photos

[alnab01]

Hi all

I was out with my humble Celstron 130EQ (first scope as a gift) and was having a look at the moon and Jupiter. Could even see some of the bands - I was pleased as I i know my scope has limitations. However, I would love to get some photos of what i was seeing:

Is it possible to take photos through the EP with a smartphone camera at night? I was having real difficulty finding the target while trying to line up the phone with the EP and then was hard to get it to focus?

Is there something available to hold it in place? (Samsung galaxy S6 edge)

Or could anyone recommend a camera that would be suitable?

 

many thanks

 

ALan

[jonathan]

Lining up a small phone camera to the image in the eyepiece can be tricky, it just takes perseverance.  Make sure you extend the eyepiece eye relief so that you don't accidentally touch the glass with the camera or phone.  Once you manage to line it up correctly you can get some great shots, particularly of planets and the moon (bright objects), you may need to play with the settings in your camera to get the correct exposure.

You could also take video which might be easier than taking stills, you can set it recording and then take your time with both hands to line up the shot.

Good luck!

[Knighty2112]

I'm not sure that putting a camera on your Celestron would give you the results you want. As I own this scope (but rarely use it now) I know that the cons of the scope far outweigh the pros. You can get adapter that help hold the phone to the eyepiece, but not used one so don't know how good they would be.

[alnab01]

Here are some photos i've managed to get by holding the phone at the EP:

Not clear, partially because i wasn't able to hold the camera still but i guess they are a record of what I could see. These were taken just before and after sunset a month or so back

I just found that tonight I couldn't find or focus the camera on anything. Not sure what I was doing wrong

 

Alan

[rickoshea]

I did this a few nights ago with my Galaxy Note 4 and Skyliner 200p dob. It's tricky to say the least but eventually you can get a decent image. If you know Photoshop then you can crop the image and make adjustments (I use Topaz Detail and Topaz Adjust filters) and shift the curves about a bit and get pretty good results :

[Stu]

It's certainly possible, though not necessarily easy. I used to use an Orion Universal Steadypix mount which would hold my iPhone 5 in place over a 1.25" eyepiece. Since moving to a 6 Plus, I just handhold it as it won't fit the holder. Need to make something bigger really.

Here are a few examples of what is achievable.

On the iPhone I use an app called ProCam 3 for capture, it gives better control of exposure and focus which is important for getting detail on Jupiter for example. I also process them a little using another app called PS Express which I find very good.

General advice, take loads of shots and crop the best bits out! Getting the phone into the exit pupil is the harder part, can often involve pulling back a little way from the eyepiece but experiment to see what works with your kit.

 

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Lots of people start out with afocal shots, as these are known, and many very nice ones abound on the site. However, beware of the slippery slope into the dark side

Astrophotography is a huge drain on the bank account

[RT65CB-SWL]

Hi Alan. That is a great start and a belated welcome to SGL. 

I had ago last week on the Moon, but gave up as my fingers and thumbs were to cold and the phone battery was running on 'low power' mode, (ie <20%).

[Neptune38]

This is one I took with my Galaxy S5, a couple of months ago. 

[alnab01]

8 hours ago, Neptune38 said:

This is one I took with my Galaxy S5, a couple of months ago. 

Did u hold the camera at the eyepiece or do you use an adaptor?

Alan