using dslr camera with telescope

[Smeghead]

i have a canon dslr camera that i'd like to use to take some photo's through my telescope, but i'm not sure how to attach the camera to the scope.

is there a special attachment i need ?

thanks

[Cornelius Varley]

The first item on your shopping list is a t adaptor First Light Optics - T Rings. The second item is a 1.25" t mount camera nosepiece First Light Optics - FLO 1.25-inch T mount camera adapter (hopefully the Optus telescope uses 1.25" eyepieces and not 0.965" eyepieces). You will probably also need a barlow lens to allow the camera to focus. A lot of newtonian telescopes have insufficient inwards focus travel to accommodate a DSLR, the barlow lens increases the focal length of the telescope and also increases the amount of outwards focuser travel required for a DSLR.

Peter

[Smeghead]

thanks.

yes, it uses 1.25" eyepieces so no problem there.

will get the bits and hope i don't need a barlow as still rather broke !

[pvaz]

For sharp fotos you'll need a motorized equatorial mount. As the Earth rotates objects seam to move from our perspective. The longer the focal length the more visible this will be.

You can test this by simply placing your DSLR on a tripod and shooting a 30" exposure. Stars won't appear as points, you'll get trails. This actually look nice with a wide lens and you can find some magnificent photos if you google "star trails"..

[Smeghead]

very true about the star trails as the mount isn't motorised.

as i have access to some nice dark sky sites i'm hoping that several short exposure shots stacked will work for now until i can afford to upgrade to a motorised mount

[pvaz]

The general rule of thumb for static shots is 600/Focal Lenght = time in seconds, before you can notice the trails. That's for a full frame sensor. If you happen to have a crop sensor you need to divide again by the crop factor of the camera.

I'm afraid that with a 700mm scope you'll be limited to less then 1 second.

[Smeghead]

thanks

the max time was going to be my next question

just wondering if i can get an addon motor to drive the slomo control on my mount.

back to the flo website

[todd8137]

hi there this link to my photobucket will show you the adapters you will need for your camera

adapters pictures by todd8137 - Photobucket

cheers pat

[Smeghead]

received my adaptors this morning (thanks FLO for a really speedy service !) and it looks like i might need something to help the focus.

it is close to being in focus but i just can't get the camera close enough to the 'scope to get there.

would a barlow solve this ?

[Black Knight]

You can use a Barlow, yes. I did for some time until I could figure out another way to do it.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Smeghead]

thanks

i best start looking for a cheap one!!