Purchased a DSLR and Accessories - Have I Missed Anything for AP?

[ak785]

I've purchased a Canon EOS 650D / Rebel T4i DSLR (Gave up on the SPC900 Web Cam) on eBay (it looks in near perfect condition for £180 - hopefully that's a fair price, it also comes with a remote!). I've also purchased:

• Celestron x2 Bralow with T Adapter.
• T-Ring for the Canon EOS.
• 12v AC Adapter for the Celestron 127 NexStar (batteries ran out!). 

I'm now watching various tutorials / reading up on DSLR imaging for Deep Sky and Planets.

I don't think I've missed anything in terms of adapters or otherwise.

[Messy Hair 101]

If you're running your scope off the mains, I would get a dummy battery with mains adapter for your camera as well. Monitoring battery usage will drive you nuts!

You can find cheap ones on Amazon. Canon do an official one but it's crazy money - probably a half to a third what you paid for the camera.

You have a t-adapter and t-ring so connecting to your telescope should be OK as long as you have back focus. Just double-check that in daylight if possible before you get set up. I think it will be OK though.

Further down the line, you might want to look at connecting your camera to a laptop and controlling it with something like APT which is a real game-changer. 

 

[Aramcheck]

+ 1 on the laptop & APT suggestion by @Messy Hair 101.

I've also found a bahtinov mask useful for focusing & depending on your Bortle sky rating, a light pollution filter is something to consider too.

Cheers
Ivor

[ak785]

16 hours ago, Messy Hair 101 said:

If you're running your scope off the mains, I would get a dummy battery with mains adapter for your camera as well. Monitoring battery usage will drive you nuts!

You can find cheap ones on Amazon. Canon do an official one but it's crazy money - probably a half to a third what you paid for the camera.

You have a t-adapter and t-ring so connecting to your telescope should be OK as long as you have back focus. Just double-check that in daylight if possible before you get set up. I think it will be OK though.

Further down the line, you might want to look at connecting your camera to a laptop and controlling it with something like APT which is a real game-changer. 

 

Thanks @Messy Hair 101 I'll go look at that today. I was hoping to connect the camera to a surface I've had lying around and start using ATP.

All of the original cables are coming with the camera, I'm hoping one is for USB connectivity. Will I need any other cables?

I think on my scope I need to use the diagnol as I don't think I can go straight into the back of the scope? Or if I remove the diagnol is it still 1 1/4" it looks bigger directly into the back of the scope.

 

15 hours ago, Aramcheck said:

+ 1 on the laptop & APT suggestion by @Messy Hair 101.

I've also found a bahtinov mask useful for focusing & depending on your Bortle sky rating, a light pollution filter is something to consider too.

Cheers
Ivor

Thanks @Aramcheck. I'm under Bortle Class 5 skies. I was looking at filters for light pollution and ones to help nebula shots.

There is a light right outside my back yard though that I need to see if I can either get turned off or buy a dew shield.

Another question I had was I've noticed a lot of people use auto guiding cameras? As my mount is a goto, will I need a guiding camera? I'm not sure how smooth the Celestron SLT 127 mount is going to track?

Everything has been shipped. I'll post a picture once it's all setup.

Edited June 30, 2020 by ak785
Typo

[Messy Hair 101]

You just need the USB lead that comes with the camera to connect it to a laptop, turn it on and APT should detect it.

If I recall, the visual back is screwed on and there is a tube into which you insert the diagonal. You would just take out the diagonal and attach the t adapter to that. The T ring then screws onto the t adapter which is connected to your camera (put them all together before you insert the t adapter!)

I would get all that working as it will keep you busy for quite a while! In terms of guiding, it doesn't really work for your alt az mount (guide star will be sharp but other stars on the edge will trail). You really need an equatorial mount for guiding and long exposures as field rotation will become an issue. The moon and planets will be fine though - They might be your best targets with that mount and focal length.

Have fun with what you've got and reach the limits of what it can do first. You will probably be limited to fairly short exposures of 30 seconds or a minute for DSOs but see how good you can get it, then you can decide on next steps - assuming you're not happy with what you get.

[ak785]

I think you're right. I've spent a lot of money over the weekend 😛 but hey it's worth it as I genuinely love this hobby. There's quite a bit to be getting on with, the barlow w/ T Adapter just arrived, EOS 650D is on it's way as is the dummy battery from Amazon. Just about to order the Bahitnoiv Mask from FLO.

[happy-kat]

Try first without the barlow to see if you do reach focus.

I use an Android phone and app dslr controller to control my canon, it's very portable for me

I wouldn't buy any filters as your exposure length will be limited by the mount's capabilities not your sky conditions.

You can make your own dew shield I used a flower pot and flocked it.

This is a related read

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/228101-the-no-eq-dso-challenge

Edited June 30, 2020 by happy-kat

[ak785]

23 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

Try first without the barlow to see if you do reach focus.

I use an Android phone and app dslr controller to control my canon, it's very portable for me

I wouldn't buy any filters as your exposure length will be limited by the mount's capabilities not your sky conditions.

You can make your own dew shield I used a flower pot and flocked it.

This is a related read

https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/228101-the-no-eq-dso-challenge

Awesome, thanks @happy-kat - I'd not thought of making my own  and thanks for the advice on the filter. I've purchased the Mask just to ensure I can get some focus but in terms of filters I was definitely going to wait. I want to see what results I get for my most recent investment.