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Adapter for imaging moon with DSLR and 130p


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Hi all,

I know, I know, this has been discussed before but having been through a bazillion threads, here and on other forums, I'm still clueless as to what I need to do here.

I've got a Skywatcher 130p AZ GOTO scope and mount, and recently got a Canon 1000D, astro modded. I've managed to connect the camera to the scope using Skywatcher's clever eyepiece adapter plus a T-ring adapter for the camera. All good.

However, I cannot focus on the moon. At all. I know this is because reflectors have limited in-focus range, and it seems to be that it's about to get into focus as the focuser goes in, then stops. So, not enough travel.

I understand the problem, and I know plenty other folk have had this in the past, and I think the answer is eyepiece projection or inserting a Barlow. I've played around with every bit of kit that came with the scope and cannot figure out for the life of me how I'd get the Barlow inserted. So, I either need an adapter of some sort for eyepiece projection , or to get the Barlow into the optical path.

Can someone please tell me exactly what I need here? An actual link to an actual product would be most appreciated. I totally understand that really, the camera plus scope combo would be better for deeper sky objects, and I'm not trying to get 'the whole moon' in the image (happy with mosaics). I just want to be able to focus on the moon.

Any/all advice appreciated. As I said, I'm sure the knowledgeable around here will be rolling their eyes because this must have been asked plenty of times before, but despite reading up on this I just do not know what I should be buying to get around the problem.

Thanks

Brendan

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The 1.25" barlow lens supplied with the telescope will fit into the focuser just like an eyepiece. The barlow lens should have a M42x0.75mm thread which matches your camera;s t-ring. Also, check the eyepiece holder. This should unscrew and reveal another t-thread which the t-ring can also be attached to.

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Brendan

First of all welcome from land down under

I had same issue, when trying to use 2" barlow with my 250mm Dob, no issues using 1.25mm barlow

Found had to use an adjustable extension tube to get to focus, as was not enough travel with focuser

John

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Thanks for the replies.

@Cornelius Varley - this is what I keep finding: people say it's possible, but having unscrewed everything and tried to put it all back together in just about every single possible combination, I just cannot get from the camera with T-ring adaptor at one end, and the scope at the other, with the Barlow in between.

Do you know of any pages that actually describe this ie this bit, which you'll find here, goes there, etc? 

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OK, so I now have a name to my pain.

The t-ring adaptor I bought didn't have the internal screw fitting! It was just the ring, which fits to the camera fine, and then three tiny screws with nothing inside. I assumed the screws were to hold the two-inch eyepiece adaptor for prime focus - which is correct - but I had NO IDEA that it was also supposed to have an internal ring, which is also held in place with the screws, which in turn has a thread for attaching the 1.25 eyepiece! I realised it after poring through many photos and videos such as the one above, observing how other people seemed to screw their cameras into their adapters, and suddenly noticing the distinct absence of thread in which to screw anything on mine.

So, I bought another one and assembled the lot in, what, a minute?

So, what I was trying to do, which I considered impossible, was actually impossible.

On the one hand I'm slightly narked that I bought an incomplete item. However, rather than send it back, I'm thinking that actually it might come in handy. I can just buy another two-inch eyepiece adaptor and attach it permanently to the incomplete T-ring adapter, which will make swapping between prime focus and non-prime much quicker and easier.

This probably makes no sense at all, but the main thing is, it's fixed, mainly because it's now fixable. Thanks for the help along the way!

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