I'm a little disappointed :(

[PJs]

Well, I finally got to taking my telescope (skywatcher ED 80) out tonight to get some shots of the moon. I got my camera connected ok, but I thought I'd get a much better view of the craters etc than I got. I think my 500mm sigma lens with 2x teleconverter got a closer picture. Did I set something up wrong or is that the best I can expect? :shrug:
I tried to get some shots with the teleconverter on (that bought it up much closer) but the camera wouldn't 'read' the lens.
what can I do to get better shots of the craters etc? (apart from getting a bigger telescope) LOL

cheers, pene

[StarLane]

I'm guessing the focal length of your ED80 is 600mm. One option is to buy a 2x barlow (preferably 2inch) and connect it to your scope and your DSLR, this will give you 1200mm, 200mm more than your Sigma and teleconverter setup. What mount are you using??
Televue have the best 2x 2inch barlow on the market IMO, the 2inch Powermate, not sure of your budget, but this is worth the purchase.

[PJs]

thanks for that.... I do have a 2" 2x ED barlow lens (of unknown brand $200) ... but have no idea how to set it up with the camera !!! LOL :shrug:

"What mount are you using??"

I also have a HEQ5 mount but haven't learnt how to use that either !!! :eyepop: I just had the telescope set up on my camera tripod.
Or do you mean camera mount ??? That's a 2” Camera Adapter with 40mm Extension Tube.

cheers
pene

[sheeny]

How did you connect your camera, Pene? I assume you have an adapter that connects to your camera body and slides into the 2" focusser on the ED80?



If you have the camera adapter that slides into the focusser (as I assume from above) then using the barlow should be easy... take the caps off the barlow and one end will slide into the focusser on the ED80 and the camera adapter will slide into the other end of the barlow.

The barlow really works the same way as your teleconverter - just different optics and mounts but it does the same job.;)

There are other ways to use your camera and scope, BTW. When your camera is mounted direct to the back of your scope, that's known as "prime focus projection". When you put the barlow (or a teleconverter) in between the camera and scope is known as "negative projection" and that increases magnification.

The other method you should be able to use without too much messing about is "afocal projection". For afocal projection, put an eyepiece in the scope and focus it on your subject. Then with your camera focussed on infinity (manual focus usually) take a photo through the eyepiece. Have a play with it, as it depends on your choice of eyepieces and lenses what you magnification is.

There are 2 other projection methods I'll just mention for the sake of completeness: "positive projection" and "eyepiece projection". Positive projection uses a compressor or focal reducer between the scope and camera to reduce focal length and increase the field of view. Eyepiece projection uses an eyepiece to focus the image direct onto the sensor of the camera (which is not fitted with a lens). Eyepiece projection is also used to achieve high magnifications, but the magnification depends on the eyepiece and the distance from the eyepiece to the camera.

Al.

[TrevorW]

Try Afocal for moon shots, I took these using a Canon Powershot digital camera hand held

refer link: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=33686

Cheers

[wmzaphod]

Hi PJs, I have the same scope and with the camera "T-Mounted" to the scope it is just a 600mm lens - as you've discovered, your 500 with a teleconverter is longer :(.....

The way to get real magnification is to mount your SLR to an eyepiece...

I have a Hyperion 8mm eyepiece and an adapter ring to take the T-mount......

With this combination, I can fill the camera frame with roughly 1/6 of the moon (see attached image made up of 8 frames).....

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3252/2654816015_ff9d04cdd7_b.jpg


Cheers,

Peter