18" Dob... Good or not for photos

Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and making
things so that's where most of the work will be done!).

I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a thread so
I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking would make long
exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from, say, 60s exposures,
30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that time.

I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times and
an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If there's a
better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost base of the 18"
dob, is there a better way to put it to use?

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Gary wrote:
> Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and making
> things so that's where most of the work will be done!).
>
> I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a thread so
> I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking would make long
> exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from, say, 60s exposures,
> 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that time.
>
> I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times and
> an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If there's a
> better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost base of the 18"
> dob, is there a better way to put it to use?
>

You only need fractions of a second exposure for the moon Gary, because
it's so bright and you don't to track it all.

Regards,
John.

John wrote:
> Gary wrote:
>> Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and
>> making things so that's where most of the work will be done!).
>>
>> I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a
>> thread so I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking
>> would make long exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from,
>> say, 60s exposures, 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that
>> time.
>>
>> I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure
>> times and an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial
>> photography. If there's a better way of using that camera, and bearing
>> in mind the cost base of the 18" dob, is there a better way to put it
>> to use?
>>
>
> You only need fractions of a second exposure for the moon Gary, because
> it's so bright and you don't to track it all.
>
> Regards,
> John.

Oh - sure. I didn't mean doing 20s for the moon. I got some quite good
ones just from a tripod mount of the camera during the past eclipse.

I still wonder if I could get anything worthwhile from fainter objects
with a 60s exposure on a dobsonian.

"Gary" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:79csm4-e5q.ln1@frogpond.dnsalias.net...
> John wrote:
>> Gary wrote:
>>> Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and
>>> making things so that's where most of the work will be done!).
>>>
>>> I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a
>>> thread so I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking
>>> would make long exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from,
>>> say, 60s exposures, 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that
>>> time.
>>>
>>> I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times
>>> and an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If
>>> there's a better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost
>>> base of the 18" dob, is there a better way to put it to use?
>>>
>>
>> You only need fractions of a second exposure for the moon Gary, because
>> it's so bright and you don't to track it all.
>>
>> Regards,
>> John.
>
> Oh - sure. I didn't mean doing 20s for the moon. I got some quite good
> ones just from a tripod mount of the camera during the past eclipse.
>
> I still wonder if I could get anything worthwhile from fainter objects
> with a 60s exposure on a dobsonian.

There are some articles that have information about using dobsonians for
astrophotography at the cloudynights website. You might want to check them.
I believe they include more than lunar photography.
Bill.

	#1
Gary	18" Dob... Good or not for photos Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and making things so that's where most of the work will be done!). I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a thread so I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking would make long exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from, say, 60s exposures, 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that time. I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times and an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If there's a better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost base of the 18" dob, is there a better way to put it to use? -- remove stars for email garycowellatmacdotcom Stargazing blog at <http://tinyurl.com/398eom>

	#2
John	Re: 18" Dob... Good or not for photos Gary wrote: > Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and making > things so that's where most of the work will be done!). > > I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a thread so > I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking would make long > exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from, say, 60s exposures, > 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that time. > > I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times and > an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If there's a > better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost base of the 18" > dob, is there a better way to put it to use? > You only need fractions of a second exposure for the moon Gary, because it's so bright and you don't to track it all. Regards, John.

	#4
Willie Coyote	Re: 18" Dob... Good or not for photos "Gary" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:79csm4-e5q.ln1@frogpond.dnsalias.net... > John wrote: >> Gary wrote: >>> Thinking of building an 18" dob (well, my dad's great with wood and >>> making things so that's where most of the work will be done!). >>> >>> I'm aware of the tracking issue - how feasible would it be to fit a >>> thread so I could mount a camera to it for photography? The tracking >>> would make long exposures impossible but what am I likely to get from, >>> say, 60s exposures, 30s, 20s? I guess the Moon would be good in that >>> time. >>> >>> I have a Lumix DMC-FZ7 which, whilst not an SLR, has long exposure times >>> and an accessory thread, I want to use for celestial photography. If >>> there's a better way of using that camera, and bearing in mind the cost >>> base of the 18" dob, is there a better way to put it to use? >>> >> >> You only need fractions of a second exposure for the moon Gary, because >> it's so bright and you don't to track it all. >> >> Regards, >> John. > > Oh - sure. I didn't mean doing 20s for the moon. I got some quite good > ones just from a tripod mount of the camera during the past eclipse. > > I still wonder if I could get anything worthwhile from fainter objects > with a 60s exposure on a dobsonian. There are some articles that have information about using dobsonians for astrophotography at the cloudynights website. You might want to check them. I believe they include more than lunar photography. Bill.