Astronomy with EOS

I recently obtained a Celestron Power Seeker 114 reflecting telescope and want to mount an EOS body for astronomy photos. The telescope has 1.25" eyepieces. Specs are Aperture = 114mm, focal length 900mm, focal ratio f/8. I am not quite sure how to mount the camera but believe that need a T mount.

 

Is there anyone out there that has mounted an EOS body to a reflecting telescope? I would value any help and/or tips for this effort as I have 2 granddaughters that are into astronomy and this will be my surprise for them.

 

Thanks!

Here you go:

 

T-Ring for Canon EOS Camera | Celestron - Telescopes, Telescope Accessories, Outdoor and Scientific Products

Here you go:

 

T-Ring for Canon EOS Camera | Celestron - Telescopes, Telescope Accessories, Outdoor and Scientific Products

Thanks Vincent!

You should set realistic expectations. Specifically, without a power tracking (usually computerized these days) head, you'll have real problems getting images of anything beyond the moon. The long exposures and stacked images that are necessary make the attempt without a tracking head nearly impossible. You'll be able to capture the moon fine, with a bit of practice, but that's likely the practical limit of such a setup.

I live too urban and am too under motorized to get seriously into astro photography. According to my quick search the motorized trackers could be somewhat affordable DIY projects. Link: 6 DIY Star Trackers for Perfect Night Sky Photos | Make:

I'm not sure if starting with a telescope is a good idea. JDM posted his test results of shooting a near to him water tower with a soviet Cassegrain lens and they weren't that overwhelming. I wasn't blown away by the results I got from mounting my copy of it on a 6MP either, so I didn't repeat the test with a more capable camera.

As a rule of thumb: the human eye isn't very demanding on optics in front of it.

Focusing is another issue you'll face. It is manual, the screen wasn't made to make "in focus!" pop, even lenses came without a hard infinity stop, to work at different temperatures. And if you ever hit a DOF preview / stop down button; you probably remember that f9 isn't very bright...

Best of luck pulling something out of the sky!

Since you are a group of 3, maybe bring a laptop to tether to the camera, to keep everybody occupied?

I should add that I've been pondering this seriously for awhile as well, and a local retired weatherman, whom I've been following on FB for awhile recently started getting serious w/ his 11" Celestron f/10 paired to a T2i. While moon shots are childs play, he routinely posts shots of deep space objects (as in galaxies and nebulae). These regularly require 20-40x 30-60sec exposures stacked (obviously depends on the object) - That is w/ an 11" unit w/ aprox 25X the light gathering capability of a 114mm. I mean the results speak for themselves, but that is literally an hour+ of exposure time (esp if you use LENR - a must in warm temps, and the higher ISOs used) on the 11" to obtain a galaxy or distant nebula. On a smaller telescope, an equivalent exposure could easily take 24+ hrs (across, obviously, several days) . That said, with tracking, you could probably easily get imagery of Jupiter and Saturn, in a reasonable amount of time, but without, you would be stuck w/ direct observation (mark1 eyeball) only. The only practical object you'll be able to image is realistically going to be the moon.

 

None of this (of course) is meant to dissuade you. I think it's fantastic (especially for the kids!), even w/ a smaller unit, but I've found (in general) that having realistic expectations is a must. in case you are interested, the local I mentioned is

"Pat Prokop's Weather and Nature Page" on FB.

I bought a Meade Lightbridge Mini 130 and have tried photography with it. I'm a little disappointed with my moon shots; they don't seem very sharp.

Initially I bought an adapter that was supposed to let me attach an SLR to the telescope, but it didn't work. What I wound up doing was attaching the T-mount directly to a 2x Barlow lens. I discovered that information in YouTube.

I'm not knowledgeable about this subject, but I think the weight of even a Canon SL1 deflects the focusing tube too much, causing misalignment. My telescope is not expensive or real sturdy.

But, it will only cost you the price of the T-mount, assuming you have the 2x Barlow.

I'm in almost exactly the same boat as Mick. I appreciate the links too.

 

A former moderator and member has some nice articles on the subject with links:

 

Fixed mount Astrophotography with a camera and lens - Bob Atkins Photography

You should set realistic expectations. Specifically, without a power tracking (usually computerized these days) head, you'll have real problems getting images of anything beyond the moon. The long exposures and stacked images that are necessary make the attempt without a tracking head nearly impossible. You'll be able to capture the moon fine, with a bit of practice, but that's likely the practical limit of such a setup.

Hi Marcus. This is astronomy 101 for my 2 granddaughters (11 & 14) and myself (OMG 68!). They are both very interested in astronomy and surprised me when I found out that they are reading some serious astronomy book on their own and watching astronomical documentaries. So while we do not have the best telescope, no motorized tracking and an older EOS 40D, we will use this as a starting point from which we can determine how far these two young ladies want to go. I want to encourage them if this truly is a field they want to pursue.

You do bring up some interesting approaches that I had not considered, e.g. stacked images. Lots to learn!

 

Thanks!

I live too urban and am too under motorized to get seriously into astro photography. According to my quick search the motorized trackers could be somewhat affordable DIY projects. Link: 6 DIY Star Trackers for Perfect Night Sky Photos | Make:

I'm not sure if starting with a telescope is a good idea. JDM posted his test results of shooting a near to him water tower with a soviet Cassegrain lens and they weren't that overwhelming. I wasn't blown away by the results I got from mounting my copy of it on a 6MP either, so I didn't repeat the test with a more capable camera.

As a rule of thumb: the human eye isn't very demanding on optics in front of it.

Focusing is another issue you'll face. It is manual, the screen wasn't made to make "in focus!" pop, even lenses came without a hard infinity stop, to work at different temperatures. And if you ever hit a DOF preview / stop down button; you probably remember that f9 isn't very bright...

Best of luck pulling something out of the sky!

Since you are a group of 3, maybe bring a laptop to tether to the camera, to keep everybody occupied?

Hi Jochen.

Thank you for the info regarding star trackers. We'll start to look into motorized trackers following our first outing and determining just how deep the interest is. We already have the telescope, the old DSLR 40D (I also have a 5DMIII) so we have enough equipment to test the waters. I think I'll watch some YouTube videos as well before I go out with the girls to make sure things go as smooth as possible with the stuff we have. I'll have to try and get their Mom to join us too. I think I just need to get that T mount.

Mick

I bought a Meade Lightbridge Mini 130 and have tried photography with it. I'm a little disappointed with my moon shots; they don't seem very sharp.

Initially I bought an adapter that was supposed to let me attach an SLR to the telescope, but it didn't work. What I wound up doing was attaching the T-mount directly to a 2x Barlow lens. I discovered that information in YouTube.

I'm not knowledgeable about this subject, but I think the weight of even a Canon SL1 deflects the focusing tube too much, causing misalignment. My telescope is not expensive or real sturdy.

But, it will only cost you the price of the T-mount, assuming you have the 2x Barlow.

Hello akocurek.

Based on what I've read so far I expect this telescope and DSLR combo to be a challenging act to balance. The OTA (Optical Tube Assembly for those astronomers out there) is not the best. We'll see what this old dog can do with our gear and what we can accomplish with out images. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good outing.

MICK

I'm in almost exactly the same boat as Mick. I appreciate the links too.

 

A former moderator and member has some nice articles on the subject with links:

 

Fixed mount Astrophotography with a camera and lens - Bob Atkins Photography

 

Thanks JDMvW!

I've visited Bob's site, albeit not frequently enough, and will definitely will check this out. I've also taken some of your advice in the past and look forward to more tidbits.

Thanks!

Mick