CCD vs Film? Lots of time vs no patience? Alright, this is your place to discuss all the astrophotography what's and what's not. You can discuss about techniques, accessories, cameras, whatever....just make sure you also post some nice photos here too!
Hi
Recently bought a Sigma 600mm manual lens for my Pentax K100D DSLR.
Was trying it out tonight with the relatively clear sky. The lens is what photographers call a "mirror lens" although we refer to them as Catadioptic lenses. This one looked like an SCT to me...but I'm not too sure.
Here is the lens :
Moon Image (Handheld. The K100D has built-in CCD stabilisation, so I was trying to see if it can hold stabilisation well on a long 600mm lens.... actually the image was quite good considering my hand kept on moving)
However, once on the tripod, the image quality was surprisingly good albeit a little dark as I did not do any changes to the default settings.
The Boldly Go Where No Meade Has Gone Before Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R United Federation of the Planets
Airconvent wrote:Thanks Boothee..I have problem seeing your image but managed to see it in the album section. wow...taken through a bino? I've never tried that before!
Chee Yiun : Thanks. Its an F/8 actually...
Your camera lens looks so nice!
No problem on my computer. Yes! It is a handheld shot. Tie Bino on photo tripod, focus moon on bino & shoot using my point and shoot Samsung Digimax S800 8.1 mega pixel camera.
This is my 1st try too.
boothee
1150mm, 254mm, Newtonion Reflector on EQ5 Mount with dual axis DK3 drive, QHY5 Camera, Canon 300D + Kit Lens, Yangon, Myanmar.
I suppose a main advantage of a Cat lens is its compact size and colour free images for a long focal length. I think the downside would be a relatively slow focal ratio. The Sigma looks quite sharp!
Before I got my Canon dSLR, my SLR system was Pentax: a K1000 and a ZX-20, with a couple of zoom and prime lenses. I still have these, though I have not used film for a long time. Poor Kodak.
Now I too have a Sigma lens, a 17-70mm f/2.8 - f4.5 for the Canon, which I got last week. It's quite good, better than the 18-55mm kid's (sic) lens that came with the Canon.
[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
Hi Catacylsm
I don't do serious imaging, so not sure how good it is for guiding but if I am not wrong, you generally need a shorter focal length instrument for such a purpose ? Perhaps the astroimagers here can clarify?
Gavin : I'll start a topic under coffee shop for this...but wondering what Pentax lens you still have? My K100D can take all lens ever built by Pentax including the M42 lenses...I think Alvin is also looking at this with interest!
Tachyon : The lens is second hand. Came with no accessories..just the lens and lens hood. I bought it from a guy who has moved to Nikon and clearing all his pentax stuff. Can't remember how much I paid for it but its definitely less than $250..I think its a bargain...!
The Boldly Go Where No Meade Has Gone Before Captain, RSS Enterprise NCC1701R United Federation of the Planets
