Well, the cheapest option is the very appropriately named scotch mount
(:)) - essentially two bits of wood with a hinge, and a screw which
pushes them apart. Here's a couple of pages about them:
http://www.astunit.com/tonkinsastro/atm/projects/scotch.htm
http://www.philharrington.net/scotch.htm
http://www.geologynet.com/astronomy/scotch1.htm
But, you don't really need to track the stars to take great
astro-photos. Nice and simple star trails can look great - just take a
28mm lens or similar, an OM body with some 100 speed film in, point it
up to the sky and leave the shutter open for half an hour or longer. If
you're somewhere really nice and dark you can easily do a three hour
exposure. This page has my best examples:
http://www.world-traveller.org/photo/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=9
Also, if you get hold of some good fast film (I like HG 1600, which I
think may now be called Superia 1600), fixed-tripod stuff can be good.
If you can see the Milky Way you can probably get a nice image full of
stars. The southern hemisphere folks are luckier than us northerners,
they can see the very brightest bits of the Milky Way, like this bit:
http://www.world-traveller.org/photo/gallery/displayimage.php?album=10&pos=0
I think that was a 20s exposure, with a Zuiko 50/1.8
Also, as you're way up in Scotland, I think, you probably have a very
good chance of photographing the northern lights. Keep an eye on
http://www.spaceweather.com, they're visible surprisingly often.
Photographing them's quite easy, 400 speed film and bracket madly!
20s-10 minute exposures are good. I got this shot in Iceland:
http://www.world-traveller.org/photo/gallery/displayimage.php?album=12&pos=0
Worked out, using the possibly flawed assumption that the earth is flat,
that the display should have been visible from northern Scotland at the
same time.
I'd really recommend a go at star trails - so simple to do but can give
really amazing results.
Roger
Donald MacDonald wrote:
>
> All these astro shots with OM lenses and stuff... now, supposing I don't
> have a 'scope... and I can't really afford to buy one... but aspire to it
> eventually...
>
> What is the practicality of setting up a mount, driven, to take shots with
> OM lenses?
>
> Just curious. Too broke to contemplate either option.
>
> D.
>
>
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