Choosing a 35mm camera

Do Dark Skies Really Help?

Absolutely they do! More than you probably know. Let me share something I wrote after having attended the Texas Star Party in May, 2002 (known to be some of America's darkest skies).

"For those who struggle with seeing objects from their present locations, let me iterate (or reiterate for those who have heard me say it before) the importance of finding a dark sky site on occasion, if only to remind you of what is possible with even the smallest of scopes. Objects that can be marginally viewed at my home (mag 4.5 skies) in even the best conditions, and with the biggest of my scopes (10" LX200), are clearly noticeable with the smallest of my scopes’ FINDERS in magnitude 8 skies. As an example, while my 10” LX200 was guiding on photographic objects, I was busy starhopping to some of the skies more prominent features with my 3” Tak. As I attempted to “hop” to M81 and M82, I discovered that hopping was hardly necessary. Using my 6x30mm Tak finderscope (!), I moved the scope to where I expected the objects to be from an angular measure to the Big Dipper. Much to my surprise, M81 and M82 showed up very clearly in that very small, albeit sharp finderscope! Looking at the objects through the 3” scope made my jaws drop. Both showed their entire surface shape at low and medium magnifications, though spiral structure in M81 did manage to allude me.

"After my exposure ended on the LX200, I decided to couple my Nikon F2 camera to the Tak to catch a shot of both galaxies in the same field. Since my Nikon has the 6x magnification prism attached to it I knew I could frame the objects easily on the camera’s viewfinder. Much to my pleasure, BOTH galaxies were visible through the camera! I easily framed the shot, focused, and took a couple of 10 to 15 minute unguided exposures (I didn’t have a way to use my STV with the Tak), hoping that my GM-8 mount was accurately polar aligned. The results of that experiment will be known after I get the E200 slides developed [update : it didn't work]. But I ask you, has anybody here ever seen a Messier galaxy (aside from M31) through the viewfinder of your camera? That’s how dark these skies are. It’s also strong support to the argument that an early Nikon camera with a 6x viewing prism is the best SLR camera for astrophotography. My Olympus OM-4 could not duplicate this feat."

For more on this topic, see "What can I see with my scope?" in the Frequently Asked Questions section.

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