Would want to try patiently to snap some photos of star clusters and planets.
Using a digital pocket camera, what kind of settings do i need to adjust to get a nice picture? iso etc.. Just trying point and shoot hope i can get some surprise! i am using a canon ixus digi cam. 12.1mp.
1. You need to get a digital camera adapter first, and mount your digi cam on it. If you don't have one, you can DIY one by basically electrical taping the camera to eyepiece.
2. Settings depends on what you wish to take, from moon, planets to nebulas (yes, in fact the very first pictures our club took of orion nebula was from a powershot didicam)
Moon: ISO as low as possible, tune down EV till whatever on the live view looks presentable. I would use a 32mm eyepieces and then zoom in with the camera. Focusing should be automatic, else do so manually on scope.
Jupiter/ saturn: ISO below 400, tune down EV to see details. Assuming you are not using tracking mount, set a timer to minimise vibrations. Same method as the moon, but use an eyepieces 15mm and below instead.
Clusters: You will need a tracking mount for this, same method as the moon, but turn ISO up to 1000, then exposure to as 1 minute/ as long as your camera allows.
PS: Why don't you come down to astro fair on Saturday? Got free flow of popcorn and candy floss and I can teach you how to do it.
