Newtonian for astrophotography?

[Hizelks]

Hi,
Curious what you guys think about using a newtonian for astrophotography? I have a Meade 8800 f4.5 203mm gem.
It's been quite the adventure learning how to use the mount.

I've been reading a lot of info on a.p. and want to explore the hobby but not sure if that is the best route with my particular scope.
I haven't come across anything comparing newts to refractors for a.p. I bought the scope used and don't want to invest too much time
and or money on something that won't be best suited for pictures.
For my skill level I'm just looking to take some nice beginner shots and to have fun with it.

Thanks, Justin

[clayton]

See viewtopic.php?f=8&t=6143 And http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/TOC_AP.HTM

My opinion: Newtonians can be quite useful for Astrophotography, however smallish but expensive refractors appear to be the tool of choice now for amateurs. See http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/SCOPES.HTM

Your setup may not have the easiest mount too successfully use for long exposures . With your setup moon shots and planetary imaging may be what you want to try first.

Alternatively, wide field astrophotography with either a fixed tripod or mounted piggyback on your platform offers some rewarding beginning experiences.

If you become a keyholder at ELO or JJ Casby you have access to some very nice platforms that are ready for astrophotography. It's BYOC (Bring Your Own Camera).

The Imaging SIG is where the photon collectors hang out. Join that forum if you haven't already.

[Steve Baranski]

A newtonian scope can be very good for astrophography. They are able to gather a great deal of light, and, as yours is, can have a fast F ratio, enabling a shorter exposure.

As with all scopes, there are pluses and minuses.

The newtonian can have a fast F ratio, allowing for more light to enter the camera in a period of time. that is the plus. They are often very large, requiring a very beefy mount to handle the long, wide tube... That can be difficult and expensive, thus the minus.

The newtonian often is optomized for eyepiece use, and the focal point may be too close to the tube. A minus. However, the mirror can normally be moved forward in the tube, to allow the focal point to be moved outward, thus allowing the camera to come to focus, for far less than the cost of modifiying a refractor, if it needed a similar modification. So, a plus.

Also, for eyepiece projection, the newtonian will have far more light to "punch" the image though the eypiece, to the camera, and be viewed thru the camera's eyepiece... often small refractors lack a bright enough image to easily use eyepiece projection on dimmer objects.

So, in summary, depending on what you want to accomplish, it may be well suited, or it may not... If that is what you have, it is worth trying... and, as Clayton suggested, make use of the clubs fantastic resources - they produce fantastic results.

Steve

[Hizelks]

Thanks for the responses guys. Glad to hear they can be useful. I was getting a little worried that nobody uses them for a.p.
I forgot to mention that my mount came with a motor. Help be helpful.

The first time I used the scope I couldn't get anything to focus. (still needs to be collimated) My scope came with an old case with numerous eyepieces and filters.
Later I realized why the short extension tube was in there. With the extension in the focuser I still need to extend it out almost all the way.
Is it safe to say that once I get a camera or ccd that I will need to extend the focal point out even farther?

Thanks for the help.
Justin

[Steve Baranski]

Actually, if you need an extension for the eyepieces, you may be able to bring a dslr, or ccd camera to focus without the extension...