What T mount and focal reducer do i need?

[Mistasparkaru]

I have a meade lx200 12" and a canon eos 450d and wanted to get started taking some astro photos.

What t ring do i need? I can see loads for £15 on ebay and some expensive ones. I cant see the point of an expensive one as its only a but of plastic

Also what focal reducer should i look for, any specs particular?

[Tinker1947]

You will need your scope mounted on a EQ mount, if it isn't already, the quality of the T-ring will determine the amount of play when the DSLR is attached, a metal type is far better, i'm not sure what type of focal reducer you would need, but there do require a precise distance from the rear lens to the DSLR sensor bear this in mind when buying one. the link below may have the bits you need there a meade supplier....

http://www.telescopehouse.com/acatalog/Telescope_House_Astro_Imaging.htm

[buikimaging]

A T-ring that is made of plastic is what you should avoid at all costs. A basic T to canon bayonet is what you should look for. However, is your telescope on an EQ mount or on a fork mount? A fork mount won't do you any good in astrophotography as the image will rotate with the movement of the mount. An EQ mount will resolve this by have the ability to polar allign and this keep the image in the same position as the mount tracks the movement of objects around the sky.

Only if your LX200 is EQ mounted would I invest in a focal reducer too. The focal reducer will allow for a larger field of view however, when there is no EQ mount, the maximum exposure time would be around 30-60 seconds. You will see the entire object and stars around it rotate making any decent astrophotography impossible. A fork mount is a no go in astrophotography. Especially for deep sky astrophotography.

[Mistasparkaru]

Im on the standard lx200 fork mount but planned to polar align it.

I have built a really sturdy brick pillar and was going to get one of my engineering friends to make up the wedge

[Mistasparkaru]

If you search google for birchwood observatory the facebook page shows how i made the pillar and how far i have got so far

[Tinker1947]

Im on the standard lx200 fork mount but planned to polar align it.

I have built a really sturdy brick pillar and was going to get one of my engineering friends to make up the wedge

In a recent thread a couple of weeks back, the Op had the same setup as yourself and all replies said much the same thing, sell up and start again with a EQ mount and another scope, you really will be throwing money down the drain trying to do AP with this setup......

[Mistasparkaru]

I appreciate your input but im not going to sell up all my kit.

Can anybody let me know what t adapter i need?

[buikimaging]

I appreciate your input but im not going to sell up all my kit.

Can anybody let me know what t adapter i need?

Like I already said before a T to canon bayonet ring. Something metal. Has T thread on one side, Canon bayonet on the other and an SCT to T thread adapter I'm guessing