I am an amateur skywatcher who is looking to buy my first scope. My dad had a cheap 3" newtonian when I was growing up, and I remember having lots of fun with it.

I would like to make a decent attempt at astrophotography as well. I am a pretty decent photographer, and have an understanding of "full-manual" picture taking.

I know that quite a few astrophotographers use 8" and up scopes, and some even CCDs. Although that may be an ideal setup, it`s not currently in my budget. I could afford it, but I`d like to start a little smaller as I am somewhat new to the hobby (I want to see if I`m still interested in a couple of years).

So, here`s my question. I`m looking at a Celestron 114 Deluxe. It`s a 4-1/2" Newtonian Reflector with a very basic (one axis, one speed) drive on an equatorial mount. I can add a camera adapter for not very much making a sub $400 package.

I understand that I may not have `magazine` quality photos with this rig, but will I be able to get decent results of the moon, planets, and some reasonably bright deep space objects? I realize I`m lacking some of the bells and whistles of auto guiding CCDs and whatnot, but it wasn`t so long ago that the best rig lacked all those too. In other words, I don`t mind having to `work` for my results.

So, will I be happy with my modest setup, or is astrophotography best left to the bucket sized S-C guys with their fancy CCDs?

Thanks in advance for your help...

David Moore
dmoore@uatc.com

• RE: Beginning Astrophotographer Advice - comet61 - March 28, 2000 - 18:58 UTC
  • RE: RE: Beginning Astrophotographer Advice - David Moore - March 29, 2000 - 00:04 UTC
    • RE: RE: RE: Beginning Astrophotographer Advice - Kip - March 29, 2000 - 00:43 UTC
  • RE: RE: Beginning Astrophotographer Advice - Charlie Wallace - April 18, 2000 - 15:35 UTC