What adapters needed for Canon 5D DSLR

[Scrap]

I have just bought a second hand Celestron 130EQ with motor drive. I have a Canon 5D DSLR and intend to direct couple for astrophotography. I know that I need a T-Mont for the camera and an eyepiece adapter for the scope but I need to know if I need to buy anything else  for this combination. I have been into photography for a long while but only a couple of years into astronomy, I attend an astronomy course once a week (in term time) which is run by the Workers Educational Association (WEA). This is my first scope  though which I have only had for a couple of weeks and not had the chance to use yet.

[happy-kat]

If you are going to try prime focus you need a t ring and t mount. This is where the telescope is the camera lens.

However your telescope might not reach focus with a dslr there could be not enough inward focus travel available and a 2x barlow may help here. You won't know until you try.

However you will probably get better results using just you dslr and camera lens on your motorised eq mount with no telescope. Because this will be lighter and better managed by the mount and less prone to shakes wobble.

[Scrap]

7 hours ago, happy-kat said:

 

However you will probably get better results using just you dslr and camera lens on your motorised eq mount with no telescope. Because this will be lighter and better managed by the mount and less prone to shakes wobble.

Thanks I will try everything. I have ordered the parts and am looking forward to having a go !. Pity at this time of year it will have to be in the middle of the night.

[happy-kat]

I should have added I got my T ring and T mount from Flo and the T mount is a good one as it is quite narrow a collar, some are thick and this will make the focus situation worse and push the camera even further away from the focal pane.

[happy-kat]

You might find these articles by a member on here interesting to read.

link here

[Scrap]

1 hour ago, happy-kat said:

You might find these articles by a member on here interesting to read.

link here

Great thanks very much

[Scrap]

On 5/22/2016 at 08:47, happy-kat said:

However your telescope might not reach focus with a dslr there could be not enough inward focus travel available and a 2x barlow may help here. You won't know until you try.

Yes this combination needs a barlow, As there is a shortfall of about 15mm inward travel, If I remove the collar on the focuser I can achieve focus but of course there is no way to keep it steady.

[Louis D]

For your full frame DSLR, you might want to look into a full aperture adapter like the Orion Wide M48 T-ring for Canon EOS Cameras,  Orion Superwide 2" Prime Focus Adapter for Canon EOS Cameras or the 2" UltraWide Prime Focus Telescope Adapter.  All would eliminate vignetting you might see with a typical T-ring.

[Cornelius Varley]

34 minutes ago, Louis D said:

For your full frame DSLR, you might want to look into a full aperture adapter like the Orion Wide M48 T-ring for Canon EOS Cameras,  Orion Superwide 2" Prime Focus Adapter for Canon EOS Cameras or the 2" UltraWide Prime Focus Telescope Adapter.  All would eliminate vignetting you might see with a typical T-ring.

The M48 t adaptor is used only for attaching accessories such as field flatteners or focal reducers that have an M48 thread, so not suitable for the Celestron Astromaster 130. The  2" telescope adaptors will not be suitable either because the Astromaster has a 1.25" focuser.

[Louis D]

I didn't realize the OP was intent on using a full frame DSLR with a 1.25" focuser.  Likely to have lots of vignetting in that case.

[Scrap]

On 5/31/2016 at 15:19, Scrap said:

Yes this combination needs a barlow, As there is a shortfall of about 15mm inward travel, If I remove the collar on the focuser I can achieve focus but of course there is no way to keep it steady.

 

On 5/31/2016 at 20:31, Louis D said:

I didn't realize the OP was intent on using a full frame DSLR with a 1.25" focuser.  Likely to have lots of vignetting in that case.

Using the 20mm with the Barlow there was very slight vignetting on the left side only, just a slight loss in top and bottom corners, I do not understand why the other side was clear. Using the 10mm and the barlow there was no vignetting at all. This has all been done in daylight terrestial viewing while I learn where everything is and how it all comes together. As this is my first attempts using a camera and a telescope I do not know what to expect.

[Louis D]

7 hours ago, Scrap said:

Using the 20mm with the Barlow there was very slight vignetting on the left side only, just a slight loss in top and bottom corners, I do not understand why the other side was clear. Using the 10mm and the barlow there was no vignetting at all. This has all been done in daylight terrestial viewing while I learn where everything is and how it all comes together. As this is my first attempts using a camera and a telescope I do not know what to expect.

It sounds like your doing either eyepiece projection or afocal projection.  Either you are using a 10mm or 20mm eyepiece in a barlow to project an image either directly onto the image sensor (eyepiece projection) or into a camera lens (afocal projection).  Doing so spreads out the light cone which minimizes vignetting in either case.  Even using a barlow straight onto the sensor would accomplish a similar result with enough separation.  I was thinking you were using prime focus capture which would have a fair amount of vignetting due to the converging light cone.

The uneven illumination could be due to an off-center sensor relative to the camera lens mount.  It could also be due to an asymmetry somewhere else in the imaging train.

Regardless, it sounds like you're well on your way to learning a usable technique to capture astro images.  Keep at it and good luck!

[Scrap]

17 hours ago, Louis D said:

It sounds like your doing either eyepiece projection or afocal projection.  Either you are using a 10mm or 20mm eyepiece in a barlow to project an image either directly onto the image sensor (eyepiece projection) or into a camera lens (afocal projection). 

 

 

Sure is a steep learning curve. Thanks for your help.

[Scrap]

After a bit of reading up I can tell you that I am doing eyepiece projection. Lots of new terminology to get to grips with. My youngest son has bought me a book " Digital SLR Astrophotography" by Michael A Covington which, although it was published in 2007, I am finding very useful and relatively easy to understand.

[Scrap]

On 5/22/2016 at 08:47, happy-kat said:

However you will probably get better results using just you dslr and camera lens on your motorised eq mount with no telescope. Because this will be lighter and better managed by the mount and less prone to shakes wobble.

Just after last years post my wife had to undergo unexpected major surgery and as a result I have been unable to further my project. So I am taking up where I left off. Could someone tell me where to find an adapter to achieve this.

Regards

[happy-kat]

Hope all is well now.

Perhaps this member might be able to help specifically @bobro on attaching your DSLR directly to the Celestron eq2 tripod. I don't have your tripod myself to know what bits it has already and what might be needed.

 

[bobro]

The tripod for the Meade 130EQ takes a standard dovetail and so a plate such as the small one here can be used :https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-dovetail-mounting-plates.html to carry a camera on the tripod.

As has been mentioned above a typical DSLR does not come to focus with the 130EQ scope due to lack of inward travel on the focuser. However, the adaptor on the focus tube can be replaced with a much slimmer adaptor to allow use with a DSLR only (not with eyepieces). I have tried the adaptor and it fits. It may just give enough additional inward travel with your camera, but needs a test. The adapter can be bought from ebay - search for '42-40mm Step Down Ring Filter Adapter for Camera'. See the images below.

Hope this helps.

Bob

[Scrap]

thanks a lot for your help