robrj
Member
Posts: 248
home town/country: Escondido, CA
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Post by robrj on Jul 28, 2016 18:00:11 GMT
What's the general thinking for introducing video astronomy to those who are new to stargazing? Would you encourage someone to use a telescope visually first? For eyepieces, that is the usual recommendation to newbies wanting new eyepieces, "spend some time with the stock ones first before you buy a good one." Usually the scope recommendation to a new visual observer is to get the biggest telescope they can afford and handle (typically an 8" or 10" dob). But this wouldn't necessarily be the same recommendation as a path to video astronomy and might result in having to sell the scope to get something more appropriate for video astronomy use. Many like Cassegrains for video astronomy. They're pricey for a first buy but make good visual or video setups (with focal reduction), even in alt/az. What scope would you recommend that's not too expensive.
Do you think new observers should have some time and frustration with a visual scope (which may result in spending unnecessary money on a wrong scope) before jumping into video astronomy so that they can more fully appreciate what the camera is bringing to view?
Or do we primarily target frustrated visual users?
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Post by davy on Jul 28, 2016 20:56:12 GMT
To be honest,I would recommend that they go to an astronomy club and get a look at the various styles of astronomy,most clubs now will consist of visual and imagers,,possibly maybe even a video astronomer if it's a bigger club,over the last couple of years it has grown more popular and the newer usb cameras have grabbed the attention of a lot of newbies to video astronomy, but if they came and said I really am shure this is for me,,help me,,certain questions would need to be asked 1...what do you want to capture on video,lunar,solar,planetary,deep sky meteor/fireball,,,the answer to this would then give you some parameters. 2... what amount of money can you spend on equipment,, now if the person has a dslr camera and it has live view this may help keep costs down. 3... now we have a price range,,first priority is a good tracking mount.if the person has a dslr as mentioned before it can be utilized with software for video capture with the tracking mount. 4... telescope...I recommend a small fast refractor for ease of operation. 5... camera.. revolution kit if you are state side,uk and if you can afford it a lodestar,only because of the amount of help that can be given via sgl. 6.... camera on a budget...Samsung scb2000, proven winner by a lot of video astronomers and price wise you can still get a bargain on ebay if you keep an eye out.
My personal views of course
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Post by johnno on Jul 28, 2016 23:20:48 GMT
I agree with you Davy, I started off cheap and cheerful, if I didn't like EAA or what ever you want to call it I wouldn't have loss money on it
A £180 alt/z mount, £250 ED80 refractor, £5 only for a Samsung scb2000 which wasn't working, luckily it was one of the ribbon cables which not secured in the connector, and I still use it now and again to this day.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2016 3:55:06 GMT
I agree that going to a local star party and astronomy club is a great way to get exposure to the wide array of equipment types available. Take the time to look through different types of scopes at different types of objects and talk with the club members about what excites them about the hobby. As for a first purchase, I recommend people start with binoculars and a tripod. You can see an amazing number of DSOs, double stars, planets, and lunar with fairly cheap binoculars, even in light polluted skies. And they will likely never out grow those binoculars. I still use mine often for quick observing on work nights or between the clouds. After a person figures out what aspects of the hobby excites them, then they can make more significant purchase decisions.
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 29, 2016 12:29:21 GMT
I absolutely recommend people visit a Club. When newbies and visitors come to our Club we get out the Dobs and show them the sky visually. It's best to start with basics to save confusion. Often we get too enthusiastic with our favourite way of doing astronomy and tend to push that method, and talk gobble-de-gook to them I often realise newbies must think we talk in a foreign language Sometimes we have several big Dobs out next to the small ones and they can get an idea of what they can see with just a few hundred dollars or many thousands. In the next few weeks when I get all my Video Astronomy gear set up in the new observatory I will easily be able to show them what it looks like with a cheap Video setup, an expensive Video setup, planetary imaging, and a Basic DSLR Astrophotography setup too. The aim is to show visitors all sorts of methods of doing Astronomy and let them go from there. But personally I always recommend they learn some visual with a small Dobsonian first. No Goto's. That way they learn the sky, they experience objects with their own eyeball, and see how easy it is with a Dob's simple 10 second setup time and 10 second pack up time. How much they want to complicate their Astronomy from that point on is their decision which we will gladly help them with. So, my answer is: Visual with a small (6 - 8") to medium (8 - 10") Dobsonian first. After they have done Visual for few weeks, then we can bash them into Video Astronomy
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Jul 29, 2016 13:18:53 GMT
This is a great question - a loaded question, but great.
I would always encourage new astronomers to get a dob for visual, even if they can't use it for video.
Some believe that there is some kind of "right of passage" where new observers need to spend the time to learn the constellations, the names of stars, and remember a handful of Messier objects and their relative locations first, then learn how to star hop to objects, use setting circles, etc. etc. etc. before getting into imaging or video astronomy.
We'll that's not going to work with the next generation. Computer controlled, find it for me, swipe and tap on my iPad to get instant results. That's what they're looking for. Maybe the next generation doesn't even own a scope but uses proxy services like Jim and Joe's NSNs or Periscope or some future service. But for those that want their own thing, yeah they're going to want easy to use video / live imaging technology where they don't have to know all the nitty gritty details to "just see some stuff".
That's just what I think.
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bobbycloud
Member
Posts: 53
home town/country: Odessa, TX United States
time zone gmt +/-: -6 Central
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Post by bobbycloud on Jul 29, 2016 15:28:45 GMT
This is a great question - a loaded question, but great. I would always encourage new astronomers to get a dob for visual, even if they can't use it for video. Some believe that there is some kind of "right of passage" where new observers need to spend the time to learn the constellations, the names of stars, and remember a handful of Messier objects and their relative locations first, then learn how to star hop to objects, use setting circles, etc. etc. etc. before getting into imaging or video astronomy. We'll that's not going to work with the next generation. Computer controlled, find it for me, swipe and tap on my iPad to get instant results. That's what they're looking for. Maybe the next generation doesn't even own a scope but uses proxy services like Jim and Joe's NSNs or Periscope or some future service. But for those that want their own thing, yeah they're going to want easy to use video / live imaging technology where they don't have to know all the nitty gritty details to "just see some stuff". That's just what I think. I agree Rick I am not out to win awards I just enjoy seeing what is in the night sky. The use of modern technology makes a evening viewing enjoyable and very efficient. The night sky is a ever changing event and time can be of the utmost importance in order to view and record before the night sky is covered in clouds or other bad weather conditions.
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Post by Dragon Man on Jul 29, 2016 15:40:46 GMT
Very good point Rick. All we can do is introduce them to a Dobsonian and Visual observing, and star hopping. If they want to go Techno, then we should help them with the easiest way. A GoTo with a Video set up. Newbies will want instant gratification (just like I do). They won't want to muck about with long exposures, darks, flats, stacking, processing etc. The next generation will want it NOW! But I will still show them the simplicity of a Dob first
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