Getting started - what do you need?

[freddielaker2]

Getting started and getting the right equipment to get the shots is a bit of a mystery to me at the moment. In the 70's I had an slr with a 300 and 500mm lens, worked ok I suppose, but now I want to get better results. I have a 300mm lens, Nikon D60 and a telescope, how do you guys marry up your equipment? how much do the parts cost? and how easy are they to get hold of? I came here looking for information and I saw the contrail spotting section and thought this must be the place. I have seen quite a few photos of high level aircraft and I have seen some that have blown me away and I thought I would love to finally be able to do that. So, HELP!!! share the info how do YOU do it?

[contrailwatcherUK]

Hello,

To be able to take good close up photos of high level aircraft you will most certainly need a telescope, lenses dont get as close, and you get more for your money with a scope. I would reccommend a dobsonian style telescope of at least 8" aperture, and about 1200mm focal length is a good starting point. A very good scope is this one http://www.warehouseexpress.com/product ... ?sku=10567 which can produce some very neat images and comes with some of the accessories needed to connect a camera.

Once you have bought a telescope you can then attach your camera with a t-ring (http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/ ... _Ring.html). This is an adaptor that attaches to the face of the camera and screws into the eyepiece holder of the telescope. You may need some other adaptors depending on which scope you get, but most scopes have pretty much the same measurements.

When you have got to grips with the hobby you will soon learn how to make your photos look really good. I would definately advise you to get photoshop as it has many useful editing tools which can make your photos look really good compared with the original photo.



Any other questions please ask.

[freddielaker2]

Ive got something like the skywatcher Mercury on that site, but it isnt that exact one. I noticed that its a 1.25mm fitting so a t-ring and a Revelation T Adaptor 1.25 would be needed? I was thinking of a 3x converter for the 300mm which might be stronger that the possible 120x through the telescope.... You see I dont really know... Im at work at the moment but I hope to post my first attempt when I get home. Thanks 4 ur reply, I really want to get into this.

[contrailwatcherUK]

The 1.25" eyepiece holder isnt very good because it stops a lot of light getting through. Its best to have 2" if you want to get good results. Also adding a 3x converter to your lens will make your photos darker, and at 900mm it will be hard to keep steady when taking photos. Have you tried just looking through your scope at a contrailing aircraft? If you havnt you should try to see what it looks like, then decide whether its worth getting the adaptors etc. I dont know much about refractor telescopes, however I would have thought they are not very good for contrail spotting since they have small aperture which wont let in much light.

BTW you must get A LOT of traffic over Blackpool as its very close to one of the busiest airway intersections in the whole of the UK

[freddielaker2]

see my first attempt. I work in Preston and its like a motorway overhead after about 5am. I used to collect registrations years ago, this is much more fun, if you can get the reg fine, but the challenge of getting a good shot is much better. it works for me. Only slightly better is further south just north of Liverpool, you get all the up country traffic but you get the stuff from ott to wal. just sitting in my brother in laws back garden a few weeks ago manchester and liverpool arr and deps, but some heavy continental stuff ott, it was great. Just wished I had my kit up and running,