Can't view with camera adapter

[Blaze]

Please note I am a total beginner, I only saw the moon close up for the first time 3 days ago, I left the telescope months without using but the recent red moon talk reminded me to try it out, I was totally amazed by the clarity of craters when I finally got the moon in shot, so I wanted to take photos for family. I wasn't sure if I should be posting this in the newbie forum or directly here, hope I have the right place.

I purchased the following 2 items.........

1. Bresser Universal Digital Camera Adapter Digiscoping - Afocal - This is for my compact camera

2. Revelation Smartphone holder with tripod threaded bush - For my phone camera

I am using the following lens......

Super 10mm (I hear this is 90x magnification) 

Moon Filter

I have a 25mm wide angle lens (36x) but it doesn't magnify anywhere near as close as the above lens (90x). Also I have a x2 Barlow but can't seem to get it to work. 

My telescope is a Skywatcher BK 1309 EQ2 - The scope has an aperture of 130mm (just over 5 inches), and a focal length of 900mm

My problem is that I can't get the camera to view the lens, it just shows a very small circle at best, mostly it is just black. I have tried zooming both in and out but nothing works. When it is not attached to the telescope I see perfectly through the clamp, but as soon as it goes on the telescope the view is not clear or full at all. 

Does anyone have any idea how to get a clear and full view through the camera ? Is it the lens at fault ?

Also I find the 10mm a bit difficult to view comfortably with my eyes as I need to squint a lot, the 25mm wide angle one is fine for my eyes but no where near as zoomed, is there any way I can view things between 90x and 150x (I am told the realistic max for my telescope) comfortably and wide ? Under £100. This was part of the reason I hoped to view the lens through my camera or phone. My ideal plan was to put the camera on remote viewing them view/control it via my large tablet. Would a USB adapter work better ? I hear they are only standard definition though, or at least realistically priced ones.

Finally, can I view more than just the moon with my telescope ? Or is it too basic ? I haven't tried yet as I am doing it step by step. 

Any advice appreciated, thanks all

[happy-kat]

Hi

With the Moon you can get away with hand holding your smart phone to take an image through the eyepiece.

Your compact camera might work if you try it in macro mode. But the camera may just not be sensitive enough to see anything other than the Moon.

You can see lots with your telescope, Turn Left at Orion is a good book.

Stellarium is excellent and free.

I don't use them but BST starguides are a fair priced upgrade eyepiece. There are lots to chose from other brands etc. And whether you wear glasses for example is a buying consideration when choosing eyepieces.

Magnification is telescope focal length/eye piece. So your 900mm telescope divided by 10mm eyepiece gives x 90 magnification. So a 15mm eyepiece will give x 60.

[Bugfly]

Hi happy -kat these are the pitchers I took through my mobile phone the 8inch dobson telescope

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[D4N]

The Barlow lens screws into the eyepiece before you insert the eyepiece into the focuser. The focuser will need to be wound out a lot further than normal when the Barlow is in use. You may find a that the 25mm eyepiece and Barlow give much better views than the 10mm eyepiece.

You can view many things with that scope. The biggest struggle is finding them! You will be able to see the moons and cloud bands of Jupiter, also the rings of Saturn. Galaxies will appear quite fuzzy but you can certainly see them. Always search for things with the low power eyepiece before increasing magnification.

The standard red dot finder is awful, I would suggest replacing that with a reflex site like a Rigel Quickfinder or a Telrad. These make finding targets far simpler.

The book and software mentioned above are very helpful.

You will find astro photography is quite a money sink, just taking shots of the moon afocal should be simple enough though.

The spacing and alignment is quite critical as the light cue from the eyepiece is tiny. Try with the 25mm eyepiece first as that will have a larger light cone and be easier to get to grips with.

It is best to relax your eyes and not squint when viewing, cover your other eye if necessary.

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[Aussie Dave]

Blaze your camera should be able to image the moon. Don't worry about zooming in with it and use a low powered eyepiece like your 25mm. Don't worry about a Barlow either and high magnifications yet until you get to work out your gear. Your compact digital camera will have a smallish sensor to get good clear images and you'll be able to view the photo at almost full size without losing sharpness when you take that good shot.

First step you will need to view the moon first in your scope and focus it, then place your camera as near to the eyepiece as you can and hold the camera as steady as you can.

Press your shutter button and let your camera focus and then it will take the shot. It's trial and error this way, some photo's will turn out, but a lot won't due to small movements while holding your camera, touching the eyepiece with the camera, camera too far away from eyepiece etc. You only need to move the camera slightly and you will not capture an image.

As happy-kat mentioned, you might want to try macro/close up mode on your camera, if your camera is still not focusing. You may also need to change your ISO setting but auto mode on your camera should get some results. You could even try night mode or fireworks mode.

Also try taking your eyepiece out of the focusing tube and hold you camera directly near or in to the focuser tube hole without touching the scope. You can also get images of the moon this way as your camera focuses from the image from your large primary mirror reflected on to the seconday smaller oval mirror at the end of your focuser tube. You may also need to set it to macro/close up mode but automatic setting should be fine.

Once you've worked out your camera and what it can do, try the camera adapter/holder and see if you get the same results and also check to see if the hole in the adapter is big enough for you compact camera lens to focus through. Check to align your camera lens is through the center of the eyepiece.

You can even check it and test it these ways during the day on a distant object.

Hope you work it all out soon.

[boxtko]

I'm a newbie too and started photographing the moon about 8 months ago. Like you, I started out doing afocal stuff. I also had problems at first. I also wanted to jump in quickly and take nice detailed close ups up the moon... and i bought the adapters too. But for a while there, I wasn't getting any results. Finally, I decided to take a step back. Instead of using a high magnification eyepiece, I chose the lowest one I had. I also decided to stop using the adapter and I just held the camera or phone up to the eyepiece. No barlow. Just the basics. Before I knew it, I was finally able to figure out how to correctly hold the camera up to the eyepiece. I also found it easier to record as video as opposed to taking pictures..and after I was done videoing, I would take screenshots from my video, crop them, etc.  Over a short amount of time, I was able to use higher powered eyepieces, take photos as opposed to videos and start using the adapter.  Just give it some time... my biggest advice is to use the low power eyepiece first.  If you are determined to use the high powered eyepience, I suggest getting a wide angle eyepiece-- that way you dont have to squint the way you described. Hope this helps.

[Aussie Dave]

My first lunar shots were of it during the day and found it easier than taking a decent shot at night.

[D4N]

Yeh the moon is easy to get in the day but you have to be careful not to let your scope point at the sun. A red filter can also increase the contrast in the day as it blocks out the blue of the sky.

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[Charic]

.........My problem is that I can't get the camera to view the lens, it just shows a very small circle at best, mostly it is just black. I have tried zooming both in and out but nothing works. When it is not attached to the telescope I see perfectly through the clamp, but as soon as it goes on the telescope the view is not clear or full at all. 

When holding a camera over a larger eye-lens,  your 25mm for example, you have to have the camera's lens critically aligned to the centre of the eyepiece, and  unless you hold the camera rock stable and have a tracking mount, then its difficult to achieve good results.

For a start,on a non tracking mount, my 8" Skyliner for example, If I choose a high power eyepiece say 6mm, and centre the scope, by the time I have placed the camera over the eyepiece, the Moon is out of shot, gone!  due to the results of the higher magnification and the Earth's rotation, which is  magnified when viewing through high powered eyepieces, the Moon will not stay put whilst you try to compose your shot. One idea is to video the Moon, then select various frames and stack these to increase the quality of the final image. Should be able to do this method on a non tracking system, but you will still need to follow the Moon and keep it centred as best you can.

If your camera has the ability to remove the lens, then you should be able to connect the camera to the telescope  alone (no camera lens - the telescope is now your lens! ) ) using 'T' Ring and 'T' adaptor. This set-up works well, if you can still see the target through the camera viewfinder/screen?  I use a Nikon DSLR that has a live view screen, so I can see what the camera see's, but this method  destroys your night vision? but works well  imaging  the Moon.

Whatever method you try, have a go at it during the Day, that's the best time to learn, focus on something far far away and try your best to get the image, at least the target stays put. If you are successful with Day photography, then the night photography should work too ( on the same target, if illuminated? Try to capture the non-stationary Moon will be the challenge. Its do-able. Also remember that Day and Night photography requires a different speed or ISO in order to capture the lower light levels. And don't let the camera do it for you, it just wont work, you will most probably need to set everything in manual mode, so best get the book out and study the set-up of your camera.

[boxtko]

Another piece of advice...something I do... take your telescope outside during the day and practice focusing on far away objects like the tops of trees...or even better the roof of a building..becase it is still. Practice focusing and holding your camera/phone up to the eyepiece and recording. Once you start figuring out the right angle to hold the camera, it should be easier on you when you try to take pictures of the moon at night.