Gettin into astro photography...

[gobes]

Not long had my first telescope (skymax 127) - but have already started get the itch to get some photographs on the go ;-)

I have a Canon 400D camera, and it looks like I just need an adapter to fit this to my scope (for Lunar images)... is this the case?

Also - since my mount has no motor at the moment - I wondered whether a webcam is able to take shots of deep sky objects or planets? If so - what kit do I need for this, other than the webcam and laptop. How does the cam fir to the scope etc?

Thanks for help.

[Merlin66]

Starting with the webcam would be easy. You just need a 1.25" adaptor; you remove the lens from the webcam and screw in the adaptor, this is then placed in the focuser like an eyepiece.

For the canon, you'll need a 1.25" to T thread adaptor, and a T to EOS adaptor. If you remove the lens from the camera and fit these adaptors you can then mount it in the focuser.

The USB connection will give you control of exposures up to 30 sec.

If you want longer exposures.... different ball game!! You need a drive on the mounting and a serial cable from the computer to the canon to control it.

Hope this helps.

[drummerp]

Hi there,

check out the "for sale" section I have an adaptor that will fit your camera. or click here

[gobes]

Can anybody recommend a decent webcam to go with, plus the adapter to fit to the scope?

Cheers.

[Peter Piper]

Hi Gobes,

Re: a suitable webcam for your scope. I saw one in the CPC catalogue today which seems to be specifically for a telescope i.e. it fits like a 1.25" eyepiece. Unfortunately I was distracted and did'nt get all the details. I will get them tomorrow and post them here for you. If it is suitable I will be ordering one so you could wait for a performance report from me. Hope this helps.

Regards PP

[brendant]

Just a small correction to what Merlin66 posted, the 400D has bulb mode and provided you use an external release cable or timer the exposure can be indefinite.

The only problem as Merlin stated is that without a driven mount any exposure over 30 seconds (will actually be much less due to the focal length of the scope) will be useless because of star trailing. Other than imaging the moon or really bright planets, a driven mount is a must especially for deep space objects.

HTH

Brendan