Baader Microstage Camera Adapter

[employee2-4601]

I'm sure I'm not alone in wishing my bank balance would stretch to a high-end DSLR and a large aperture scope with all the bells and whistles.

 

However, one thing I've learnt since getting into astronomy is that it is possible to achieve great results with a relatively low-spec set up. I bought myself a Baader Microstage camera adapter to try out a bit of basic astrophotography.

 

I admit I was dubious, but for the price (about £30 from FLO), I thought I'd give it a go. The package arrived with FLO's usual efficiency and swiftness and I set it up. The unit comes in a plasticky black bag with drawstrings and the cross piece that holds the camera has to be removed for storage (more on this point later).

 

You really have two options regarding where to attach the adapter to your scope. The first option is onto the actual ep, though this has the obvious drawback that you have to reattach it whenever you change ep's. The other option, and the one I went with, is behind the ep. This reduces how much you can adjust the focus, but I didn't find this a problem.

 

I found getting the camera in the right position to be quite fiddly the first few times. This being a 'universal' adapter, it attempts to be all things to all scopes. However, with a little perseverance I found a stable position and have managed to take a couple of good shots once the skies cleared.

 

My only real complaint is that the actual mount for the camera has to be removed in order to fit the unit back in its bag. This is a little irritating, but not a major problem. It does mean that set up is no less fiddly with repeated use.

 

However, it does provide a stable platform and is worth it for those looking to get into AP without spending vast sums of money.

[laudropb]

Nice report. Sounds like a good option. I will give it a go.

[Dave In Vermont]

I have one of these adapters, only mine is marked Celestron. The same one's are branded by just about every seller of astro-goods. Only difference is the prices posted. So I'll give any and all a piece of advice:

These adapters all seem to suffer from being tight and hard to adjust - without having to stop and adjust and then doing this again. Some people get furious and more than several of these land in the trash by an irate buyer! So: Take these apart when you get it and give all the threads some good grease. I suggest something like SuperLube® with PTFC (Teflon®). Then work it into all the threads by turning the bolts back and forth a few time. Wipe off any excess grease before playing with any optics. You really don't want to grease your scope's lens or mirror, do you? I rather thought not.....

I just saw one of these for $15US. So it pays to shop around.

Have fun!

Dave