The best telescopes for astrophotography. Boy, if I needed an expensive new hobby, this might be the one at the top of the list.
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In a related field, check out the astrotracer functionality built into (or addable to) Pentax DSLRs -
https://www.ricoh-imaging.co.jp/english/explore/astro/
https://www.pentaxforums.com/articles/photo-articles/pentax-astrotracer-example.html
If you just want to get started in astrophotography, then I highly, highly recommend a SeeStar S30. It's a $400 (currently $350) "smart scope". I have one and it is very easy to use and the photographs are great. I have imaged galaxy trios from my backyard 2 miles from downtown Austin.
It has a very nice integrated app that makes choosing targets easy. It does all the finding, tracking, and image stacking for you. Your only real choices are to choose which object and how to frame it in your view. It does the rest. Setup is as simple as turning it on, connect to its wifi, and use the included app to level the telescope. It figures out where it is from taking quick photos and comparing it internal database of stars ("plate-solving")
Drawbacks are it is photography only, no chance to use it for visual. It is also small (which is also a pro) so it does take longer to get enough photons to make a good image compared to bigger scopes. It's also so easy you may want something more complicated to fiddle with.
It includes everything you need to use it, but you'll want to get a small tripod (mine has 6" legs) and little tripod head to make it easy to level.
This article has some buying advice and sample photos
it should read: "the hobby for you if owning a sailboat wasn't expensive or frustrating enough."
man, this is an expensive hobby and you haven't even gotten into cameras, software, or the really expensive mounts.
Yeah, astrophotography is so much more expensive than visual astronomy.
I spent about a year trying to take photographs of decommissioned satellites, with a 4 x 5 camera mounted to an equatorial mount. After spending tons of money and hours researching, I got about two pictures I was happy with.
Strong endorsement for visual astronomy. Get an 8” or 10” Dobsonian, some decent eyepieces and go learn the night sky. You won’t see amazing colors from a thousand stacked and processed images, but the joy of showing someone the Orion Nebula or the rings on Saturn and the invariable joyful profanity when they see it never gets old.
Seriously, the response is almost always “holy $@&(!.”
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