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Hi there,

I have a friend who is into star watching...he has asked me if I can connect my D70S to his telescope to take photos of the stars & planets etc at night.

Does anyone out there have any help on this subject or where there is a web site that has information etc etc etc...

Would like to seem like I know what I am doing before we have a go at this

Ree

You can indeed.

'Google' the brand of telescope and 'nikon mount' and see what comes up. You should be able to find somewhere that sells the mount you will require. Try B&H Camera they have a good range of just about everything.

With regards to camera settings you will have to drive it all on manual I imagine. If the telescope has a tracking mount your shots of up to thirty seconds (usig the D70's timer) will look great. Make sure you use a higher ISO to get the colour and as much light as possible.

Try searching either this site or 'google' for more info.

Good luck!

Raskill,

Thanks for that I will call my mate and get the details of the scope.

Ree

Hi Ree,

try Bintel in Sydney. You will need a camera t-adapter for the telescope and a t-mount for Nikon or Canon for your camera. All up, should be less then $100.

See them at:
http://www.bintelshop.com.au/

Cheers,

André

Also bear in mind that there is no glass in a T-mount so for long exposures you will be exposing your CCD to the elements, especailly if the telescope is a Newtonian. Schmidt-Cassegrain usually have glass on the end to seal, so will be less of a problem, except when you mount the camera.

A good blow or a CCD clean may be needed after a night out. (Sounds rude )

Here is my set up. D70 and a Meade LX-90 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain.
:

killa, we gotta see some images from THAT set up, bugger me!!!!

Kill... wow...I am going to show your post to my mate and I am sure instead of lens lust it will be scope len lol
Ree

Killa, I never saw that at the mini meet

Mr Koala, can you post some images from that thing!

All in good time. It seems to be perpetually cloudy at night where i live.

Here's a teaser. I'm still working on my PP techniques.

great stuff Steve

Looking forward to seeing more from you. The clouds seem to either be here or none at all at times Once winter sets in you should have some great views.

Awsome setup steve.... can't wait to see more pics...

Digging up an old thread.

If you use the T-mount and T-adapter how does one focus...

We have a reflector type telescope with the usual in-out focal method where the eye-piece goes (I'm not technically savvy in the ways of telescopes, I can point them and look through them ) But trying this with the camera (D70) mounted I couldn't focus on anything...

Am I doing something stupid?

T-mount and adapter screwed onto the eye piece mounting, camera attached, in manual mode...

Thanks,

Brett

bwhinnen wrote:Digging up an old thread.

If you use the T-mount and T-adapter how does one focus...

We have a reflector type telescope with the usual in-out focal method where the eye-piece goes (I'm not technically savvy in the ways of telescopes, I can point them and look through them ) But trying this with the camera (D70) mounted I couldn't focus on anything...

Am I doing something stupid?

T-mount and adapter screwed onto the eye piece mounting, camera attached, in manual mode...

Thanks,

Brett

Brett, it ain't easy

What i do is this;
1. Insert an eyepeice in the telescope.
2. Focus the telescope on a BRIGHT object until sharp. This gives you a starting reference point.
3. Remove the eyepiece ensuring you don't adjust the focus dial and insert the T-mount and camera.
4. Check the focus on the camera through the viewfinder
5. If it's out, then focus as you would for an eyepiece.
6. Repeat step 4 and 5 until it's in focus

The process i use is time consuming, but once i get it right, it is good to go all night long, unless i remove the camera in which case, back to square one. It is easier if you connect a laptop to your camera and use nikon capture to take the photos. That way you can fine tune the focus better than zooming in on the LCD screen.

Good luck.

oh no! ur telling me nikons version of remote shooting includes a preview on ur monitor? canons just shows a mini lcd settings screen but not a preview

No not a preview, but post-shot and transferred via USB to computer.

Steve, you have the same scope as I do - are you using a focal reducer? I use the 6.3 and the 3.3 - not at the same time - they increase the field of view and reduce the exposure time..

No, i've never heard of one of those, but now that i have i will investigate Thanks for that

Steve, start with the 6.3 you will enjoy the difference and it does not matter if you use the meade or celestron one, they both give the same result.