Attention all astro-geeks

ouch! them focal reducers aren't cheap are they ... well I knew it from the start, this hobby won't be cheap any way 🙂 I think i'll buy the focal reducer a month or two after. Question, do I need the focal reducer for planet astrophotography? Dew-shield, T-ring, T-adapter, Heater, Power bank are all accounted for 🙂 Now all I want is someone to give me discount hehehe

do I need the focal reducer for planet astrophotography?

No, quite the opposite. You'll need a Barlow to increase the magnification of the image.

Using one of these with the canon will give you live view and control over your camera on your iPad or laptop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00634PLTW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00

I've bought one but haven't got round to doing it yet.

Google link with details and youtube instructions.

That's great you going for one of those Advanced scopes (Edge even better)! You will add diversity amongst the rest of us with your scope and certainly higher performing for visual and astrophotography than my SE8! It will be heavier but same weight as my HEQ5 Pro which I also carry around, albeit with a little more heave, lol.

A focal reducer is a must for the astrophotography part but I also find it great for visual too for those wider field views. I have the Celestron f6.3 reducer.

The Celestrons only come with a 20mm eyepiece so you might want to at least get a barlow or a couple more eyepieces, one lower power and one nice lower power one too. Or even that Baader Zoom 8-24mm I showed you which you seemed to have enjoyed more than my other eyepieces. But all that you can get later after you enjoy your 20mm view of the skies.

Dont worry about software support for your Nikon, just have a look at Mike's awesome gallery for inspiration, he spits in the face of software compatability, who needs it, ha. Its only with planetary imaging that Nikon is not supported as you've researched. At least there is software available to tether your Nikon to your laptop for software control captures but they cost a bit compared to Canon software provided free with their cameras. You could indeed get a canon body for your astrophotos but take things step by step. You'll achieve a great deal with your scope and Nikon. My first deep space targets were Andromeda, Orion Nebula and globular clusters. You dont need modded cameras for those brilliant objects.

First thing, though, go get that bloody telescope! I eagerly await hearing your experience with it 🙂

Using one of these with the canon will give you live view and control over your camera on your iPad or laptop. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00634PLTW?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00 I’ve bought one but haven’t got round to doing it yet. Google link with details and youtube instructions.

Les, mate unfortunately (only in terms of Astrophotography) I own a Nikon which I absolutely love on day-to-day basis so might save myself some agro and use that instead and make full use of it 🙂

Oh and Soul, stay on the light side with visual astronomy until you are ready to face the dark side that is astrophotography which will consume your life and your bank account!

Thanks for clearing that up Mike. Much appreciated 🙂

Tej, I know what you mean by the weight mate, but around 25kgs I think I would be able to manage that somehow ... might liberate an old hard suitcase and make a case out of that 🙂 All I need are the dark skies now.

Celestron Advanced VX 8” EdgeHD I believe comes with a 40mm eye piece ... do I still need the zoom eye piece?

I agree with your point about Mike that he spits in the face of software compatability hahaha

And you're correct, all I need now is to buy the damn thing and see what it can do really and some discount on this bad boy 🙁

Oh and Soul, stay on the light side with visual astronomy until you are ready to face the dark side that is astrophotography which will consume your life and your bank account!

Yes sir! got it. I mean seeing these wonders with a naked eye is simply breathless. One has to appreciate the fact that we are gathering all this light emitted by these stars, galaxies and nebulas are millions of light years away from where we stand and yet we view them like they are in our back yard.  So capturing these amazing experiences and then show off what you can see and do with the equipment is going to be an amazing feeling 🙂

Les, mate unfortunately (only in terms of Astrophotography) I own a Nikon which I absolutely love on day-to-day basis so might save myself some agro and use that instead and make full use of it

OK, I misread. I'd thought you said you were using a canon.

That said, al this does is give your camera a wifi live image, so may work with anything. (If yours has inbuilt WiFi you wouldnt need it.)

Its true though what Mike and Tej are saying about time and money, but the end results are certainly amazing when you get it right.

Right so I've pinned down to exactly what i'll be going for

Phase 1:

Adv. VX 8” Edge HD
Celestron CG-5 / AVX / CGEM Polar finderscope (C94224)
Celestron Lens Shade for C6 and C8 (C94009)
Camera adapter for 8” Edge HD  (93644)
Nikon T-ring (C93402)
Baader mains adapter 5A/12v/60w (B2457640)
Tracer 12v 10Ah lithium polymer batter (tbp2545)
Bhatinov mask
Tele Vue Powermate 2.5x (PMT-2513)
Phase 2 (In a few months time):</span>

Autoguider, Focal Reducer

Phase 3:

Any other bits that I would need.

Also a question, are there any "Sale" season for the telescopes in UK? What is the best time to buy it? Before or after Astrofest?

Thanks