Posts Made By: Peter Kennett

8" Schmidt camera

Chris, that is an awesome shot!
Can we see a photograph and description of your Schmidt Camera?

Peter

Here's a cropped close-up from this same image.

Peter

The biggest difference with CCD imaging will be the increased field of view with the f/5 and with CCD you already are severely limited in that respect, so i would go with the widest you can get.
I would even consider the Meade 8" f/4 Schmidt Newt. It will give you a much wider field of view with less coma than the f/5.

Plus the field of view is dramatic! While the shot below is with 35mm film, it shows just how HUGE the field of view is. You will have less of a view than this with CCD, but it will certainly be more then the f/6 and even the f/5 !

This is a single 40 minute exposure on Fuji Provia 400F with a stock Meade LXD75 8" f/4 SN.

just wondering if anyone has seen it.

Looks like a Schmidt Ghost to me.

This Schmidt ghost is a feature frequently encountered with Schmidt telescopes. What happens is that light from a bright star (Vega in yours) in the field reflects off the primary, then off the Schmidt corrector plate, then off the primary again, then to the secondary and detector. The "stellar ghost" always appears diagonally opposite about the center of the field of view from the offending star. Its shape may vary depending on the Schmidt and any filters used.

There is some talk that imperfections in the Schmidt Corrector plate can also add to the effect.


Peter
www.PetesAstrophotography.com

As an LXD75 SN owner, trust me, you will not find a better made focuser than these:

http://www.focuser.com/cgi-bin/dman.cgi?page=productdetail&plugin=dstore.cgi&product=CR1

Enjoy!

Peter
www.PetesAstrophotography.com

Nice shot Jim..
What scope is that? (brand, model etc..)

Peter

Easy.. Film still is the BEST tool for SOME aspects of astrophotography. Unless you have TENS of thosands of dollars to invest in equipment, there is no digital setup that can compete with medium format film.

Check out this site to see what I mean:
-- http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/ifa/astrophotography.htm

For the person on a very limited budget, you can do a lot more with film than with digital.
Film is MUCH more forgiving than CCD imaging, precisly because it is less sensitive. Also, field of view is unmatched with film. Do you have any idea what a CCD system would cost that has the same resolution AND field of view of a 35mm frame? What about a 60x70mm medium format negative?

Here is a shot I did with film. It was taken with a stock Meade LXD75 8" Schmidt Newtonian.
- http://www.petesastrophotography.com/M20-full.jpg
This is a SINGLE, unfiltered 30 minute exposure. To show what film can record, this is a COMPLETELY untouched slide. No computer processing of any kind. It is also the ONLY time I have ever photographed this subject. One shot. Fist attempt.

And here is another example of why I shoot with film:
http://www.petesastrophotography.com/M31.jpg
There is no digital camera that can do this for $50. That's what my OM-1 cost today.
Also.. no CCD imager could capture this FOV with the Meade SN8... unless you spend more than my car cost.

As far as quality.. while these should have demonstrated that film works well for astrophotography, here is one that really shows a side-by-side comparison. It's between a $7,000 CCD setup on the LEFT and my $1500 film setup on the RIGHT. You be the judge.
http://www.petesastrophotography.com/tuorial-images/M42-compare.jpg

Peter

For pure simplicity and BREATHTAKING wide angle views, try a nice pair of binos with a SKYWINDOW. I was at a star party in the desert and even with a whole swath of telescopes of all sizes, the Skywindow setup was the most memorable.

http://www.tricomachine.com/skywindow

CF

...2007 NorthEast Astro-Imaging Conference

I seriously doubt anyone at the conference will be interested in talking about film.

CF

I have created a large 23" x 35" poster of this image.
Here's a low-res version to sample: http://www.cloudynights.com/photopost/data/500/9328Astro-poster_lr_.png

The poster is much larger, and higher resolution. Email me if you want a copy of the hi-res poster.

Enjoy!

Peter