PDA

View Full Version : Telescope & EOS


FlyingPete
18th of June 2005 (Sat), 20:57
Anyone done much work with their D-SLR on a Telescope?

I have had a cheap 60mm diameter Tasco for some time, quite old, the cheap mount not an equatorial and the older style .98inch eyepieces.

Anyway scored a camera adaptor and a T-Mount to Canon EF adaptor, set it all up the other day to try and capture the trasition of Jupiter behind the Moon.

Not happy at all with the results. Focusing is a real pain as everytime you make an adjustment the whole thing vibrates, and you have to wait until it settles down to see if it was right. The hole contraption vibrates when the shutter fires (yes I do have mirror lockup, it helps, but the actual shutter on the 20D can vibrate the setup quite noticeably) and finally the results weren't that great, really soft around the edges, only sharp in the centre.

What I think will help would be:
- Bigger glass 70mm+, preferably 100mm+
- A stable equatorial mount
- A counter weight to offset the camera a reduce vibration from the shutter

What I have also thought is most modern telescopes have the threaded T mount already there, so I can conect straight to it, with that set up how do I change magnification (normally handeled by the eyepiece?)

Is getting sharp images from consumer grade gear a reality at all?

Thanks in advance!

lancea
18th of June 2005 (Sat), 21:54
I don't know the answer, but have you looked at the Canon astrophotography pages at http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/astro/index-e.html. They might help. I'm really impressed by the results possible with even the kit lens on the 20D. Hardy useful for Jupiter though ... I was really amazed when I took some wide-field star shots just for fun, not expecting to see much in the way of stars at all. The 20D sensor is impressive.

FlyingPete
18th of June 2005 (Sat), 23:56
I don't know the answer, but have you looked at the Canon astrophotography pages at http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/astro/index-e.html. They might help. I'm really impressed by the results possible with even the kit lens on the 20D. Hardy useful for Jupiter though ... I was really amazed when I took some wide-field star shots just for fun, not expecting to see much in the way of stars at all. The 20D sensor is impressive.

Nice link! Having a read now...

Yep done some sky shots with the 20D, no telescope, it is amazing what you can get with it, actally better than the naked eye with a slightly tele-lens!

Wazza
19th of June 2005 (Sun), 00:03
Hey Pete,

haven't seen you around lately.
Funny with the telescope stuff, I have just done that myself

http://wazz*****scity.com/astro.htm

Also check out my post in Nature and Animals. Will be back on maybe 3rd page by now.

lancea
19th of June 2005 (Sun), 01:33
Very nice Wazza. The 10" Meade certainly helps :) The moon shots I've done with my 70-200 don't compare, but I'd like to at least get a tracking mount after seeing (on the Canon pages) what's possible with standard lenses.

Tom W
19th of June 2005 (Sun), 06:37
Peter, there's some good stuff over at astromart.com including this article:

http://www.astromart.com/articles/article.asp?article_id=193

FlyingPete
19th of June 2005 (Sun), 18:23
Hey Pete,

haven't seen you around lately.
Funny with the telescope stuff, I have just done that myself

http://wazz*****scity.com/astro.htm

Also check out my post in Nature and Animals. Will be back on maybe 3rd page by now.

Nice shots! Better than my blurs, on one you can just see the stripes on Jupiter.

FlyingPete
20th of June 2005 (Mon), 01:32
Right, back home from teh foggy Hamiltonia, so I'll post the best shot:
http://www.lowden.net.nz/Stuff/MoonJupiter.jpg

And here is a 100% close up of Jupiter, check out the rainbox effect (I noticed most people black and white these shots anyway):
http://www.lowden.net.nz/Stuff/Jupiter.jpg