AP woes!

[recceranger]

Last night I tried attaching my Hyperion 24mm EP to DSLR via adapter only to discover I couldn't gain any sort of focus. I'm new to AP so supplied a few pics as reference. Can anyone advise? Do I need another type of extension etc or am I way of track?

Rick

[Carina Lass]

Is it closer when it's out or when it's in?

I'm not familiar with that piece of kit - Is it an afocal type lens?

I would nomally attach the camera to the focuser with just air between it and the objective/secondary.

No lens at all in between.

[Owmuchonomy]

Hi Rick, same set up as mine except I'm using the 8mm. What are you trying to image? There are a few tricks to this. Can you see anything in camera live view? If you can and it's out of focus likely you need extension tubes.

Let us know more.

Chris

I used this same setup last night and got my first ever Mars. Bit naff though.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lensman57]

Is it closer when it's out or when it's in?

I'm not familiar with that piece of kit - Is it an afocal type lens?

I would nomally attach the camera to the focuser with just air between it and the objective/secondary.

No lens at all in between.

I think it is a Baader Hyperion EP, so he is using the camera in EP projection mode.

A.G

[Tinker1947]

How you have it is the right way, you need to focus on something like the Moon to find out if it needs to be closer to the tube or further away, trying to focus on a star through the view finder is like looking for a needle in a haystack first time round......

[Lonestar70]

Hi Rick,

You are not far from the correct setup in your last picture (with the diagonal fitted)... the only thing you may need to add would be an extension of 15mm - 40mm between the lens and the camera to increase the image scale... it may be quite small without one... see attachment.

In your 5th picture you show the lens fitted directly into the focuser tube (without the diagonal fitted)... for this setup you would need to fit a 2" (50mm) long extension between the focuser draw tube and the lens to compensate for the additional focal path length of removed diagonal... the scope focuser is set up to include this.

Focusing can be tricky without LIVE VIEW (sadly the D3000 does not have this facility) so set the camera to say 15 seconds exposure and ISO to 1600 or higher and try to find a rough focus... then take a shot... this can then be displayed on the LCD screen where you can determine which way you need to go to achieve fine focus... you can zoom in on this display to help with this. 

Once focus has been found you can then set the correct exposure length and ISO you need for the actual frames you need and away you go. 

A remote timer release is the best thing to use for this as it prevents camera shake.

I attach a PDF of the Baader set up overview guide... take a look at the set-up at the bottom second from the left... this shows the setup you are using and where the 15mm - 40mm extensions fit.

I hope this helps a bit.

Good luck.

Best regards.

Sandy.

hyperion_overview.pdf

[Owmuchonomy]

Hi Rick,

You are not far from the correct setup in your last picture (with the diagonal fitted)... the only thing you may need to add would be an extension of 15mm - 40mm between the lens and the camera to increase the image scale... it may be quite small without one... see attachment.

In your 5th picture you show the lens fitted directly into the focuser tube (without the diagonal fitted)... for this setup you would need to fit a 2" (50mm) long extension between the focuser draw tube and the lens to compensate for the additional focal path length of removed diagonal... the scope focuser is set up to include this.

Focusing can be tricky without LIVE VIEW (sadly the D3000 does not have this facility) so set the camera to say 15 seconds exposure and ISO to 1600 or higher and try to find a rough focus... then take a shot... this can then be displayed on the LCD screen where you can determine which way you need to go to achieve fine focus... you can zoom in on this display to help with this.

Once focus has been found you can then set the correct exposure length and ISO you need for the actual frames you need and away you go.

A remote timer release is the best thing to use for this as it prevents camera shake.

I attach a PDF of the Baader set up overview guide... take a look at the set-up at the bottom second from the left... this shows the setup you are using and where the 15mm - 40mm extensions fit.

I hope this helps a bit.

Good luck.

Best regards.

Sandy.

...yes, I choose not to use my diagonal on my SCT and put in a 65mm extension tube (easier for balance) and that gives me sufficient back focus.

Chris

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[recceranger]

Thank you all. I will take note of advice and have another go.

Cheers for the PDF Sandy, it's very helpful

Rick

[Gomtuu]

I use a Canon 600D in a similar way with a Baader Hyperion Zoom at 8mm and find that I normally need to use extension rings to achieve focus.

[recceranger]

Thanks Mark,

I've just ordered a few of various size online. That should be me in business (assuming I can get my head around all else!)

Rick