Photos, Man
A several weeks ago, I think I shocked some on my f-list by posting a selection of scenic landscapes for Earth Day. truth is, I've been taking pictures of 'Earthly Shiny' long before imaging the universe. One of my first 'real cameras' was the venerable SLR (single lens reflex) known as the Pentax K1000. I had several lenses - a 50mm f/1.7, 28mm f/2.8 wide-field and a 135mm f/2.8 telephoto, plus a cable release and a sturdy Velbon tripod. I loved to image scenic landscapes (like those in Earth Day), sunsets, cloud formations and even attempted some film-based astro-photography.
Film based astro-photography was much harder in those days - as unlike today's digital cameras, there was no 'preview' of your image. You developed it, and for good or bad - that was what you got. Which means all sorts of shit could happen - trailed stars from bumping the scope, bad focus, weird light glows, and the infamous - 'the shutter was never tripped' (basically, NO image at all!). Plus film has a much lower sensitivity than today's cameras and CCD's - on the order of 1 to 2%, verses nearly 90% of the best CCD's. And there was no 'auto-guiding' or computerized "GOTO" telescopes to make things easier.
Essentially, one was limited to the Moon, Sun and brighter planets and deep-sky objects. Compare this to today, where my 12" scope can image as deep as a 100-inch scope with films as recently as the late 1970's. Talk about amazing progress in less than 30 years!
Cameras and Stuff
Well, I still have my old Pentax K1000 and the lenses. The tripod, however has the head missing from a 'lend-out', so it is essentially useless. Other cameras I now own include:
Canon Digital Rebel 350 XT, plus 28 -105mm and 75 - 300mm zoom telephoto lenses
Old Sony Cyber-shot 3.3 mega-pixel - still performs great as a macro-imager
DSI pro II CCD (monochrome)
Imaging Source - DMK monochrome Planetary CCD and a DBK color imager (which is being returned for various 'issues')
Of course, my telescopes function well as large telephoto lenses and I hope to start imaging the deep-sky with the new DSLR as soon as I buy a special DUSB cable for long exposure imaging. Plus, I still need to pick up a decent tripod and perhaps a 50mm and a macro lens for the 350 XT sometime in the near future - a good use of my 'Dubya' stimulus funds.
Questions
What kind of camera(s) do you have? Do you have any accessories to go with the camera(s)?
What are your favorite kind of subjects to photograph? Care to link (or post) examples of your work?
Film based astro-photography was much harder in those days - as unlike today's digital cameras, there was no 'preview' of your image. You developed it, and for good or bad - that was what you got. Which means all sorts of shit could happen - trailed stars from bumping the scope, bad focus, weird light glows, and the infamous - 'the shutter was never tripped' (basically, NO image at all!). Plus film has a much lower sensitivity than today's cameras and CCD's - on the order of 1 to 2%, verses nearly 90% of the best CCD's. And there was no 'auto-guiding' or computerized "GOTO" telescopes to make things easier.
Essentially, one was limited to the Moon, Sun and brighter planets and deep-sky objects. Compare this to today, where my 12" scope can image as deep as a 100-inch scope with films as recently as the late 1970's. Talk about amazing progress in less than 30 years!
Cameras and Stuff
Well, I still have my old Pentax K1000 and the lenses. The tripod, however has the head missing from a 'lend-out', so it is essentially useless. Other cameras I now own include:
Canon Digital Rebel 350 XT, plus 28 -105mm and 75 - 300mm zoom telephoto lenses
Old Sony Cyber-shot 3.3 mega-pixel - still performs great as a macro-imager
DSI pro II CCD (monochrome)
Imaging Source - DMK monochrome Planetary CCD and a DBK color imager (which is being returned for various 'issues')
Of course, my telescopes function well as large telephoto lenses and I hope to start imaging the deep-sky with the new DSLR as soon as I buy a special DUSB cable for long exposure imaging. Plus, I still need to pick up a decent tripod and perhaps a 50mm and a macro lens for the 350 XT sometime in the near future - a good use of my 'Dubya' stimulus funds.
Questions
What kind of camera(s) do you have? Do you have any accessories to go with the camera(s)?
What are your favorite kind of subjects to photograph? Care to link (or post) examples of your work?