Building an

Astrophotography

Imaging System

Our products are locally supported and we will

assist with integration which should help hesitant

buyers with their purchasing decision.

Photographing the endless wonders of the night sky is a highly rewarding experience that gives you a deeper connection to the universe. Though many modern smartphones have night-sky photography modes, a full-blown DSLR camera offers better clarity and the ability to bring out much greater detail than the human eye can see. As you begin to capture images of the night sky you begin to realise that you need longer exposures in order to capture more detail. However increasing your exposure is limited. This limitation is caused by the rotation of the earth and leads to star trails as you extend your exposure. In order to counter this rotation you would need to mount your image capture system on a Mount or Tracker capable of rotating with the earth and in that way providing you with stable images. In addition, images of the night sky are notoriously noisy due to the low light nature of Astrophotography. In order to counter the noise and improve the image quality multiple images need to be captured, then stacked together with a free software application like Deep Sky Stacker (DSS). The resulting image can then be processsed with software like Photoshop, Pixinsight, Siril amongst others to tease out the light to produce beautiful astro images like the one above. In order to help local astrophotographers hoping to take this hobby to the next level we offer 2 types of solution. The simplest option is a “”smart telescope” which is a small portable device controlled via your smartphone. We offer 2 types of smart telescopes namely the Dwarf III , Dwarf Mini and Draco from Dwarf Labs and the Seestar S30 Pro or S50 Pro from ZWO. For those users looking for a more “Full featured Smart Telescope Solution” we can integrate • AM3 Mount • ASI2600MC Air or Cost Effective ASI585MC Air • Askar F, Askar SQA and APO Refractors or Newtonian, GSO and Dobsonians • EAFN Focuser to provide a smart phone controlled smart telescope with focal lengths from 275mm to 600mm and excellent resolution. Building up a complete Astrophotography System For those wanting to embark on a full astrophotography experience we have selected a set of solutions aimed at providing our customers with a lightweight “portable” solution made up of best of breed products to enable them to put together a full system capable of capturing quality deep sky images. Taking Astrophotography to the next step can be a daunting experience with the array of products available and the multiple elements and options available in setting up a system. We put this guide together to assist you in embarking on this new adventure. Elements of a Colour Astrophotography System may include the following: • A good quality APO Refractor or Astrograph with good quailty ED glass to ensure that you capture round stars without Chromatic abberation (Colour Fringes) • A good qualty Equatorial Mount enabling you to track the earths rotation over long exposures as you capture your data. • A good Guide Scope and Guide Camera to correct any guiding errors produced by the Equatorial Mount while tracking.. • A Deep Sky Object (DSO) Astro Camera or DSLR for capturing your images • A controller device such as the Rasberry Pi based ASIAir from ZWO to control the mount, guide camera, Imaging Camera and other Accessories such as an Electronic Autofocuser is used. • A filter drawer and appropriate filters if operating in a light polluted area or for a mono astro experience. The image below shows a number of system components. The Telescope is an Askar FRA500 Astrograph. The telescope is corrected to remove all optical abberations and provides a flat field image. Attached to the telescope is an ASIAIR Plus Rasberry Pi based control computer which connects to the AM5 mount via usb cable. The EAF Electronic focusser, also connected via USB, is used to ensure focus is retained throughout the session. The DSO cooled camera connects via USB to the ASIAIR, as does the filter wheel which automaticaly swaps filters when required under the ASIAIR’s control. In addition, a guide camera connects to the ASIAIR to maintain accurate tracking ensuring clean long exposures are achieved.

A fully configured Rig Option

An AM5 mount carrying an Askar FRA600 Telescope with an electronic EAF focuser, a filter wheel, DSO cooled camera with and off axis guider, an ASIAIR Controller and guide camera. We are based in Johannesburg and would be happy to sit with you and take you through the available options and discuss your particular needs. We also have a range of locally available products in our online store which can be viewed by Clicking here

Telescope Options

High quality products

In order to assist you, our customer in getting your rig up and running we have selected a range of well priced quality products which can be easily integrated to give you a super imaging platform. On purchasing your integrated rig, all that remains then is to find clear skies, capture your data and then process it. We offer two different ZWO Harmonic Mount options and a number of different refractor telescopes ready for astrophotography, with a range of focal lengths we can cater to different requirements from wide field imaging at 275mm to close ups of nebul.as at 700mm. In addition you can purchase peripherals such as electronic focusers, electronic filter wheels or filter drawers, cooled DSO cameras (or adapters for your DSLR), ASIAIR controllers, guide scopes and cameras amongst other peripherals. You are always welcome to contact or come into our offices to discuss your needs or for practical advice.

Askar F Series

The Askar F series is a lineup of budget-friendly, self-flattening quadruplet refractor telescopes designed to make astrophotography more accessible by eliminating the need for external field flatteners or back-focus calculations. Options include: 60F, 71F, 91F, 111F, 131F

Askar 103 APO

The Askar APO series is a line of high-performance, versatile apochromatic triplet refractor telescopes designed for both visual stargazing and deep-sky astrophotography. Triplet Lenses: Uses three separate glass elements in an air-spaced setup. ED Glass: Includes extra-low dispersion glass to reduce chromatic aberration (false color fringing around bright stars). Color Correction: Delivers sharp details and accurate colors by aligning light wavelengths accurately

Should you wish to find out

more about this incredible

hobby please feel free to con-

tact us to discuss your needs

and setup requirements.

We guarantee the highest quality of the prod-

ucts we sell.

We look forward to hearing from you