Old celestron film/plate fast scope id

[garethmob]

I came across a really old celestron scope a few months ago. It wasf2/3 and designed for film or plate imaging. Just wondering if any one could id it forme

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[swamp thing]

Hi Gaz

It sounds like it could be a Schmidt camera maybe the celestron Epoch.

This one maybe:

The Celestron/Epoch Schmidt Camera

[garethmob]

That's the one:) thank you. It's been bugging me last few days and when i tried to search I didn't get anythin lol

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[Merlin66]

Certainly sounds like it....

[garethmob]

it is lol thanks guys

[swamp thing]

I wonder what happened to the Meade one. Unobtrusive little thing that it was?

http://sctscopes.net/SCT_Basics/SCT_OTAs/Meade_12inch_Schmidt_Camera.jpg

[garethmob]

i was actually typing somthin else then but thought the astricks might get in the way is the camera the bottem one?

im supprised that they dont make them any more. looking at the celestron one it seemed a really good idea i guess its what the hyper/faststar evolved into but cant they make a cheap alternative to AP for the masses?

[swamp thing]

Yeah the cameras the big lump on the bottom the other one is the 6" Apo guide scope.

They were a lot of money you'll be surprised to hear!

Not sure they were that good either.

[garethmob]

what the celestrons were expensive? they look like somthing a good optics guy could knock up for say £50? (ok i know £50 20 years ago was alot but you know what i mean)

i was interested mainly because it just seems so simple, and yet worked pretty good

[pete_l]

im supprised that they dont make them any more. looking at the celestron one it seemed a really good idea i guess its what the hyper/faststar evolved into but cant they make a cheap alternative to AP for the masses?

By all accounts they were a right pain to use. For a start the focal plane was curved, so you had to fit the film (yes: film) very carefully to make sure the whole field would be in focus.

These days even a half-decent cooled CCD with a camera lens would have the same, or better sensitivity of a film astro-camera (even using "hyper"-ed film that needed specialised processing) and comparable large fields for a fraction of the price - and with instantly viewable results.

[nytecam]

By all accounts they were a right pain to use. For a start the focal plane was curved, so you had to fit the film (yes: film) very carefully to make sure the whole field would be in focus. These days even a half-decent cooled CCD with a camera lens would have the same, or better sensitivity of a film astro-camera (even using "hyper"-ed film that needed specialised processing) and comparable large fields for a fraction of the price - and with instantly viewable results.

The BIG thing about the Schmidt Camera [miniature of Palomar Schmidt] was the 35mm fullframe format covering a large fov but it was a beast to operate with single frames of 35mm film loaded and removed for processing into a curved film holder midway down the tube. Built Lensless Schmidt long ago for 2-1/4"sq film but still a beast to use

Below pics from my library - Celestron Techniques Oct 1971 featuring many samples of Schmidt Cam on DSOs via superfast 140mm aperture f/1.65 with Kodak Tri-X and other special Kodak films - images were sharp enough across the whole fov to enlarge x30. As quote the modern CCD outpaces film and with far less hastle but the cam 'speed' was amazing from elegant optics eg just a spherical primary mirror + single element glass corrector plate

[garethmob]

ye i releise it was film but i thought it was a type of astrograph it just seems so simple to do what it does thanks for the images nytecam i doubt id ever see one on ebay