographs, to 6" SCTs, even considered the "exotic" (lol) Ritchey Chretien!
And many cameras, from DSLRs to CMOS... And I could hardly find any (modestly-priced) combination, which would produce substantially better results than my Seestar S50.
The only (affordable) scope I came across, which would show a noticeable improvement in overall image(s) were the popular 6" F/4 Newtonian astrographs (like this one - for one example). Or this one, which is at least in stock.
This is my current set up:
How it started...
(still in progress)
- A ZWO AM3 Harmonic Drive Mount, on a ZWO TC40 tripod (this is currently on loan from ZWO).
- An Astro Tech AT80EDT (apochromatic triplet refractor).
- A 2” Astro Tech field flattener.
- A (soon-to-be-modified) Canon 550 / T2i / DSLR.
- A ZWO 30mm Guidescope
- A ZWO ASI120MM Guide camera
Software, which is being tested extensively is:
- ZWO’s suite of standard ASI applications.
- N.I.N.A.
- PHD2
- APT - Astro Photography Tool
- SharpCap
- Astroberry
These are all very good, but for now the ones I’ve settled on are:
APT
&
I like using APT because it gives you real time feedback on everything that’s taking place: There’s live view, you can look at your actual sub frames, you can see the battery status of connected equipment, etc.
I just find it all intuitive and very easy to use. I may also be a bit biased, because it’s the software I’ve used in years past.
I purchased a license for Sharpcap software; I’m looking forward to trying it’s live stacking feature.
Among the DSLR combinations I was looking into, were the following:
Canon 550D + 80/90/102mm refractors
Canon 5D Mk II (inspired by Astrobiscuit!)
Canon 60Da (inspired by Trevor Jones – Astrobackyard)
Nikon D5300 (inspired by Nico Carver – Nebulaphotos)
&
Canon SL2
Canon T7i
&
Nikon D5600 (inspired by Jerry Lodriguss – Astropix).
Other cameras by Canon which I’ve been looking into:
6D MkI
6D Mk II (full frame sensor)
5D MII
5D Mk III
450D (because of how inexpensive and versatile it is).
Other cameras by Nikon which I’ve been looking into:
D7500
D5500
D850
D810A (full frame sensor)
D600 (full frame sensor)
D700 (full frame sensor)
Until next time,
Clear skies!
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