newbie - I want to photograph stars!

[winterstar]

I'm interested in astrophotography.

Especially shots of the moon, stars and planets.

I have the Canon Powershot SX 100 is, and I'm not in a position to upgrade at this time. However, what can are some possible steps I can do over the coming year to make using my camera doable? (And still be able to use what I have... the camera I am favoring saving up for is the Powershot SX10.)

Mainly I take photo's of my kids, and our trips and adventures. (Lots of landscapes.) I read that you alter camera's for deep space shooting, so I do need to learn more about that too.

Thanks for any information!

[skipper34]

If you have never done any astrophotography, my suggestion is to start small and work your way up. Get a good, sturdy tripod, mount your camera, aim it at a bright constellation, use either long exposure mode, or bulb mode, and a remote shutter release. If you can set the aperature of your wide-angle camera lens, stop it down one or two and shoot for about 30 seconds. When you are satisfied with your results, move to the next step. This would be tracking the exposure. Use a cheap, homemade tracking mount called a "barn-door" or "scotch" mount. You can find instructions for building it on the internet. After you have succeeded in using the tracking mount, then and only then move up to a telescope, one with a clock-drive and a very sturdy mount. This will not be cheap. Use the telescope to shoot the moon. When you are satisfied with your moon shots, use the telecope to mount your camera "piggyback" and take some long exposure guided shots with a telephoto lens. You will need a digital or film SLR for this. As you can see by now, the learning curve for successful astrophotography is very steep. Not to mention expensive. Good luck and have fun.