i've hit the wall

[fedster]

I was given a  Celestron 31051 Astromaster 130EQ-MD  for my birthday of the other half.
just something to get us started, instantly i thought i can put the camera on it. 
 i got the right T ring, i already had the adapter part with the celestron kit.

but for some reason the camera will not let me take the image my display just shows F --   any ideas please.

i am still pretty new to photography so not sure what ive done wrong.

can anyone please help this newbie. 



 

[fedster]

that was meant to say Celestron  Astromaster 130EQ-MD

[redmoo]

I was given a  Celestron 31051 Astromaster 130EQ-MD  for my birthday of the other half.

just something to get us started, instantly i thought i can put the camera on it. 

 i got the right T ring, i already had the adapter part with the celestron kit.

but for some reason the camera will not let me take the image my display just shows F --   any ideas please.

i am still pretty new to photography so not sure what ive done wrong.

can anyone please help this newbie. 

oooh a fellow Warrington person! 

Do you have the correct T ring? There are specific ones for each manfacturer of camera.

[Carina Lass]

When you look through the eyepiece in the DSLR can you focus on, for instance, the moon and see the craters?

I'm not sure of your telescope, but I know some Newtonians won't reach focus with a dslr.

Try putting a 2x barlow on the nose and putting it on the scope - the result will be a shorter focus and you'll be able to at leat see what's going on.

Moon exposure by the way is about 1/300 on ISO 200 or 400

[fedster]

yes red moo based in warrington near ikea

its the nikon one for the celestron red so i assume its the right one it all connects fine 
had my camera number when i ordered it (on the list of 4 other nikons)

yes carina i can see through the eye piece though not tried to focus yet due to cloud cover.

my issue seems to be the camera will not allow me to take an image while the T ring is on its as if its not auto focusing 

bit of a daft question but does the camera need a built in motor for the auto focus ? or should that not matter 

[thohem]

Erm you only connect the camera body to the telescope...no autofocus there as you got no lens (lens is the telescope!). So you HAVE to focus with your Focuser!

[Thalestris24]

yes red moo based in warrington near ikea

its the nikon one for the celestron red so i assume its the right one it all connects fine 

had my camera number when i ordered it (on the list of 4 other nikons)

yes carina i can see through the eye piece though not tried to focus yet due to cloud cover.

my issue seems to be the camera will not allow me to take an image while the T ring is on its as if its not auto focusing 

bit of a daft question but does the camera need a built in motor for the auto focus ? or should that not matter 

Hi

You have to have the camera set to 'manual' mode.

Louise

[fedster]

thanks thale ill try and look for a setting for manual in the menu as all my lens have the manual switch on them.

 

Erm you only connect the camera body to the telescope...no autofocus there as you got no lens (lens is the telescope!). So you HAVE to focus with your Focuser!

i have i think that is where the issue is as my camera has no autofocus without a lens attached 

[lensman57]

thanks thale ill try and look for a setting for manual in the menu as all my lens have the manual switch on them.

i have i think that is where the issue is as my camera has no autofocus without a lens attached 

You must be able to operate the camera in total manual mode, if not it will give a fault warning.

A.G

[happy-kat]

What camera are you using?

[glowingturnip]

agreed, it's telling you 'F--' because it can't find a lens (because there isn't one) so doesn't know what F number the lens is set to so can't auto-expose.  You need to set it to full manual to ignore it.

[Carina Lass]

Think of your telescope as a long lens.

Because it isn't connected to the camera electronically, you have to focus and assess the exposure. This means you have to put it in manual.

Then the focus is on the telescope and the exposure on your camera or computer if you are running on remote.

[Chris]

Definately because you are not on Manual mode, not sure about Nikon but on Canon cameras its denoted by a big M on the mode selection dial

I'm also not sure you'll reach focus on that particular telescope without a Barlow lens, you might have to start with a bit of Lunar imaging. Not a bad place to start though right! 

[redmoo]

Little off topic, but at least it is clear in Warrington right now! Well, kind of clear.....

See what pictures you can get!

[fedster]

found it had to set lens to manual and camera before removeing the lens 

thank you all so much for your time and help    and alas now i got it set up the clouds have come and the moon has soded off 



but again  all thank you 

agreed, it's telling you 'F--' because it can't find a lens (because there isn't one) so doesn't know what F number the lens is set to so can't auto-expose.  You need to set it to full manual to ignore it.

[fedster]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPT4eHuI1Xo

that was my first night 

i have to say its a hell of a lot harder than i thought overall.

i always thought tripod lob on the scope and off you go.
 

Definitely because you are not on Manual mode, not sure about Nikon but on Canon cameras its denoted by a big M on the mode selection dial

I'm also not sure you'll reach focus on that particular telescope without a Barlow lens, you might have to start with a bit of Lunar imaging. Not a bad place to start though right!

thanks fox 

i think lunar imaging is probably going to be my limit for the next year,  the scope was a gift more a something to play with while i do my long night timelapses.

no doubt many more post to come before the summer.

STARFOX 
is there anything i can do if i cant find my focus range using the telescopes focus rings ?

and whats the ideal Barlow for the scope i own Celestron Astromaster 130EQ-MD


again i cant thank you all enough no doubt youve all been through this before with noobs   

 

[Chris]

Hi, try with the scope as it is, the fear is that it won't have enough infocus due to the camera sensor being setback inside the camera. If this is the case then there are two things you can do to modify the scope. 1) move the primary mirror further up the telescope tube by replacing the collimation screws with longer screws and springs. 2) replace the focuser with with a low profile focuser. 

Both of these things will likely work but are a bit drastic! 

Another option is to start with fast frame rate imaging of planets and the moon with a webcam modified for astronomy. The sensor on these are further forward so infocus shouldn't be an issue. Infact the best way of imaging the Moon and the Planets is by this method. DLSR's are best for long exposure imaging of deep sky objects such as galaxies and nebula, which relies on having a very good equatorial tracking mount. 

There are plenty of resources and folks on here that do webcam imaging and I pesonally feel that this might be the best bet with your scope, I don't know what others think?

[fedster]

i tried and you where right not enough go in the focus tube 

but i put on the lens back onto the bottom of the t tube and now  i can focus just about on a tower some distance away.

but will that be good enough for stars and planets. 

[Astrosurf]

I've heard on here that you can use an extension tube. Check them out on First Light Optics.

I assume your mount has a drive/drives attached??

Alexxx

[uhb1966]

OT - that time lapse movie was absolutely great!!!

[fedster]

I've heard on here that you can use an extension tube. Check them out on First Light Optics.

I assume your mount has a drive/drives attached??

Alexxx

yes not that i know how to work it yet still a work in progress me will take a few weeks before i am probably screaming for help then.

OT - that time lapse movie was absolutely great!!!

cheers uhb1966   

took it at start of month was meant to get a meteor shower but that cloud base turned up

[Astrosurf]

I've heard on here that you can use an extension tube. Check them out on First Light Optics.

I assume your mount has a drive/drives attached??

Alexxx

I've been told I've got the extension tube idea back to front. If there's not enough inward travel with the focuser, then this will make it worse. I often get muddled!

[fedster]

 ive had some fun both with just enjoying the night sky and with the camera, thank you all that helped and put me on the right path 

ive learned that with the moon i am getting better shots through the video than i ever thought. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZTVqpwTms0   taken in galloway last month.

now for some more help if possible

all ive got is a  a 2X Barlow lens that is attached via the d ring. 

is there anyway i can get closer in ? maybe adding another 2 x some how ?