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Old 15-03-2005, 12:43 AM
Nortilus (Josh)
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more info Please!

Hi,

Um, i need a few question answered about taking astro pics.
How do you connect the camera to the telescope?
Do you use the EPs at all?
Can I get a basic diagram or something on how to connect the camera to the telescope.
I have a GSO 8" Newt. Only on a dob mount but I can start taking a few planet pics and stuff.
Please help me iceinspace forum members.
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  #2  
Old 15-03-2005, 01:02 AM
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ballaratdragons (Ken)
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I've only just started this astrophoto stuff myself but I just held the digital camera up to the eyepiece and went click.

I used a 30mm 2" SuperView but really need to use my 9mm Plossl for better photos. Mike suggested I use 9mm or 15mm.

My first go at it is in the thread 'Good for a Laugh' in the Solar System section of 'Images and Photography'.

It's my first attempt. Hope you have better luck.

Last edited by ballaratdragons; 15-03-2005 at 01:13 AM.
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Old 15-03-2005, 01:14 AM
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Nortilus, Try Ken's suggestion for a start. Just use a medium power E/P and digital camera. L.
ps.Sorry Ken,You are now officially an "ASTROPHOTOGRAPHER".
pps. I haven't even tried taking pics thru my t'scope yet.

Last edited by RAJAH235; 15-03-2005 at 02:11 AM.
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Old 15-03-2005, 01:24 AM
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ballaratdragons (Ken)
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Lol, Laurie, I ain't nothing yet!

I wouldn't take my own advice!!
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Old 15-03-2005, 01:31 AM
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I have enough trouble with my camera tracker, never mind the t'scope.
L.
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Old 15-03-2005, 06:07 AM
gbeal
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Nortilus,
what sort of camera?
Gary
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Old 15-03-2005, 06:16 AM
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iceman (Mike)
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.. and do you have a laptop?
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Old 15-03-2005, 08:53 AM
rumples riot
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Most cameras, now have adapters to do either eyepiece projection (thats where you use an eyepiece enclosed in the adapter which screws onto the lens of a fixed camera) or prime focus ( which is a t adapter that connects directly onto a SLR/ DSLR). As Gary asked, if we know the model of the camera and make we might be able to answer you question.

If you have a laptop you could also do webcam imaging. This requires some software, most of which is free, and a webcam called a toucam Pro 2.

So if you could get back to us, we might be able to help.
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Old 15-03-2005, 10:37 AM
gbeal
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I fear he will need the help of Ice, as he is looking to use the scope on a dob mount. Oh boy.
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Old 15-03-2005, 10:40 AM
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lol bring it on! Dob webcammers will rule the world!
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Old 15-03-2005, 12:26 PM
Nortilus (Josh)
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I don;t really have anything yet. I do have access to a digi camera but it doesn;t have zoom. I did try doing the hold the camera upto the eyepiece thing and take a pic of saturn, but the image wasn;t good enough to do anything with.
I was thinking of getting a SLR off ebay for cheap and starting on film. Any suggestions.
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Old 15-03-2005, 12:52 PM
gbeal
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Yep,
a manual camera, I have Nikon, but there are plenty out there, and some of the early screw mount Pentax's are very good.
You will still need to track though.
A webcam (ToUcam), and laptop will be the best option.
Get together with someone close from the forum and see what they do.
Gary
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Old 15-03-2005, 01:13 PM
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Striker (Tony)
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So are we saying you can get any 35mm SLR camera.....or is their a better type or well known model available...I have been tempted to get an old SLR aswell but thought if I dont get the right model I wont be able to fit it to my scope......some people say just go get a cheap second hand model any brand?...would that be ok.
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Old 15-03-2005, 01:25 PM
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ving (David)
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if you have access to a digital camera you can make a mount so you can fix it to the telescope like the one i made in this pic....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...m/Dsc03196.jpg
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Old 15-03-2005, 02:00 PM
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Tony, any 35mm SLR that has a "B" setting will do fine. Extra features just make things easier (obviously). Second hand is definitely the way to go, there are some great deals to be had on second hand 35mm SLR's. My old fujica was about $15 at the local markets - beautiful old camera that takes fantastic day shots. It fits directly to the standard T-ring that came with my scope which then connects to the scope itself (for prime focus shots). Nice moon shots it has given me so far but I need to figure out how to get a larger image scale...??? (My avatar was actually taken with the fujica). My olympus actually needs an olympus T-adapter to fit to the T-ring so you'd probably end up looking at a similar setup for most 35mm SLR's. There should be no problem mating any old model SLR to a scope if you can find the t-adapter for it as well. Make sure also that it is a fully manual one, or at least semi-manual. The beauty of these old babies is that they don't require batteries to keep the shutter open. Newer/later models do however, but you can still work around that.

Nortilus, you'll get better results if you try the moon first. I was very disappointed with my first hand held digital saturn image and then decided to try the moon. The moon is a nice, bright object to start imaging with. Good luck mate!
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Old 15-03-2005, 09:32 PM
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When the clouds clear Nortilus you can come over and have a look at what I’m using if you like.
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  #17  
Old 15-03-2005, 11:33 PM
Nortilus (Josh)
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cheers mick, let me know when!
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Old 16-03-2005, 05:19 PM
Nortilus (Josh)
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Please correct me if I'm wrong! Using a ccd webcam in prime focus, you don;t have any EP's, the ccd looks directly into the focuser.
If so, how do you get your magnification on a newtonian scope.
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Old 16-03-2005, 07:19 PM
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iceman (Mike)
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Hey Nort..

That's true, prime focus means the webcam (or commercial CCD camera) is directly in your focuser barrel. You don't use an EP with this method.

The light is captured directly on the CCD chip, and the telescope is acting like a huge telephoto lens. The magnification comes from the focal length of the telescope mirror. Your 8" dob is like 1000mm FL isn't it? Most people claim that a ToUcam capture acts like a 4-6mm EP, so what I do is put in my shortest FL eyepiece and check the seeing.. if it looks pretty good in the eyepiece, it might be ok with the ToUcam. If it looks bad in the EP, it's not going to be good in the ToUcam.

To get extra magnification with the ToUcam, just like with an eyepiece, you use a barlow lens. A 2x barlow effectively doubles the focal length of your scope, so your 1000mm becomes 2000mm, and your image scale will be twice as big as a result.

Having said all that, you take the lens out of the webcam to do prime focus. If you're using a digicam with a fixed lens, you have to use an eyepiece to focus the light into the lens of the camera. If you've got an SLR or DSLR, then you take the lens off the camera and use the adapters to attach it to your focuser.

Hope that helps.
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Old 16-03-2005, 07:54 PM
Nortilus (Josh)
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thanx iceman...that does help a bit.
Oh and my focal length is 1200mm.
so when you got your toucam, you took it;s lense off and just had the bare ccd and an adapter to connect is to the focuser.
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