Mounting to a telescope

[Ripskin]

I have a G7 and am contemplating several ways to attach it to my telescope, my prefered option is through a T mount, Problem here is finding the correct adapter for the lense. I have a 52mm adapter for my 2x zoom and wide angle lenses + filters.

Does anyone here use any adapters that I could take a look at? I have seen a few Bayonet adaptor options but they are all for EOS style cameras. I am hunting still but have yet to find the proper T Ring to drop from 52mm and actually fit a T adapter :confused:

Thanks for any help!

[rwtwpg]

You should be able to find the required adapter step rings here: http://www.scopetronics.com/dtsystems.htm

[d30gaijin]

I have a G7 and am contemplating several ways to attach it to my telescope, my prefered option is through a T mount, Problem here is finding the correct adapter for the lense. I have a 52mm adapter for my 2x zoom and wide angle lenses + filters.

Does anyone here use any adapters that I could take a look at? I have seen a few Bayonet adaptor options but they are all for EOS style cameras. I am hunting still but have yet to find the proper T Ring to drop from 52mm and actually fit a T adapter :confused:

Thanks for any help!

Rip,

First, you've picked the wrong camera to mount to your telescope, although it can be done. You really need a DSLR for that. But I will suggest you check this web site out: http://www.astromart.com (requires registration with a real email address) or check out http://www.cloudynights.com Both have excellent forums that offer a ton of help (be sure to search the archives of both) and would be the best place for your question on G7 adapters.

I am a long time astronomy enthusiast (visual only) and have multiple telescopes (50mm Swift refractor to a 14 in diameter Celestron SCT) so feel free to PM me for more information about either of those sites.

Don

[d30gaijin]

You should be able to find the required adapter step rings here: http://www.scopetronics.com/dtsystems.htm

Bravo to rwtwpg! I knew scopetronics most likely would have the adapters that Rip would need but I couldn't recall their name or web site since I don't do imaging.

Thanks rwtwpg for posting the link!

And WELCOME to the forum!

Don

[rwtwpg]

Don,
A DSLR would be required for deep-sky astrophotos but Rip didn't specify what he wanted to photograph. A G7 will work fine for daylight shots and do a respectable job on planetary astrophotos. I have used a G3 on a cheap telescope to photograph birds, planes, sun, moon, planets and the occasional stray comet. One should never wait for a better camera before taking pics, right? :)

Cheers,
Richard

[thelightofsound]

One should never wait for a better camera before taking pics, right?

Cheers,
Richard


QFT - http://musicphotog.com/temp/cheers.gif

interesting thread. i'd like to see some of these pictures.

[d30gaijin]

Don,
A DSLR would be required for deep-sky astrophotos but Rip didn't specify what he wanted to photograph. A G7 will work fine for daylight shots and do a respectable job on planetary astrophotos. I have used a G3 on a cheap telescope to photograph birds, planes, sun, moon, planets and the occasional stray comet. One should never wait for a better camera before taking pics, right? :)

Cheers,
Richard

Richard,

Right you are!:o never wait to take pics because the moment may very well escape us. I have a couple of nice semi-wideangle shots of Orion over my house with the house in focus, windows aglow by indoor lamps, and taken with a Canon G5 on the max 15 second setting. Only thing required was a tripod and getting my rearend out there in the dead of a very cold winter's night to shoot it.

Don

[txduggan]

Coming in late on this one.....

First off, there's been some speculation in the astro circles that Scopetronics is no more....

This is unconfirmed and I haven't heard anything recently....

That being said, and if in fact Scopetronics is out of business, you can check the dealer listing on Scopetronics page to see if there is any leftover inventory...

http://scopetronics.com/dealers.htm

A maximum shutter speed of 15 seconds and the right conditions can get some pretty nice astro targets, so I would forego the recommendation of a DSLR....

15 seconds can get you "out of the solar system" if you get my drift ;)

Just look for the brighter objects....things about Mag. 5 or so.....

If you're going to pursue astrophotography, go with a dedicated astrophotography imager like SBIG, Yankee Robotics, SAC, et al ;)

That's not to say wonderful astrophotography cannot be achieved with point and shoots and DSLRs; I was a moderator on an astro-imaging list years ago that featured a bunch of rag taggers doing astro work with 2-3Mp digicams ;)

Since the G7 has a telescoping lens, you'll probably want to look at the DigAdapt, or one of the offerings from Orion:

http://tinyurl.com/3x3ls2
http://tinyurl.com/333jk9

Scopetronics DigAdapt:

http://scopetronics.com/otherdigcam.htm

Afocal projection is kinda cool, but also can be a bit kludgy depending on the weight of the camera, EPs and adapters versus the focusing mechanism of the scope it's being attached to.

A personal suggestion....as much as I love Orion, I was incredibly disappointed with the SteadyPix adapter.....movement and attachment was not smooth at all...

Man....I've been talking about astrophotography a lot lately....I guess it's time to resurrect the refractor and get my buttocks out there imaging again....DOH!

Tom D

[d30gaijin]

Tom,

Thank you for the additional and updated info on Scopetronics.

I've dabbled in astrophotography but have never really committed the time it takes to get into it to produce decent results. But I have learned that even with rather simple equipment enjoyable results can be achieved.

Don

[rwtwpg]

Scopetronix was still apparently in business a few days ago when they claimed to have shipped my order to me... :)

[txduggan]

Scopetronix was still apparently in business a few days ago when they claimed to have shipped my order to me... :)

Cool!

I've met Jordan a couple of times at NEAF
(Northeast Astronomy Forum) and he's a great guy.

I'm glad things seemed to have worked out!

That's really good news!

Tom D