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Camera advise for novice telescope photography
May 18, 2020 10:15:14   #
bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX
 
we have recently purchased n Orion 6" starblaster, and although my wife has tried so very hard to capture photos with her phone, the I-phone 11 pro with the 3 cameras is making it difficult. she is mostly interested in taking moon shots, sun photos with our solar filter of course, and in the future some planetary photos as well. looking for camera suggestions for the above scenarios @ a cost of less than $500. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts.

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May 18, 2020 11:15:44   #
Electric Gnome Loc: Norwich UK
 
Canon crop sensors are quite popular for astro.

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May 18, 2020 14:52:50   #
Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California
 
bigtex2000 wrote:
we have recently purchased n Orion 6" starblaster, and although my wife has tried so very hard to capture photos with her phone, the I-phone 11 pro with the 3 cameras is making it difficult. she is mostly interested in taking moon shots, sun photos with our solar filter of course, and in the future some planetary photos as well. looking for camera suggestions for the above scenarios @ a cost of less than $500. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts.


If you have a DSLR you can get an adapter to easily attach it to the telescope for ~$30. Note to get decent planetary shots you probably will need to insert a barlow lens to get enough magnification so see any detail. If you want to get a camera that is only for use with the telescope then something like the "Celestron Nextimage 10 Solar system imager" would be good for the sun, moon and planets (~$270). There is also freeware available to stack multiple images to help remove the effects of atmospheric turbulence like Registax6 and AutoStakkert that are great for the planets, moon and sun. Normally for these types of imaging I take a movie with my DSLR and then stack the frames. Below are a few ugly hedgehog links to shots I have taken using this technique.

Lunar closeup (The sky was horrible on this one but staking helped at lot).
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-644543-1.html

Mercury transit
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-618831-1.html

Jupiter
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-600510-1.html

Saturn
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-600633-1.html

Moon and some planets
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-566626-1.html

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May 18, 2020 18:35:43   #
bigtex2000 Loc: Arlington, TX
 
Thank you...yes I have several dslr's but the wife is not comfortable with my cameras and she has this stubborn streak, that she wants her own camera for her telescope. I will definitely look at the Celestron Nextimage 10 Solar system imager. thank you

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May 18, 2020 21:58:31   #
Europa Loc: West Hills, CA
 
This is a great video series that would apply to all the items you are looking to photograph. As Ballard is pointing out, you will be better served getting a camera designed for video. The higher the frame (fps) the better. Also your pc will make a difference. Everything is about getting the FPS up, so usb3 is important and a sold state drive will definitely help.

http://planetaryimagingtutorials.com/getting-started/

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May 19, 2020 11:06:44   #
alberio Loc: Casa Grande AZ
 
bigtex2000 wrote:
we have recently purchased n Orion 6" starblaster, and although my wife has tried so very hard to capture photos with her phone, the I-phone 11 pro with the 3 cameras is making it difficult. she is mostly interested in taking moon shots, sun photos with our solar filter of course, and in the future some planetary photos as well. looking for camera suggestions for the above scenarios @ a cost of less than $500. Thank you all in advance for your time and thoughts.


You might look into the ZWO ASI290MC. I'm picking up one today. The only question is if it will come to focus on your scope. Some newtonian scopes don't have enough focus travel.

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May 19, 2020 12:50:46   #
Mojaveflyer Loc: Denver, CO
 
Spencer's Camera in Utah has a list of cameras that work well for astrophotography: https://www.spencerscamera.com/recommended-cameras-astro.cfm

I bought a used Canon 60D and had them modify it. I was happy with their work.

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