1. DSLR Astrophotography
Blythe Guvenen
Kitt Peak Visitor Center

3. DSLR Astrophotography
1-5 minute exposures
Noisier than dedicated astrophotography CCDs
Easier to use!
Equipment
Cable release
Mirror lockup
Poor H-alpha sensitivity
Modified DLSRs are available

4. Equipment: “Inexpensive” Set Up
Wide-field shots
DSLR camera
Any DSLR with a “bulb” setting
8mm to 300mm lens
Sturdy tripod
“Piggyback” to tracked telescope

5. Equipment: Moderate Set Up
Modified DSLR
Hutech modified camera
Canon 60da
GEM – German Equatorial Mounts
Losmandy GM-8; Orion Atlas EQ-G
Widefield refractor, Stellarvue, TeleVue, etc.
Meade SN-8 etc.

6. Equipment: $$$ Mount: AP 1200GTO Field computer, MaximDL
Observatory w/power
Takahashi Epsilon-200

7. Mount Manufacturers Losmandy G11 Celestron CGE, CGEM Pro
w/ Gemini GOTO
Celestron CGE, CGEM Pro
Mountain instruments AP
Software Bisque Paramount ME & MX
Takahashi

8. Accurate Tracking: Autoguide
Autoguiding?
Ensures round stars
Fishcamp
Starlight Express “Lodestar”
SBIG ST-4 & STV
Discontinued
SBIG SG-4

9. Telescope Wide-field Short focal length Refractor or Newtonian
Astrograph

10. Refractor Examples TeleVue: 102is Stellarvue Astro-Physics-$$$ TEC-140
APM
Takahashi FSQ-106
Meade

11. Reflector Schmidt-Cassegrain: Newtonian RC
Long focal length, slow optical system, moving mirror – difficult to stabilize focus
Compact optical tube assemblies
Newtonian
Fixed mirrors, fast optical system, short exposures
Longer optical tube assemblies RC
Flatter near the edge of the field of view
No corrector plate

12. Focuser
Precision…but expensive: Feathertouch, Moonlight, Optec TCF-S, FLI, and “FocusMax”
Less expensive:
Hartmann mask
Stiletto focuser, knife edge

13. DSLR Examples:

20. Questions?