We basically recommend that beginners start with simple
equipment and film for taking photos of Hale-Bopp as it
brightens (we all hope!) and adorns the nights sky over
the next few months.
Grab a simple 35mm camera with a modest lens of good quality and play with some fast color film at first. ...and take some really great shots of the comet without trying to learn a whole new world of technical stuff.
By starting off with a simple set of equipment (we do not mean cheap and inadequate!) and an inexpensive 35mm camera (and a good book!) you can easily get some very respectable photographs while avoiding outrageous cash outlays.
You will need a 35mm camera that can be adjusted manually for f/stop setting and for long exposures of several seconds to a minute or more. Many of the newest cameras with the latest and greatest in features will not let you do these simple things. However, many of the older 35mm cameras without all the features will let you make f/stop adjustments and time exposures and these older cameras can be obtained for a pretty cheap price from camera stores that carry used cameras and lenses. For a lens you could use a normal 50-60mm focal length lens of f/3.5 or faster (smaller numbers are faster). A normal lens will let you take shots of the comet with your camera on a tripod using exposures of about a minute without showing the trailing of the stars (caused by the rotation of the earth).
Once you have your basic camera and lens (and you will need a cable release so that you can start and stop the exposures without jarring the camera) you need some film. For these tripod mounted shots, you will want a pretty fast film such as FUJI 1600 or KODAK Gold 1000. If you can not find these films, then grab a roll of just about any color film of ASA 400 or faster and plan on having the film pushed a stop when you get it processed.
Now there is a complication to all this. You should get out to a place where the sky is DARK to see the comet. If you can see the comet well, you can get some great shots of it. If you can not see the comet well (i.e. from the midst of an ove r-lit city with light polluted skies) then you will surely have a difficult time getting some good photos of this visitor to our solar system.
The comet is now in the early morning skies moving near and through the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan). In northern latitudes, this will be up in the North East in the pre-dawn sky.
Once you get out to a dark sky and get a view of this neat comet (it really should be EASY to find these days as it is quite bright and has a very visible tail that is several degrees long as of 2/1/97) set up your tripod anc camera and point it at t he comet, open up the lens to its lowest f/number setting (like f/1.4 or f/2.8 or f/3.5 depending on the lens) and grab a bunch of photos of 30 second, 60 sec, and 90 sec exposures using the cable release. (you can count out these exposures with a bit o f practice, no stop watch necessary). Run off a half dozen exposures and then move the lens' f/stop setting one f/number larger (usually one click of the f/stop ring) and run off another dozen shots of the same exposures (and keep some notes !) IF you have not tried this before you might want to take several of the fast films for your first trip and shoot using each of the fast films. Enjoy the comet and then get that film processed right away when you get back. This way you will know whi ch of the films made the best shots and you will know if your lens really works at its fastest f/stop setting. With the information you gained from this first outting you will be ready to go out and shoot a bunch of nice shots on your next outting .
If you have a telescope with a mount that has a clock drive and you have doen a few piggy back astro-photos then you are all set up to take some longer exposures with longer focal length lenses to capture more of the details and structures in the comet and in the tail of the comet. Lenses of 135mm, 200mm, and 300mm focal length will make for spectacular photo s of the comets with exposures of 1-20 minutes duration.
You do need to make sure that you have a really solid mounting place for your camera on your telescope mount. If you try to hang it onto a fiberglas tube using a 1/4-20 bolt you will probably find that the photos show long streaked star images or star s that have some strange V-shape. This is all caused by the flexing of the mounting structure. If you add on a piece of 1x4 between your tube and the camera and then use a 1/4-20 bolt to hold the camera on to the telescope tube you will greatly improve your chances of getting some great shots! If you add a V-cut in the bottom of that same 1x4 you will even have a better camera mounting system !!
With telephoto lenses and a telescope mount with a semi-OK drive system, you should be able to make exposures of several minutes without having to guide those exposures as long as your scope is well polar aligned (and if we just lost you with that phrase you might need another astronomy lesson before you move on) (If you are not sure about how good your polar alignment is and/or want to learn a bit more on polar alignment for photography or imaging then you can visit our ASTRO-IMAGING HINTS PAGE )
So, you have your scope set up and polar aligned and you have the camera and lens securely attached to your telescope or telescope mount. You are ready to get out to a DARK SKY and take some really great comet photos ! Set your lens on its fa stest f/number setting, point at the comet and make sure it is well placed in your camera's field and start taking some exposures. I would suggest a series of 1 minute, 2 min, 5 min, 10 min and 20 minutes. The longest shot might show some trailing if your clock drive is not too good or if your polar alignment is off but the rest of the shots should show pretty sharp star images with out any extra guiding of the telescope. Again, if you are new at this I'd recommend shooting several different fast films on your first outting and get the film processed right away so that you will know what films work the best for you.
For a lot of neat on-line information on wide field
astrophotography,
see
Brian Rachford's site at U Wyoming.
For lots more astro-imaging sites and information
see our
LINKS Page .
For information on the most comprehensive book on astro
photography ever written
(for beginners and advanced
alike) take a look at our book .
For information on the comet Hale-Bopp and its position and
brightness and for lots of LINKS to loads of information on the
comet (photos, where it is, etc.)
take a look at The Comet Page by Charles
Morris of JPL.