First Proper Go.

[ahobden]

OK, so I finally took the plunge and after a discussion with Ian King at Ian king Imaging I bought a Williams Optics ZS66 SD, a flatterer and a camera T ring. When funds permit, I plan to add an astrotrac 320 TT to that list, preferring something smaller and portable that I can use with my existing camera tripod, rather than buying a rather bulkier EQ5 / 6 mount.

It's a great little scope for visual use and I can just plonk it on top of my camera tripod, as soon as there is a clear patch in the sky.

Last night, with clear skies in the south of England early on, I hooked the whole lot up with my 40D to give it a go. I mean how hard can it be to take a quick shot of the Pleiades or the Orion Nebula? I realise that without any form of tracking these shots were going to have to be short exposures to stop drift.

After an hour or so of playing around, I now have complete and utter admiration for you guys that are producing those wonderful deep sky images, and have decided to take things a lot slower and try and learn this craft from the ground up. My next plan is to perfect my star trails and the moon before becoming too adventurous again!!

[Nighthound]

Congrats on the the new WOZS66. There's no harm in trying, I'd be right there with you if I had just received a nice scope. This can be a humbling hobby that offers few shortcuts to the results we're after. No one I've ever known of got started taking 5 hours of great long exposures and combined them to produce a publishable image. You're right on track by taking it one step at a time, Lunar, star trail and even wide field at 10-50mm with a lens can be a bunch of fun under dark skies. I like the looks and portability of the AstroTrac, looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when you get one under the stars. When you finally get your german equatorial mount you'll be ready to rock.

[Adrena1in]

...I bought a Williams Optics ZS66 SD, a flatterer and a camera T ring.

I wouldn't mind a flatterer myself...someone to always praise me and my images! ;)

Congratulations and welcome to the wonderful hobby of Astrophotography. I think you've made a wise move in buying a decent scope which you can become familiar with before you throw a load of money down the tracking route. There are plenty of things to shoot without tracking. The moon, as you said, but also Jupiter and Venus are going to be visible low down in the south-south-west for a while yet...don't need to track to shoot them. Star trails too of course...always a winner.