Digital Astrophotography Guide
Discover all of the hidden secrets kept by professional Astrophotographers. Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos is a fast, simple, and affordable way to learn the art of Astrophotography, even if you’ve never touched a telescope. With over 250 insider tips and shortcuts, you’ll never have to read another book about Astrophotography again! Click here to order your Digital Astrophotography Guide today!
And The Fastest Growing New Hobby Is… Digital Astrophotography!
> Posted by admin in Digital Astrophotography
(Looking for a shortcut to success? Grab a Digital Astrophotography Guide today to jump start the standard learning curve and get ahead today)
So many people have been joining the ranks of us Digital Astrophotographers, that I wanted to include a little section here of what Astrophotography is really about, why we love it so much, and how it can add a little something back into your life once you get the hang of it. Jerry Lodriguss, a fellow astrophotographer, puts it this way…
From www.astropix.com
Introduction to Digital Astrophotography
Photography of the night sky can be an extremely rewarding hobby revealing the spectacular beauty of nature and wonders of the universe.
It can be as simple as a camera mounted on a tripod, or as complicated as you want to make it with liquid-cooled CCD cameras, robotically controlled telescopes, and computer-enhanced images.
Although astrophotography is a very easy hobby in which to get started on a simple level, it can be difficult to master at its highest level. You must be prepared to spend the time learning the craft.
But, don’t let this discourage you. Start out easy, shoot some star-trails with camera on tripod. Advance to piggyback photography and finally prime-focus astrophotography.
It’s easy and it’s hard. That’s what makes it Zen-like!
When starting out you’ll ask, “What kind of scope should I use?” “What camera?” “What ISO and exposure time?” And, the most famous of all: “How do I focus this thing!” Later you’ll find yourself wondering: “How do I take a photograph of an object that I can’t even see visually in a telescope, let alone on the focusing screen of a viewfinder in a camera?
These questions have been asked, and answered, hundreds, if not thousands of times. The best place to start, naturally, is at the beginning, and this web site will try to help you. But, do not just go out and buy a telescope and digital camera first thing if you don’t already own them. Take some time to learn about these hobbies of astronomy and photography and carefully research what you want to get.
My goal here is to give you enough information so that you will be successful in the hobby of astrophotography and that you find it enjoyable and rewarding.
These and many other tips from the pros can be found in a cutting edge guide by one of the best astrophotographers in the world! Check out his Digital Astrophotography Guide to learn everything you need to know, in the best shortcut any astrophotographer could ever find!
read comments (0)Digital Astrophotography
> Posted by admin in Uncategorized
As you can see on this page to the left, there is a photo of one of the world’s greatest astrophotography books! I had so many problems when I first started astrophotography.. just little questions such as “What do I do if it rains or if there is heavy fog?” I didn’t know what kind of telescope I needed, what camera to buy, or if I even needed even certain software. This book answered every single question in my mind, and MORE! I know it will do for you what it has done for me, and the cost is so affordable you won’t believe it. After spending hundreds to thousands of dollars between all my other equipment, I would definitely have been willing to pay more, but the humble author, an astrophotographer himself, keeps his price low so people like you and me can all have a chance at shooting breathtaking astrophotographs. It really is stuffed with expert advice like I’ve never seen before, so it’s definitely worth your time to invest in yourself and your art of astrophotography. This book rates 5 stars in my book, and you’ll see by the response on Amazon.com as well that it truly has helped everyone that’s cracked it’s cover. Enjoy and happy shooting!
Digital Astrophotography: A Guide to Capturing the Cosmos is a fast, simple, and affordable way to learn the art of Astrophotography, no matter what you’re experience level is. It has hundreds insider tips and shortcuts, you’ll never have to read another book about Astrophotography again! Click here to order your Digital Astrophotography Guide today!
Astrophotography for Amateurs
> Posted by admin in Digital Astrophotography
What you need to know about new forms of Astrophotography, such as Webcam Astrophotography and Landscape Astrophotography that can save you thousands of dollars in the long run.
From www.webcam-astrophotography.com:
How difficult is webcam astrophotography?
It is quite easy to do webcam astrophotography. All you have to do is to take a webcam’s lens off and point it through your telescope instead of the eyepiece. You can use the software that came with your webcam to capture AVIs.
In order to convert the AVIs to an image, you need the freeware software like K3 CCD Tools or Registax. These software packages are easy to use.
How cheap/expensive is webcam astrophotography?
All you really MUST buy is a webcam with a ccd chip, assuming you already have a telescope. I understand that barlow lenses are the best way to magnify your images. To get started you can capture AVIs using prime focus (using no eyepieces and no barlow lenses) - just your telescope and the webcam.
Only the moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn is suitable for prime focus webcam astrophotography - if your telescope’s focal ratio is f/10, your prime focus AVIs will be captured at f/10 as well.
If you decide you want to continue with webcam astrophotography, you can invest in a quality 2x and 3x Barlow lens. I did. It is my best webcam investment yet. With the 2x Barlow your AVIs will be captured at f/20 and with the 3x Barlow your AVIs will be captured at f/30 (assuming you have an f/10 telescope).
There is no other special lenses, filters or software you must have.
What kind of webcam do I need?
A webcam with a ccd chip is best.
The following webcams are all used widely for webcam astrophotography
- Phillips Vesta Pro
- PhillipsToucam Pro
- Logitec hQuickcam Pro 3000 or 4000
Do I need a special telescope for webcam astrophotography?
Most telescopes will work.
However, webcams are most suited for high magnification imaging of the moon and the brighter planets. Therefore a longer focal length telescope will be better.
A webcam’s imaging chip is very small. Objects drift out of its field of view quite quickly. A clock driven telescope will GREATLY add to the ease of taking images using a webcam.
What software do I need?
The software most astrophotographers use are:
- Registax, Astrostack
- Adobe Photoshop
DOWNFALLS?
Your images won’t be nearly as clear as they would by participating in Digital Astrophotography, however, this is a much cheaper alternative. See below for the comparison of an image of Mars taken from a webcam, and one taken with a DSLR camera mounted on the telescope.
This is the image taken from the webcam, of Mars. Note that this is even after Adobe Photoshop processing, so it looks even better here than it did straight away. This is the best you’re going to get (most likely!) with webcam astrophotography.
This is the Digital Astrophotograph, taken with a Nikon D60 DSLR. The difference is remarkable, no further comment is needed, this is going to be what separates “the men from the boys” as they say. There just is no subsitute for Digital Astrophotography. But for those who are starting out and saving dollars, webcam astrophotography could be a substitute for now.
