What telescope is best for my camera? *Complete beginner*

[Nyx]

Hi there,

I will start by saying that I am a complete novice in astrophotography but I have been reading various articles and would love to get into this field, however I am a little confused on the equipment required. I assume the type of telescope I need will depend on what type of astrophotography I wish to do (deep space, planetary, moon etc)? I am aiming to mount a camera directly onto the telescope to obtain the images although I can practice with my existing gear for now. I have a Manfrotto 190XPROB tripod, however I am wondering if this will be a little light for astrophotography. Will I need a new tripod to mount an equatorial tracker on? I also have a 300 F 4 lens I can use, with a 1.4 extender.

I own two DSLR's, the main one I want to use for astrophotography is my 7D. I also have an old 20D, however I do not want to convert it to an IR camera as my husband uses it for normal photography on occasion. How 'good' are these cameras for astrophotography if they are not converted?

The next thing I would like to ask is for advice on a suitable telescope for use with these cameras. I know I will need a t-mount adapter and from what I have read a reflecting telescope would be best, with some sort of equatorial tracker? How much would I be looking to spend on a decent beginners setup?

Thanking you in advance for your help.

[SteveInNZ]

Have a look through this section of the forum as the questions are generally being asked and answered by people in your situation. ie. photographers looking to make the most of what they have, rather than astronomers wanting to take photos.
The 7D is great. The 300mm lens and converter is pretty much limited to the moon with only a tripod. If you have a wide and/or fast lens and a dark sky, there are a lot of astro things that you can capture.
By far the biggest step you can take is some kind of equatorial mount. Again, see the threads here for the pros and cons.
The telescope - that really depends on the mount.

[cyberon]

Also I would like to add, you don't need to upgrade your tripod. Mounts come with their own tripods made for them.

[Nyx]

Thanks for your assistance, I will focus my efforts on finding a decent equatorial mount first then.

Originally Posted by SteveInNZ

If you have a wide and/or fast lens and a dark sky, there are a lot of astro things that you can capture.

I have wide lenses and fast lenses, but unfortunately not in the same lens! My wide lenses are 10-22 (f3.5-4.5) and 17-40 (f4). My fast lenses are 50 (f1.4) and 85 (f1.8).

[cyberon]

All those lens will be in use when you get your equatorial mount