And The Fight Is On...

Well, I've done it. I've bought a Canon camera. After much deliberating, I have taken the plunge back to Canon. I sold my Nikon D80 and bought a Canon 40D. I have kept my Nikon D90 however. I have an 18-55mm image stabilization lens for the D90 and I've ordered the same size lens for the 40D. Both will have batter grips, and remote shutter release cables.

I've heard nothing but great things about the 40D. My friend Bob, of Blackholes and Astrostuff has a 40D. I've always loved how his photos turn out so much more full of color than mine. The major difference is in the sensors on the camera. The Nikon is not an ideal camera for night photography, in my opinion. It introduces too much noise and red color into the photos. The Canons is rated far superior for night photography than the Nikons.

One thing I noticed at the Cypress Hills Star Party (SSSP 2009) in August, is that everyone had a Canon DSLR for night shooting. I had the chance to meet Alan Dyer while there and bought his book (that was co-written by Terrence Dickinson), The Backyard Astronomer's Guide. Even in that book they recommend strongly that Canon is the only way to go for night photography. So, how could I pass up the chance to improve my night shooting of the stars by not getting this camera? Truth is that I couldn't.

I haven't had a chance to use the 40D yet, due to the weather, but hopefully soon. I'll also be ordering the necessary adapters to attach the Canon to a telescope, similar to the set up for my Nikon. As soon as I have some results, I'll post them. For now, I have a picture of the Nikon D80, Canon 40D and Nikon D90, respectively, so you can see how they all look.

My First "Real" Telescope

I picked up a new telescope today from a local guy. It is an Orion StarBlast 4.5" Equatorial Reflector. It's a decently built scope that apparently has good optics. It's a short tube scope, so easily manageable. The tripod and mount are fairly sturdy so they should stand up fine. Once I take some photos through it, I'll put them on this post.



The pictures below were taken last night through my new telescope. Enjoy.

First Pictures With Celestron Firstscope

Well, my camera/telescope parts finally arrived the other day and I had a chance to try them out tonight for the first time and figure out how they work. As I posted earlier, I bought a Celestron FirstScope from a local store called Neural Net Interactive. I also ordered a t-ring adapter, 1 1/4 adapter and 3x barlow from Khan Scope. I mounted the adapters onto my Nikon D80 just to test them out. I was pleasantly surprised by the results. Of course, I shot the Moon. I did try Saturn, but it clouded over. So, below is my first ever attempt at taking photos through a telescope. I am, however, looking at getting a more powerful scope, namely one similar to the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ-MD. Hopefully that will help my photo-taking skills through the telescope. Anyway, enjoy.

Day and Night Moon and Clouds

I know it seems like all I post is pictures of the Moon. Well, that is true, but there are reasons for that. The first is that I love taking pictures of the Moon. Absolutely love it. The second reason is because I'm not sure how to use my camera with the telescope yet, so until I do, I'll keep photographing what I can see through my camera. Anyway, below are pictures taking this afternoon and tonight of the Moon and some cloud cover. Not stunning photos, but better than just the Moon by itself. The bottom photo seems out of focus because of the thin layer of cloud creating a haze over the Moon. It was actually in focus though.

First Pictures With Nikon D90

Well, it's finally arrived. My Nikon D90 that is. I've waited for this for a long time now. I got my D80 last summer, and although it is a good camera, the D90 just does a few things better. And it has live view, which I like. Anyway, below are the first pictures I have taken with it. Naturally, they are of the Moon, probably my favorite thing to photograph. I should also mention that these photos were taken through a 70-300mm lens with a 1.5x converter attached. The bottom look similar, but they are slightly different. Different camera settings and slightly different Moon position.

Moon Descent

I managed to capture a really neat looking crescent Moon tonight off my front steps. It was dusk out and the Moon had barely risen and was rapidly descending. There were all taken with my Nikon D80 and 70-300mm lens with 1.5x converter.