Pictured above is the equipment I use to take all of the photos displayed on the site, as well as the back yard where I take all of the pictures. You will notice that there is no camera hooked up to the scope... (I needed it to take the picture.) The telescope is a Takahashi FS102, a 4" inch, F8 apochromatic refractor which has excellent optics. I generally use a focal reducer / field flattener which reduces the focal length to F6 as well as improving the optics to the edge of the photographic field.

The mount is a Losmandy G11. While not perfect, the mount is far better than anything else that can be had for the same price. Guiding is generally done via an SBIG ST-4 auto guider. The picture of the Orion Nebula was hand guided, but every other picture was taken using the ST-4. The ST-4 is essential in my opinion. I would much rather spend time star hopping with my reflector than sit cramped at the guide scope during a forty-five minute exposure. The ST-4 is hooked up to an older style Celestron 80mm F-11 refractor.

All the shots on the site were taken with an old Pentax/Honeywell SP1000, the pre-cursor to the K1000. Even though this camera is old and falling to pieces, it is perfect for astrophotography at prime focus because it is fully manual and can operate without batteries.