Handheld astrophotography!

<p>So, I have a shiny new 5D Mk II, and I'm having an absolute blast with it. I knew it's a low-light champ, but it didn't occur to me until after I got it to try not just taking a picture of the night sky, but taking a picture of the night sky without a tripod.</p>

<p>I sat on the ground, elbows braced on knees, and got the attached shot. It's noisy enough and boring enough that I'm not going to bother making a print of it...but I can't wait for an excuse to try some ``real'' astrophotography! I'll have to scout out some local unlit landmarks, see where the constellations are in relation...this should be fun!</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>b&</p><div></div>

<p>try a 500mm,800mm,1200mm refractor lens with a T mount adapter for canon and get a good sturdy tripod. The lens and adapter should run about 199usd, timer remote for 130usd and good tripod.</p>

<p>I am just starting astrophotography and below is my first effort at the moon using the 5D and T mount to connect to a Meade 125 telescope. The 5D is not ideal as it is heavy and also has no live view for focusing. Your 5D II will be better in that respect as it has live view. Have fun!</p><div></div>

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<p>Thanks, Angel and Colin.</p>

<p>I've actually got a Galileoscope http://www.galileoscope.org/ on order; hopefully, it'll arrive soon -- ``by the end of July,'' according to the latest status. It's an f/10 refractor, 50 mm objective with a 500 mm focal length. Nothing to get excited about, but it's only $15!</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing much more wide-angle astrophotography than deep field stuff. As neat as deep observing is -- and I'm sure I'll give it a whack with the Galileoscope -- there're many who can do that much better than I. Much, much, much, much, much better.</p>

<p>What excites me is the potential to do star- or moonlit landscapes *and* include the stars in the picture. Multiple exposures blended and stacked and the like, of course. But I think I can actually have a chance at capturing some of the sense of standing at the base of the Superstition Mountains, looking up at the cliff and to the stars beyond.....</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>b&</p>

 

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<p>if that's where you are, you've got a lot more sky to work with than we have here in Kentucky. have fun!</p>

<p>I shot this the other night basically because it kept staring at me through the window while I was trying to edit. Camera was hand-held. I did have the image stabilizer turned on; but at 1/800s, it really wasn't needed. Post process of RAW file in PS included: lots of cropping, image size doubled, white level set, & sharpening applied.</p>

<ul>

<li>Camera: Canon 5D (Mark I)</li>

<li>Lens: Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS + Canon 1.4x Extender</li>

<li>Focal Length: 280mm </li>

<li>ISO: 400</li>

<li>Aperture: f/8</li>

<li>Shutter Speed: 1/800s</li>

</ul>

<div></div>

<p>You need a telescope to advance much further. My old astronomy group had a project where they created manual [hand] crankers that they would turn a screw to keep up with Earth's rotation with two boards, a hindge and a camera mount. I had a telescope with a motor drive so I passed on the cranking.<br>

The amount of stuff you can get with a telephoto or a standard lens just mounted to the back of telescope in piggyback fashion is amazing. The telescope's motor drive makes it an ideal platform. The Wilky Way passing through Cygnus and Scutum and downt to Sagittarious can be breathtaking. The other caveat - you need dark skies and must travel to get them. Plus you need a site that you will not be disturbed. IN a city enviornment the high ISO of the 5D MKII will only show the light pollution a lot faster than another camera. A lot of astronomical object are actually very large - larger than the full moon. Most people focus on the large instrument and overlook this big first step.</p>