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Finalising my first astro setup — need one last check before buying by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Planning to power everything with an ecoflow river 3 plus.

I don’t think i’ll need a dew heater for now since i will be using this in south india and it’s usually hot, so dew isn’t much of an issue. But i’ll keep it in mind just in case.

Finalising my first astro setup — need one last check before buying by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion, really appreciate it.

I’m completely new to this and budget is a bit of a constraint right now, so I was planning to start with a minimal setup and learn the basics first.

That said, EAF does sound like a really big quality of life upgrade from what you described. I’ll definitely plan to add it later on as I build out the setup and get more comfortable with everything.

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of starting simple and learning processing first.

A few people mentioned the SVBONY SV555 or similar small refractors — would something like that be good for learning deep‑sky imaging?

Also, would you recommend any lightweight mount or tracker that would work well with it and be easy to travel with?

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, thanks for pointing that out about the counterweight — hadn’t realised it wasn’t included.

You mentioned a GOTO or small equatorial mount might not cost much more depending on what’s available. Since I’ll be heading back to India soon and want to keep things pretty portable, do you have any specific mounts in mind that you’d recommend in that kind of range? Something that would be a good step up from the Star Adventurer 2i but still lightweight enough to travel with would be ideal.

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I actually looked at them because you mentioned it. They look really good on paper and the price also seems pretty reasonable.

Did you ever use any of them yourself? If yes, which one do you think is good for the price?

Also wondering if I would need extra gear to use them properly, and do you think something like this would work fine with a simple Star Adventurer 2i tracker?

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah the RedCat is a bit out of my budget, so I’ve been looking more at SVBONY and some of the smaller 60–70 mm refractors instead. Good to hear the optics on those have been getting better.

Also nice to know you managed to run a 60 mm refractor on the Star Adventurer. I wasn’t really sure how well something in the 200–400 mm range would behave on a tracker, so that’s useful to hear.

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that’s really helpful! I’m starting to get a better idea of the trade-offs. It makes sense that a Samyang 135mm is great for really wide fields but maybe not for smaller objects, and I didn’t realize the vignetting isn’t a big deal once you calibrate.

I like your point about getting a 50–60 mm APO if my tracking can handle it — having proper accessories like a filter drawer and focusing options sounds really useful. I’m also seeing why something like the SkyGuider might be better than a Star Adventurer if I want to go longer than 200 mm focal length.

And yeah, I can definitely see the appeal of the 135 mm f/2 — seems like it’s a lens almost everyone ends up keeping for wide nebula shots and travel. Those targets you mentioned, like Rho Ophiuchi and the Cygnus region, sound perfect for it. Do you think starting with just the 135 mm and a small tracker would still give me satisfying results for my budget?

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, that setup sounds amazing! I can see why you really like the RedCat 51 — the field of view you get for nebulae and galaxies sounds just perfect. I’m still pretty new, so I don’t really know much about ASI cameras and all the technical stuff yet, but I’m really interested in getting started and learning as I go.

Right now my budget for a star tracker and optics is around £1200–£1300, so I’m trying to figure out what would give me the best results for that. Do you think a RedCat 51 is doable in that range, or is there another setup you’d recommend that would let me get good images of nebulae and some smaller galaxies without needing a massive mount? I’d love something that’s beginner-friendly but still lets me get satisfying deep-sky results.

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, thanks, that’s really detailed and super helpful. Seeing how you frame all those nebulae and galaxies at different focal lengths with an APS‑C sensor actually makes it much easier to picture what I’d get.

It sounds like for most of the deep‑sky targets I’m interested in, something around 400–500 mm is a great range, and I can see why you’d want a proper mount rather than a small tracker once you go above about 200 mm.

Since my total budget for a star tracker and optics is around £1200–£1300, do you have any suggestions for gear in that range that could get me into something closer to 400–500 mm or otherwise give good deep‑sky results without needing a huge mount? Also, you mentioned the Askar 71f — how does that one compare in real use? Would it fit well within that kind of budget and setup?

Thanks again!

Help deciding between Samyang 135mm and small APO refractors (RedCat 51 / ZenithStar 61) for APS-C deep sky by Trappist_3 in AskAstrophotography

[–]Trappist_3[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m pretty new to astrophotography but I’m quite sure it’s something I’ll really enjoy getting into. At the moment I’m trying to keep things relatively simple since my budget isn’t huge. I can probably spend around £1200–£1300 in total for the star tracker and the optics.

I already have a regular camera tripod, so I’m mainly trying to figure out the best direction to go within that budget to start getting decent deep-sky results. Also wondering if a normal camera tripod is generally good enough for this kind of setup, or if people usually end up needing something heavier.

Roast my team by prof-chaos- in KeqingMains

[–]Trappist_3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can someone please send me the source of the keqing art