this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2025
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Astrophotography

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Hey everyone, I've been a long time photographer on a hiatus. Ever since learning about the existence of EQ mounts I have been excited to get back into photography and try the astro side of it.

I have a 300mm f/2.8 lens for my DSLR and am wondering if that focal length is any good. Thanks!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 weeks ago (6 children)

These are great, I hadn't given much thought to the atmospheric conditions besides the obvious clouds. I found my city's astronomy club that I plan to go and meet with the next time the weather permits a star party.

Can a 300mm lens get images like all the common nebulae photos (I have a full frame so it's 300mm even)? I know some are further away but I'm sure you understand the idea I'm going for. I'm less interested in planets and I believe those require crazy long focal lengths.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (5 children)

Further away doesn't always mean smaller. You're going to want to be more concerned with angular size and magnitude (brightness). With 300mm I'm pretty sure you should be able to resolve most of not all Messier objects (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere). They definitely aren't going to dominate the frame but you should be able to tell they're there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

*edit: just looked at the Messier catalog and some of them probably are going to be hard to resolve without at least a small telescope. But there are a lot of options that should be fine at 300mm.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 weeks ago

I'll start my journey with Messier then. Sounds like a great place to focus on. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction

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