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Skywatcher 130ps Dslr no focus

Hedlund

By Hedlund
in Getting Started With Imaging

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Hedlund

Hedlund

Posted
Posted

Hello I am a beginner in telescopes and astronomy and also here on this forum. I have a Skywatcher 130ps with az-gti headmount. Which I used for a while and I'm happy. But thought of trying to photograph the sky so I bought a used Canon eos 450d, as well as a t2 ring with accessories to mount on the telescope. The problem is that I do not manage to get any focus with the camera. Then bought a low profile T2 ring for the camera, it got a little better, but still far from good focus. Also tested a barlow lens and even this I do not get a good focus with. Have tried reading on forums and realized that this type of telescope and mount is not the best for camera photography, but some have still managed to photograph with these telescopes. Have seen that some move the primary mirror a few centimeters to get better focus. Is this something I can test with my telescope? Or is there something else but can do? I am a beginner in this, am grateful for all the answers.

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barbulo

barbulo

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Hi and welcome to SGL.

What version of the 130 do you own, P or PDS? The focuser (and its height) is different depending on the model. If you have the 130P you could have not enough inwards travel distance to reach focus. The PDS version is designed for astrophotography, hence the shorter focuser. 

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happy-kat

happy-kat

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi, the mount you have is being used by members to image with either in altaz mode or eq mode (eq with the available firmware change). It looks like you are running short of inward focus travel. Often using a barlow gets round this, what is you barlow x2? 

Edited by happy-kat
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Hedlund

Hedlund

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Okay, I have checked a bit on this, just need to find the mounts here in Sweden to turn to eq mode. I have tested with a barlow that I had and it is a barlow x5. No, unfortunately I did not get a lens for the camera.

I have looked a bit at others focusing on the telescope, but do not want to spend too much money on this, as it may be more worthwhile to spend the money on a new telescope made for Astro photo. 

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LaurenceT

LaurenceT

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46 minutes ago, Hedlund said:

Okey, thanks for your answer, do you have a picture of your setup? 

At the moment my faulty AZ GTi has gone back to Harrisons Telescopes so I'm waiting on them, I only had it for a little over 2 months so I'm hoping for a replacement. As soon as one arrives I'll post a picture.

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Hedlund

Hedlund

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1 hour ago, LaurenceT said:

At the moment my faulty AZ GTi has gone back to Harrisons Telescopes so I'm waiting on them, I only had it for a little over 2 months so I'm hoping for a replacement. As soon as one arrives I'll post a picture.

Okey sorry to hear that. My az-gti stopped working after a few days i got it to. 

When I rotated it manually and also with the app control, so at a certain position on its axis it stopped working. I got my exchange on warranty.

That would be great

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LaurenceT

LaurenceT

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39 minutes ago, Hedlund said:

Okey sorry to hear that. My az-gti stopped working after a few days i got it to. 

When I rotated it manually and also with the app control, so at a certain position on its axis it stopped working. I got my exchange on warranty.

That would be great

That's exactly the same fault as mine!

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pete_81

pete_81

Posted
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Answering first question - you should be able to do both visual and imaging with the 130PDS?
I've watched the posts on this page and now have one too - once mount working again, the 130PDS is clearly a lovely scope and has lots of imaging potential. Might be a little 'long' for some DSOs compared to a 400mm 'wide field', but there's plenty to write home about with it from the praise it gets from 2014 on that link!
I'm sure I've read somewhere that the name comes from:
130-diameter of primary mirror;
P-parabolic, better than spherical primary mirror for focusing light
D-dual-speed focuser, so getting sharpest focus is easier
S-shorter tube, so a camera sensor can reach focus
I used mine for the first imaging last night, and had the following setup
Camera => T-mount => 2" adapter (with filter insert) => 130PDS. I was hoping to have the following, Camera => T-mount => filter wheel => 2" adapter => 130PDS, but the filter wheel is too thick to use.

I've no coma corrector, which complicates it a little - this has to have the correct setup with the correct backfocus from the coma corrector (commonly seen as "CC") rather than the mirrors. Are you using a CC? Perhaps send photo of your setup if you're not able to get focus as this scope should give it without moving primary (for imaging).

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alacant

alacant

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 11/01/2022 at 20:36, Hedlund said:

Canon eos 450d, as well as a t2 ring

Hi

Assuming this is not a pds...

Remove the short bolts securing the mirror cell to its frame and replace with 4cm M5 bolts. This will allow you the primary mirror adjustment -tiesrd the secondary- you need to bring the 450 to focus.

Cheers and HTH.

Edited by alacant
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bobro

bobro

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, alacant said:

Assuming this is not a pds...

Remove the short bolts securing the mirror cell to its frame and replace with 4cm M5 bolts. This will allow you the primary mirror adjustment -tiesrd the secondary- you need to bring the 450 to focus.

The OP's OTA is a 130PS (not the same as a 130P or 130 P-DS). The 130PS does not have adjustment screws for primary collimation as collimation is fixed. 

Although a 2X Barlow lens may allow a DSLR to come to focus with the 130PS OTA, an OTA more suited to imaging (short FL refractor, 130 P-DS or camera lens) may be the best way forward.

Edited by bobro
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