Camera Labs

Hello, steve here.

I am VERY new to the photography world. I recently purchased a canon powershot SX1 IS. I am very interested in astrophotography.

Was wondering if you guys could give me some pointers on where to start with astrophotography. Was thinking of getting a telescope with a camera mount for my Canon SX1.

thanks

steve

Hi Steve, welcome on-board... I'm not sure how much success you'll have with your SX1 IS and a telescope - you'll be able to do eyepiece projection, where you literally photograph the view through the eyepiece, but this can have variable results. Most people use DSLRs, remove the lenses and physically mount the camera on the scope like a big lens - see:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon ... aphy.shtml

Your SX1 IS does however have a nice big lens and a smart teleconverter option when filming video which lets you grab some nice views of the Moon - you'll just need to underexpose a bit because the Moon is a lot brighter than it looks. You can see an example in my video tour:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon ... view.shtml

Check out the UK astroimaging forum. The first thing you need to consider is tracking. Unless you are rigging your camera for moon shots then I'd seriously go down the route of DSLR. For a quick and portable setup you might also consider an Astrotrac. I have owned one and still would if the skies weren't so s... around here.

Archived post of mine http://www.phil-lowe.eu/2008/09/north-a ... ssion.html

and...

http://www.phil-lowe.eu/labels/Astrotrac.html

_________________
Cheers,

Phil
'I see dead pixels'

http://www.phil-lowe.eu [New Design]
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