ABSTRACT
Making initial hardware choices is tricky and requires anticipating the evolving demands of astrophotography, in the face of overwhelming consumer choice. This chapter considers the imaging equipment selection for a range of applications, from astro-landscapes to moderate focal lengths. Standard and telephoto camera lenses are still considered wide-field by astrophotographers and are commonly available up to about 300-mm focal length, bringing the field of view down to 4 degrees. Small doublet and triplet refractors, commonly referred to as “grab and go scopes” together with matching field flatteners, are the practical scope for wide-field imaging. Extended imaging requires reliable hardware and software and for PC users, robust application interface and ASCOM support, otherwise it is incumbent on the imaging application providers to individually write and maintain driver code for each device. The overriding image quality requirements are governed by two needs: low image noise and capturing a wide range of subject brightness.
