Cannon eos-m to skywatcher 127

[kegnkiwi]

Hi guys

I have a skywatcher skymax 127 and also a cannon eos m.  I have bought the t-ring to attach the camera to the skywatcher and have been messing around but I have still not managed to see anything other than the tube of the scope.  I have put a 25mm lense in line but I just don't know how to manually adjust the focus on the cannon.  Can anyone give me any ideas basically for a dummy to get started as I'm not very clued up on the cannon eos-m and it all seems very strange trying to take a photo without the cameras lense.

Thanks

[Steve Ward]

You attach the camera body to the back of the 'scope using the adaptor without a lens fitted , the 'scope becomes the lens effectively.

To get focus you adjust the focus on the 'scope just as you do with an eyepiece inserted , there is a lot of travel in the focuser so you may need to move it a relatively long way to find focus.

Try it on the Moon to start with , it's a big bright target and easy to tell if it's in the field of view.

[kegnkiwi]

Thanks mate just had a play again and worked out how to do it, no lens and had to turn the camera into video mode.  This was the only setting that allowed the camera to take a shot in manual mode without a lens.  Just taken a couple of shots of the neighbours roof tiles will give it a go tonight depending on conditions.

Thanks

[Lonestar70]

Hi Kegnkiwi,

This article may help: -

http://darkerview.com/wordpress/?p=6573

It would appear that canon have made a sever boo boo with this camera for astro users.  

Hope this helps.

Best regards.

Sandy.

[Steve Ward]

Not really a mistake on Canon's part , they have a big range of DSLRs that are all capable of remote tethering , all with a proven track record in Astro-work , and all available for very good prices S/H.

It's a matter of choosing the right tool for the job.

One can soon see in the EOS-M specification that it has no Bulb setting therefore rendering it useless for long-exposure Astrophotography.

[Lonestar70]

One can soon see in the EOS-M specification that it has no Bulb setting therefore rendering it useless for long-exposure Astrophotography.

Not sure I totaly agree with that statement Steve... the eos m spec does have 'Bulb' shutter setting but the range of shutter speeds available appears to be mode dependent... possibly a max of 30 seconds.

It may also be camera model dependent... but not sure on this fact.

http://www.canon-europe.com/images/EOS_M_specification_sheet-v1_0_tcm13-952096.pdf

Either way though, I agree it is not a good choice for astro use... it is aimed at a different market altogether.

Best regards.

Sandy.

[Steve Ward]

Please accept my humble apologies , I had inadvertently pulled up the wrong specification in my rush to check ... 

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Sadly a lot of other cameras have this 30 sec limitarion too, like the excellent Panasonic system cameras. :-(

No idea why they put these limitarions on the bulb mode. It's a shame really.

[jambouk]

What is your skywatcher 127 mounted on? If an alt-az mount, then you are probably going to be limited to under 30 second exposures anyway, so not a problem.

Does this camera have a "live view" function? If not, there are many ways to focus:

- look through the view finder of the camera and get ball park focus sorted then

- use your video mode zoomed in to the max to help achieve stars as small as possible

- take a picture, then look at it and zoom in and assess the focus, make an adjustment and repeat

- get a bahtinov mask off ebay for your scope and use the methods above to get focus

- connect (if possible) your camera to a laptop and either use canon's own software or other remote imaging software like backyardeos or APT and look at the image on screen and make focus adjustments.

I found focusing the 127 on the alt-az mount was hard as the scope wobbles for what seems like ages afterwards. I got a remote focuser device off ebay for about £35 which just uses a rubber belt around the focus knob but makes it all much smoother. There are many threads about how to get the best out of your 127 on here.

Good luck.

Jd

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Cornelius Varley]

Thanks mate just had a play again and worked out how to do it, no lens and had to turn the camera into video mode.  This was the only setting that allowed the camera to take a shot in manual mode without a lens.  Just taken a couple of shots of the neighbours roof tiles will give it a go tonight depending on conditions.

Thanks

Check the custom functions options to see if there is an option to allow the shutter to be fired without a lens attached.

[jambouk]

Looking at that dark view link above, it seems you can't connect the camera to a laptop.... Seems odd. Sorry.

Jd

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