Taking pictures IN THE FIRST PLACE???

[tomys]

I have seen MANY threads about how to take pictures through the telescope: afocal, mounting, webcam, more...

I have seen MANY threads about tips on improving your picture, like getting the exposure right, stacking them...

What I think I need is in between. I am probably wrong, so don't start correcting me, it isn't the point.

What I want to do is to take good photos with a lousy camera(no webcam to hack).

The only way for me to take photos through the telescope is the afocal method, aiming the camera to the eyepiece. This poses many problems.

1. Focus isn't right. I have tried manual focus but it still is very very blur.
   
2. The hole in the eyepiece is TINY, and my camera lens is too big. Zooming makes problem 1 worse.
   
3. I have a macintosh, meaning no super advanced software to stack images superbly like Registax. I have tried using Keith's Image Stacker, but because I do NOT have a tripod or any sort of mount my images are all over the place, and the image stacker does not stack it right... Maybe this is because my camera has also taken in the background, making it use that for reference. I know very little about this problem with the image stacker
   

So, I will finish up by asking you what I can do about taking pictures to share with my extended family back in Singapore, and my parents and my younger brother who likes pictures of outer space.

P.S. I also have problems looking for interesting objects to look at. Please do not ask me to see the planets, I have seen Venus, Mars, Saturn, (moon), and Jupiter. The rest I have tried even in the darkest night, but I couldn't find it(also related huh?). It's difficult for me to use stellarium because I haven't heard of a feature in it that allows me to change the field of view to about 6 degrees, and half degrees, because that is the field of view of my finderscope and my lowest power eyepiece.

P.P.S. I also only have eyepieces marked H and SR, which I heard on this forum to be horrible, so what do I do?

Edit: I have a manual mount too, plus shaky hand.

[steppenwolf]

I think that you should concentrate on using JUST the camera and take wide field images of the Milky Way because you just don't have the right tools to do anything else of a deep sky nature and you have already said you don't want to do planets.

Simply set the camera up on a bean bag outside, point it at the night sky, set the exposure time to the maximum it will allow up to 30 seconds and use the built in self timer (if it has one) to trip the shutter.

You could also aim at the general direction of Polaris and try for a set of images to make up a star trail image.

[brantuk]

Hi Tomys

For mounting the camera to the eyepeice £39 will get you a camera adaptor like this:

Adaptors

Top two items. I'm not sure how good a result you will get though with your equipment. Which telescope do you have?

Cheers

[tomys]

Thanks!

Btw, North and south of me are COMPLETELY obstructed.

Just the camera worked out magically. I stacked them in photoshop and it was bright.

^was actually for steppenwolf

I have a bosma ST76700U 4" reflector.