Connecting my DSLR to my Telescope..?

[Jibber]

Hi i just got a jessops telescope for Xmas and a canon eos t2000 d. Does anyone know what size t-ring and adapter id need ... i got told its a standard size but i have no idea what standard would be as it seems standard varies depending on brand. Heeeelp. 

[Cornelius Varley]

Hello and welcome to SGL. The two items you will need are a Canon Eos t-ring and a 1.25" nosepiece adapter . You might also want to consider purchasing a motor drive to track the object while imaging.

[Geoff Lister]

6 hours ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The two items you will need are a Canon Eos t-ring and a 1.25" nosepiece adapter

This photo should give you an idea of how it's put together, and the whole assembly replaces the eyepiece.

The telescope then becomes a "dumb" lens, and you will need to adjust the shutter speed to get the best contrast on your photos.

Geoff

 

[Dave Lloyd]

Yes, you'll have to set the camera and auto focus to manual. 

[Aramcheck]

+1 on @Cornelius Varley's post. Don't expect too much with the EQ-1 mount though... even with a motor drive on the RA axis I expect that you'll see a lot of wobble in images (based on what I've done in the past with our old EQ-2).
Should be okay-ish for the Moon though.

[Louis D]

@Jibber Go ahead and get the two parts listed above and give it a try on terrestrial targets first, like a distant tower or tree.  I would probably try to focus with an eyepiece first to get it close.  For astrophotography, you normally remove the diagonal and insert the 1.25" adapter straight into the focuser tube.  However, for terrestrial testing, you may need to keep it in the imaging chain to achieve enough back focus when focusing on objects much closer than infinity.  For daytime photos, you can put the camera in aperture priority and let the camera select the shutter speed.  I'd probably put the ISO in auto mode to start with as well for testing purposes.  This setup will probably work for the moon, although you may need to use exposure compensation if the black sky around it fools the camera to overexpose the moon.  Once you note what shutter speeds and ISOs it is using to best effect, you can then switch to full manual and dispense with the exposure compensation.  Set the shutter and ISO to those values that worked best and start experimenting with both in single steps to see what exposure combinations work best.  The planets will be much more challenging, so perfect your moon shots first.  Deep Space Objects (DSOs) will be orders of magnitude more difficult beyond that.  Instead, I'd probably just put the camera on a tripod and put the 18-55mm lens on it at 18mm, point it at the sky, and take some 30 second or shorter exposures (depending on the ISO).  You'll be surprised by what the sensor will pick up.

[Mick J]

It will be hardwork, waiting for clear skies, new telescope and camera not to mention all sorts of software to process the pictures you produce.  Remember the lens that came with the camera can be used for wideangle views of the sky and a longer telephoto lens can produce outstanding star/planet pictures.

[cletrac1922]

First question I have, the scope appears to be more of a department store, or camera shop origin 

My cousin was given a similar one recently and brought over to set up for him

The eye pieces were smaller than 1.25", made of plastic, not glass

It came with 3 different barlows, one was marked for objects closer than the moon, which isn't anything

The first thing you have to do is verify if the eyepiece is actually 1.25"

Best advice before racing out and buying anything, is rock up one night at local astronomy club, and members there will only be too happy to assist

I have T-ring in my carry case have eyepieces in, along with compass and other handy items

Attached pic shows my carry case taken at a recent club solar viewing day

John

 

[Geoff Lister]

20 hours ago, cletrac1922 said:

The first thing you have to do is verify if the eyepiece is actually 1.25"

Good advice. The details on the Jessops web page do not give the eyepiece diameter. The FAQs have an answer that the mount does not take a motor drive.

Geoff

[Anthony1979]

Thats the first ever scope i got that jessops one.... Its stacked in the cupboard now.... Just thought id say lol