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I am looking for advice on what accessories are essential in making the NexStar 6SE a decent astrophotography platform. What lenses? What still or video cameras are great? Do I need a "wedge" to adjust the mount? I already have a lens adaptor that connects my Canon EOS Rebel 5Ti directly to the tube, but is there a better way? What are the top computer applications to get that "stacking" done? I mostly observe the planets and moon, but also interested in galaxies and nebula - but the 6SE might not be good enough for deep sky objects. [Photo attached is from Canon Rebel 5Ti attached to NexStar 6SE - one snap, no stacking, reduced to 30% for upload] Yes, an amateur here - but looking to improve.  |
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I have a 6SE and use it for imaging. It really is a capable scope and I've been happy with its performance. I see by your comment that you are interested in pursuing deep sky images so I will offer you my 2 cents for what it's worth. Trust me in the fact that my experience encompasses just about every mistake a beginner can make. If you are new to astrophotography and wish to include deep sky imaging as part of your goals, my first advice is to acquire a small refractor. The 6 SE's relatively long focal length introduces a lot of challenges when you are just starting out. I tried to begin my journey with the 6SE and nearly quit in frustration. I tried short exposures with the stock mount and added a wedge and lets just say none of those images are in my Astrobin library. I found a beginning astrophotography YouTube video by Trevor Jones that had some solid tips and the 2 biggest contributors to my progress was getting a 60MM refractor (Zenithstar 61) and pairing it with a good equatorial mount. I selected the Skywatcher HEQ5 Pro because it had enough capacity to handle my 6SE. There are folks that manage some good imaging with short exposures on an alt/az mount but if you are serious about deep sky imaging, a good equatorial mount is a game changer. Based upon my experience, I strongly advise you to stay away from the wedge. The stock mount is already near the weight limit with the single arm and while the wedge did allow me to increase my exposure times, it did not allow me to track accurately enough for long exposures (2+ minutes). The cost of a wedge will go a long way towards a decent equatorial mount. Once I cut my teeth using the refractor, I mounted my 6SE on the HEQ5 Pro and started chasing galaxies. As far as cameras go, I ended up going strait to a dedicated astrophotography camera. The only reason that I went that route was because I did not own a DSLR. I've seen some incredible images with DSLR's but my lack of experience with this type of camera disqualifies me from offering any advice on their specific pros and cons. I do like astrophotography cameras because of the cooling capabilities. I live in the Arizona desert with huge temperature fluctuations so the ability to cool the camera helps with noise reduction and calibration frames that match my lights. I started out with an ASI533MC Pro one shot color camera and eventually decided to go into monochrome imaging with an ASI294MM Pro. Computer applications are something that can result in a lot of passionate debate. Once I started figuring out how to acquire good data, I ended up settling on Astro Pixel Processor for stacking and processing. I did final finishing with Photoshop and started getting results that I was comfortable sharing on Astrobin. As my experience grew, I adopted using Pixinsight since it has specialized tools that will help take you to the next level. That being said, I'm not a software purist as my current workflow is more of a hybrid approach. I stack and do light pollution removal with Astro Pixel Processor and the move over to Pixinsight for primary processing and do final touch ups with Photoshop. I tried other applications including Nebulosity, Deep Sky Stacker, Siril, GIMP, Affinity Photo and Star Tools. I've seen great photos using all of these applications but Astro Pixel Processor and Photoshop ended up being easiest for the way my brain is wired. Pixinsight is a different beast and the learning curve is daunting but I can honestly say that it does eventually start to make sense. It's certainly a great way of keeping this retired mind active! Good luck with you astrophotography pursuits. This is a challenging hobby but I've found it to be rewarding and well worth the effort. |
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Hello Merrick, The 6SE seems like a fine scope to begin with. You have a visual back at the rear of the telescope which, I believe, is 2-inch. For a good, all-around camera, any of ZWO's multi-purpose CMOS cameras would make a great beginning. Since you're starting out, you don't need to rob a bank to get a good-quality camera. I might suggest, for both planets, solar, and some deep-sky work, the ZWO ASI183-MC Pro. It is a color camera with plenty of resolution capability and ability to supply excellent imagery as you grow. You'll need the 12v adapter to run the cooling fans on the camera, but this is a minor expense. If you'd rather start out a bit smaller - say, with just the Moon and planets, then ZWO's ASI120MM or MC cameras would be a great fit. They run from your computer alone - no AC adapter is necessary, and run somewhere between $120 and $150 US. Hope this helps to start. - - Steve |
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Hi, i would agree with whats already said above. However i think the most important thing to get right is a Equatorial mount. Lots of users have different views on mounts, so research. Think about a guiding scope to match your telescope and then move to a camera. Do you want one shot color, or do you bite the bullet and go monochrome. Bear in mind you'll need filters to progress this route. I got the zwo533mc to start and learnt huge amount using it. Trevor Jones visit his website he truely gets across the passion of astrophography in simply manor Anyhow youll get hooked for sure. Enjoy your journey. |
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Based on the image provided I would conclude that the op already owns the NexStar 6SE. So providing him with hints what other equipment to start with may not be the way to go. While I neither own a NexStar nor have any experience with it, I came close to buy one and collected a lot of information before I bailed out due to the bulk of the setup ( I considered the Evolution 8 and 9.25). Given the results some of the astrobin users here create with this setup this seems to be a nice and capable rig which seems to work well out of the box. So this is certainly a setup to get quick first results on the moon, the planets and even the sun with the proper solar filters (Usual warning about dangers of solar imaging applies if you don't know what you do - in particular with a reflector). I may sound like a broken record but I keep recommending the the book "Astrophotography on the go" by Joseph Ashley which provides a good introduction into the hobby and covers the topic of astrophotography with an Alt/Az mount among others. It will get you started well in this hobby and it will help you get your first results even on deep sky objects. The youtube channel of Nico Carver - who on occasion takes images with just a tripod - may be a good way to start, too - e.g. ANDROMEDA GALAXY with only a Camera, Lens, & Tripod - YouTube. Short exposures have their limitations and on occasion you most likely want to move on to an equatorial mount. Forget about the wedge for the NexStar and get a proper mount at that point. Until that point just enjoy your current setup and collect experience with data aquisition and processing. There is a lot to learn in this hobby and you can learn most of it with your current setup. Since the NexStar mount has a Vixen clamp you can even experiment with other scopes or your camera lenses for more wide field experience. Clear skies Wolfgang |
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| Going from what Wolf has replied with. While i agree its a good telescope setup for planets and viewing and solar. If you want to go deep sky you will find it hard with a alt/alzi setup. You could opt for the wedge., like wolf said I wouldnt. I almost did but opted for equatorial mount so i could get longer exposures. I asked the same question and was told it would be hard to image at long exposures. In fact i still use my evo 8 for moon and planets on the mount it came with. But a have option to change it to a equatorial when im deep sky imaging. I would research more. The scope you have is great and is what a stsrted with. And yes Astrophotography on the go i too have this book its worth it. I would learn processing alot more before you make an investment in more accessories. If you plan on keeping the evo look a reducer for it it helps. |
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| Thank you all for the advice above. It will take a while to process it all and decide what is next on the shopping list... probably the book: "Astrophotography on the go" - definitely not going to bother with the "wedge". I didn't know there was an equatorial mount option for the NexStar... must find. Cheers! |
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I'm still using the 6SE OTA for imaging, but I really regret buying the NexStar 6SE, the Optical Tube is good, and below I can share some mods to improve the quality from it's origin. Please do not invest in accessories like the StarSense Autoalign and bundles and bulk. Stay away from Celestron's products! Harsh, yeah, here my experience in a few bullet points.
Buy other brands, mod the OTA and use this lines I dedicated to you for your better experience. The OTA needs love to be good and I'm still learning the ins and outs of it while the weather improves again, meanwhile I haven't tested the tube for the complete satisfactory project, a galaxy or a planetary nebula could do this for me, the best integration I have maybe is about 3 hours, and it's not meeting my results. I think it is a 6 hour project scope for the speed and light gathering capabilities. A modified DSLR with a flip screen is my recommendation for having a good time and get a good EQ mount, disclaimer, a few corners ahead you will need a computer, so a dedicated astronomy camera is a great deal, use your own PC for all. This OTA demands guiding, try an On-axis guider and start messing around, the guiding camera is better if you buy a small ZWO planetary color camera or/and you could practice with the planets. As usual it's really not common to have a follow up discussion about a post on the web, but if I helped you in a little way to get a better AP experience, your welcome and best regards. |
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Hi there, if I can give my 2 cents on this. I started astrophotography about a year ago and 95% of the time with the 6se. Here's how it went for me. Maybe there are some lessons there for you to learn and avoid the mistakes I've made. I'm at Bortle 8 most of the time with some occasional trips to dark sights. 1. Purchased the scope without prior knowledge. I THOUGHT I was only going to do observations with it but very quickly I became bored. There's not a whole lot you can observe from Bortle 8. 2. I got my first camera - asi120mc-s which I love and still have. This camera is a lot of fun for planets and the moon. If you get a sun film you can also do the sun. Haven't done that yet. 3. Bought the Celestron f/6.3 reducer. Made some attempts at DSOs with the asi120 which was awful obviously. The reducer itself is ok I guess. I have a bit of a struggle figuring out the backspace for it. Everywhere I saw it mention 105mm of backspace but in my case, it ended up being at 97mm. So you may need to play with it a bit to get it right. 4. Bough the asi485mc. My thought was that the camera has a large enough chip to allow for some EAA and still be a great planetary camera. I had about 6 months with this camera and it is still my planetary camera. I like it a lot and with some patiance, I got some images I was very happy with at the time. 5. Bought the Celestron wedge. That was a mistake. Just don't  6. Bought an iOptron Gem28. Equatorial mount changed the game for me. This is when I really started to appreciate how all the gear works together. I worked with this setup for a while and I really enjoyed it. 7. But... I saw the hype around the HyperStar v6 and decided to jump on it. Now I know this is a whole different topic, but it is something to consider. The HyperStar will turn that OTA into an astrophotography machine. I wouldn't recommend it too early though. It has a steep learning curve. especially collimation. 8. I bought the asi533mc. Obviously being a cooled camera, I have a much easier time with processing. 9. Bought a PowerMate x2.5 for planetary imaging about two weeks ago and got reminded again how nice this scope is for planetary and moon. So yeah, there's a lot of the word 'bought' there, some things I wouldn't have bought again. If I were to start all over I would get the mount, reducer, the Powermate, and one of the new ASI planetary cameras with zero amp glow. With that setup, you can get by for a very long time. Just set your expectations. I could never get round stars corner to corner even with perfect collimation. Since it's not an HD glass, there will always be some curvatures and it will be noticed in the edges. Take a look at my page if you like. Everything there was taken with 6se. Cheers man. Have fun with it |
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Merrick Redden: You can't be doing better than this. There is nothing worse than going for uninformed purchases in this hobby - and don't ask me how I learned about this ... Clear skies Wolfgang |
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Merrick Redden: The end of the day, there is never a dumb question in this hobby. Enjoy it, its never ending |
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... This is actually what I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who dares to enter the swamp of astrophotography. It was my best decision to reset myself to zero and go for a tracker after I got completely lost trying to build my first automated AP rig. Ed Ting - whose reviews I consider honest and unbiased - actually gave a quite positive review of the successor NexStar Evolution 6: (6) Review of the $1599 Celestron NexStar 6 Evolution computerized telescope! - YouTube. He mentioned though that there is quite some improvement on the robustness of the mount compared to the SE. The quality control of AP gear - or lack of such - has already been discussed in another thread, so it seems there is always a certain part of luck involved. Clear skies Wolfgang |
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I also have a NexStar 6SE, it was my first instrument. It's hopeless for deep sky out of the box, but I use the OTA with an equatorial mount and it is fine. I would recommend the optical reducer that is available from Celestron. It takes it down from f/10 to f/6. I have to say, though, that I still get better results with my Orion ED80T-CF. Gary |
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I wonder why nobody recommend to start with EAA (look here for more info: https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/73-electronically-assisted-astronomy-eaa/). You can obtain DSO images by stacking short captures (10 - 30 s). Using "Sharpcap" software for live stacking (see evolving the object in a minute) (see: https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/). That will be no problem with the Nexstar 6 ALT/AZ mount. No need to invest in a EQ. mount and avoid polar aligning. Just invest in a f/6.3 focal reducer, a camera and a Bathinov mask. I suggest starting with a cheap CMOS mono camera like the ZWO ASI290MM. You will be able to "see" DSO objects for a lifetime. Avoid to try to use a wedge! What I have read from others was always negative. Have FUN. |
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It's a little like the line they use about real estate, except for astrophotography it is “Mount, mount, mount”.The 6SE is a fairly high mag scope (I have an 8SE). They work well for planetary and lunar close ups. Doing much for fainter objects requires longer exposures. Longer exposure requires very stable guiding and an EQ mount. Things you will likely want/need are:
It tends to be a never ending list for those that stick with it… |
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Ed Dixon: I agree with you to 99%, the only issue is that once you already own the 6SE I would reorder your list to:
For starters you can get to decent results with short exposure astro photography (see the link and the book I recommended above) And while pondering about new equipment don't forget to work on your image aquisition process and the technique to develop your images. They will be at least as important for your final result as your gear. Some people here at astrobin create stunning images with surprisingly moderate equipment. Clear skies Wolfgang |
