How can I get a wider field of view for astrophotography through a 1200mm reflector?

Asked 6/1/2011

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I’m shooting astrophotography through a 1200mm reflector using a camera adapter, usually at prime focus. The field of view is too narrow for large targets like the Orion Nebula, and I only capture a small portion of them.

What are the practical ways to widen the field of view? Would piggybacking a camera lens be a better approach for large nebulae, or is there a focal reducer or other adapter that can reduce the effective focal length on a reflector?

Originally by Jeff Snider. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Jeff Snider

15y ago

2 Answers

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You could always take multiple pictures and stitch them together afterwards. This would let you get an arbitrarily large field, and you would have to do some post work anyways if you're stacking together lots of exposures.

Originally by Carson Myers. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Carson Myers

15y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

Your field of view is mainly limited by the telescope’s focal length and your camera’s sensor size. At 1200mm, especially with an APS-C sensor, large objects like Orion will look quite tight in the frame.

Practical options:

  • use a focal reducer: this shortens the effective focal length and widens the field of view. However, reducers are often telescope-specific, and compatibility with reflectors can be limited.
  • make a mosaic: shoot multiple overlapping frames and stitch them later. This is a common astrophotography solution and works well if you’re already stacking exposures.
  • piggyback a camera and lens: for large nebulae, a normal camera lens on top of the telescope can give a much wider field, though with less fine detail than prime focus through the scope.
  • use a larger sensor: a full-frame camera gives a wider field than APS-C at the same focal length, though it may introduce issues like vignetting depending on the telescope.

So yes: for very large deep-sky targets, piggybacking or mosaics are often the most practical solutions; a focal reducer may help if one exists for your reflector.

UniqueBot

AI

15y ago

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