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A: The Basics - Two Ways of Taking Photos with your Telescope
1. Eyepiece Projection or Afocal: With eyepiece
projection you simply use a digital camera to take a photo through the
eyepiece of the telescope. Your photo will be essential the same as
what you see if you were looking through the telescope.
2. Prime Focus: In prime focus photography you
must use a "Single Lens Reflex" camera, commonly called an "SLR" or
"DSLR" for "Digital Single Lens Reflex." A SLR has been popular for
years and is the type of camera with interchangeable lenses where you
are looking through the lens of the camera when you are looking through
the rangefinder. In prime focus photography you remove the lens from
the SLR and remove the eyepiece from the telescope. Then you connect
the camera and telescope so the telescope essentially becomes a larger
telephoto lens for the camera.
B: Making the Connection - Connecting your camera and telescope
1. Eyepiece Projection: You can point a digital
camera into the eyepiece on your telescope, turn off the flash, zoom in
and out, frame the picture on the LCD screen of the camera and take the
photo. You may be surprised at how simple this is. Be sure to focus
the telescope before pointing the camera into the eyepiece.
Changing eyepieces in the telescope will change magnification. Using the camera's zoom feature will also change magnfication and determine how much vignetting will occurr. Keeping the camera in a straight line with the eyepiece, holding it steady and composing the photo are all challenges when hand-holding the camera.
A special bracket
is available to help you make a more sturdy connection. The camera can
be adjusted to point directly into the eyepiece. It clamps to the the
eyepiece and holds the camera in position. Turn off the flash and set
the "self timer" for a 5 second or 10 second delay. This allows the
telescope and camera a few seconds to reduce the vibration from
pressing the shutter button.
Eyepiece projection can be used with any telescope and most digital
cameras for daytime photography or on bright objects such as the moon
or planets which require only short exposure times. However, if you
have a SLR or DSLR you will likely want to connect your camera and telescope
for prime focus.
SLR Camera, T-ring &
Photo Adapter (1.25")
2. Prime Focus: For prime focus photography you will
remove the lens of your "single lens reflex" or "digital single reflex"
camera and remove the eyepiece from the telescope. Using a "T-ring"
and "photo adapter" you will connect the camera to the telescope. Use
the telescope focus knob to bring the subject into focus in the
viewfinder or on the digital camera's LCD screen.
T-rings are manufactured for most single lens reflex cameras and
connect to the camera in place of the camera's lens. A photo adapter
screws into the T-ring.
With 1.25 inch Photo Adapter
With SCT Photo Adapter
With 2 inch Photo Adapter
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY
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