Widefield camera mount

[Gina]

I'm about to make up a bracket to mount a DSLR onto my scope rings instead of the single screw that goes into the tripod bush on the camera.

This is what I have in mind :- a plate screwed to both scope rings and the camera held by the usual tripod bush and screw and with a strap round the lens to hold the camera straight. A DSLR with a telephoto lens (or even a standard lens) is not secure enough to stay put with the various angles the scope will be at. The tripod bush is just about adequate with the camera level but not for this use IMO.

I have in mind using my old Pentax film camera lenses. I have 35mm f3.5 wide angle, 55mm f1.8 standard, 135mm f2.8 telephoto and a 35-105mm zoom. I reckon the 135 tele will be good for the bigger DSOs such as the Andromeda galaxy.

[Stephen]

Out of idle curiosity, if you are using DSLR+lens, why mount it on the scope?

Could do that setup on a dovetail and mount it solo on the mount?

[Psychobilly]

With some of the wide angle lenses you will want the camera to be right at the front of the OTA (unless you want it in the pic for effect)....

[Gina]

With some of the wide angle lenses you will want the camera to be right at the front of the OTA (unless you want it in the pic for effect)....

Ah yes - that's a good point! Thanks

[iwatkins]

Nice Gina.

Easier way to do it? Place the standard tripod bush telescope ring at the front. Mount camera as usual. Then stick a block of wood under the lens of the right thickness to keep the rig parallel with the scope. Then stick a releasable cable tie around the scope and lens. That holds it all quite well I find.

Cheers

Ian

[Gina]

Out of idle curiosity, if you are using DSLR+lens, why mount it on the scope?

Could do that setup on a dovetail and mount it solo on the mount?

Yes, that's true. I had considered that but it would mean taking the scope off and removing various cables and their attachments. Also, the DSLR would make a good remote finder scope, while the original finder scope does duty as a guider.

As I've mentioned in another thread, I'm having great difficulty finding faint objects - I can't seem to get CdC to go to the right place. Even a fraction of a degree error puts the object outside the FOV, of course. With the wider field of the camera + lens I should be able to get objects in the FOV and see them with a long exposure. Then I could move the mount/scope onto the target.

[Gina]

Ummm... Regarding the scope obscuring the view of the widefield camera :- the camera would want moving right up near the end of the dew shield. Re-think needed

[Psychobilly]

With my 10-24 i have to look out for feet in the photos...and have to be careful with tripod legs...

Peter...

[themos]

Not a problem finding things, I just take a low-res JPEG of the current view and submit it to live.astrometry.net. It tells me RA/DEC of the centre so I just SYNC to these coordinates and SLEW to the target.

[themos]

Now that I have astrometry.net running on the Windows laptop under cygwin, I don't even need to have a network connection. I just plate solve on the laptop. MaximDL claims to platesolve but it needs spoon feeding.

[Gina]

Interesting - thank you

[Gina]

One possibility...

[themos]

A DSLR with a telephoto lens (or even a standard lens) is not secure enough to stay put with the various angles the scope will be at. The tripod bush is just about adequate with the camera level but not for this use IMO.

I think you should first confirm that the mounting is insufficient. I think you might be surprised.

[Photosbykev]

If you point the scope off at an angle to the photography target you can effectively shoot out the side of the scope removing the problem of mounting the camera right at the front of the scope.

I would also bolt a good ball and socket head or even a geared tripod head to the mount and then fix the camera to that. A quality head will easily hold a DSLR and medium telephoto lens in a horizontal position

[Psychobilly]

I used to use a Manfrotto B&S head on the front guidescope ring...

[Gina]

Looks like the Manfrotto B&S head should well hold a Canon 1100D with 135mm lens. I might try that on the front ring. The head will move the DSLR away from the scope and, I agree, that for very wide views, the camera can be pointed away from the scope.

[laser_jock99]

For unguided work a massive photo ball & socket head is the answer. They can be mounted in the dovetail mount where the telescope would sit.

I use a Manfrotto 268 Superball head - built like a tank, they weigh over 1.5Kg!! Heavy duty enough to support large format cameras or any DSLR/lens combo, rated for a 12kg load.

Looks like this on the EQ6 mount- as you can see it's fairly hefty and stable enough not to drift during long exposures as many cheap ball heads will do.

[fwm891]

I'd go with Laser_jock99. A largish ball and socket tripod head will easily support a dslr + lenses.

There are quite a few around (Manfrotto are a good maker) - just look at the loading ratings. You could mount it on the front tube ring of your scope - thereby doing away with the need for a saddle between the rings. The height of the ball & socket head would also lift the camera far enough away from the tube to 'miss it' when imaging. Just put some matt black covering over the top of the dew shield or you'll get flare from it into the lens.

[Psychobilly]

Here's the range of heads I use depending on what I am hanging off them...

[Gina]

Yes, I'm now thinking in terms of a heavy duty B&S head mounted on the front scope ring. I'd prefer to do this rather than remove the main scope and replace it with the widefield setup. The reasons are :-

1. I don't want to go to the trouble of removing the scope and disconnecting all the cables. In some cases taking the cables out of their fixings on the mount. One of the main reasons for building an obsy was that the scope could be left all set up and ready to go.
   
2. I would like the widefield camera available for use as finder as I'm now using the supplied finder scope as guider and have a webcam installed with a narrow FOV. OK, I could put the finder scope back to original with it's eyepiece and add an afocal webcam as remote viewing finder and use a separate scope for guiding.
   

Good point about blacking the dew shield Francis

[laser_jock99]

I don't want to go to the trouble of removing the scope and disconnecting all the cables. In some cases taking the cables out of their fixings on the mount. One of the main reasons for building an obsy was that the scope could be left all set up and ready to go.

To be honest 90% of my imaging at the moment is done with camera lenses so the ball head is more often in use than the scope! Once I get my autoguider set up that might all change. If you have dark skies, then wide view of camera lenses will beat a telescope hands down. Not so good in light polluted area though where the narrow field of view of a scope is more suited to the location.

[themos]

For anyone else using cameras and lenses and wondering if there is a cheap portable solution, check out

http://stargazerslounge.com/diy-astronomer/176637-auto-guided-eq1-mount.html

[Gina]

I'm looking at the Manfrotto 804RC2 Basic Pan & Tilt Head with Quick Release Plate :- Manfrotto 804RC2 Basic Pan & Tilt Head with Quick: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

This would be useful for general photography too Not too cheap is it?

[Gina]

On second thoughts, everyone mentions B&S heads rather than separate pan and tilt so maybe the 496RC2 head at a few more pounds would be better - takes a heavier payload and good-n-strong is what's needed for long exposure imaging.

Manfrotto 496RC2 Ball Head with Friction Control: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

[Gina]

Searched the net and Amazon are cheapest so I've ordered one Should do the job!