Astrophotography Chapter 6

High precision tracking is just one side of the coin when it comes to taking high quality astrophotos. The other side is optics. Sky-Watcher is pleased to offer a wide variety of telescopes that are highly capable for long-exposure prime focus imaging, starting with our premium ED refractors.
Introduced in early 2005, our Sky-Watcher 80ED refractor has been a highly popular choice with astrophotographers. It offers a relatively fast focal ratio of f/7.5 coupled with a 600 mm focal length to provide a very capable rich-field imaging telescope. It is ideally suited to digital SLRs such as the Canon Rebel, 20D and new 20Da.
The 80ED boasts sharp optics with extremely low secondary colour. This yields sharp, high contrast images that will take your breath away. Our 100ED refractor can also be used for astrophotography. It has the same excellent optics as its little brother along with a longer focal length for higher effective magnification. At f/9 it is a bit slow for film cameras, but it is well suited to digital SLRs and more sensitive astronomical cameras such as those from Santa Barbara Instruments Group (SBIG) and Starlight Express.
Note, the HEQ5 and EQ6 Synscan mounts are plug and play ready for autoguiding with SBIG imaging cameras and autoguiders using the standard cable supplied with the SBIG product. You can also autoguide them with webcams using software that is freely available on the internet.
In addition to our premium refractors, almost any one of our Newtonian and Maksutov telescopes can be used for prime focus astrophotography. From the SK15075 OTA right up to the SK25012 10” Newtonian, your t-ring equipped camera can be directly

Andromeda photo by Frédéric Caron, Canada. Taken with 80ED refractor.

connected to the focuser for a solid attachment. Add a guide scope or autoguider and you are equipped with an awesome platform for PFA.

California Nebula photo by Frédéric Caron, Canada. Taken with 80ED refractor.

M45 photo by Frédéric Caron, Canada. Taken with 80ED refractor.