Getting Started question

[Broan13]

I have a Nikon D80 DSLR camera and a Meade LX200 8 inch (maybe 10?) Telescope. I have been looking around for which pieces to get to adapt my camera to be able to take images of the sky through the telescope. I hope to learn from trial and error from there.

Should I be buying http://www.adorama.com/LNTMNK.html ?

I have also read that the focal length for the eye piece is a big deal for this kind of photography. What do I need to do to adjust the camera position for ideal shots?

Thank you!

[Hornblower]

I have a Nikon D80 DSLR camera and a Meade LX200 8 inch (maybe 10?) Telescope. I have been looking around for which pieces to get to adapt my camera to be able to take images of the sky through the telescope. I hope to learn from trial and error from there.

Should I be buying http://www.adorama.com/LNTMNK.html ?

I have also read that the focal length for the eye piece is a big deal for this kind of photography. What do I need to do to adjust the camera position for ideal shots?

Thank you!
I would use that T mount to mount the camera body directly on the telescope, thus making the scope a gargantuan telephoto lens. No eyepiece is needed for this method.

The challenge is in getting a good sharp focus. I would recommend looking for an astronomy club in your area and picking the members' brains on focusing aids.

[Broan13]

So the distance from the camera to the telescope doesn't need to be altered? Doesn't the focal length matter?

[Kaptain K]

Please don't take this wrong, but if you are new to astronomy, the last thing on your mind should be photography!

Both visual astronomy and astrophotography have steep learning curves and even if you know visual inside and out, the learning curve for imaging is still steep. Slow down. Learn to use your scope, then go on to imaging!

[RickJ]

I have to agree with Kaptain K. When you don't even know the size of your scope for sure or likely its focal length or what that even means to imaging you have a long long way to go. About the only thing it has in common with ordinary photography is both use photons to paint the image. After that it is very different!

The experience in our astronomy club is you need a good year of visual astronomy before you think of astrophotography other than say holding the camera and lens up to an eyepiece and snapping a picture of the moon.

Find a local club they can be a great help in all aspects of amateur astronomy.

Get Michael Covington's book "Astrophotography for the Amateur". It covers the basics. What your scope can and can't do, what a DSLR can do well and what is better done with a web cam or CCD, etc. But until you are well versed in visual astronomy it will all be a very difficult read as it assumes you know visual astronomy rather well. As do all books on astrophotography.

Rick

[Hornblower]

I wrote in haste before. In addition to the T-ring in your OP, you will need a Meade T-adapter for LX series telescopes.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/meade-62-t-adapter.html

It is a barrel that screws onto the back end of the telescope. The Nikon T-ring is attached to the barrel and the camera body is attached to the ring. This mounts the camera at the optimum position for getting a good sharp focus, which is adjusted with the focusing knob as is done in visual observing.

I concur with the other posters. You likely will need plenty of experience in using the telescope visually before you are ready to do effective astrophotography with it.

[Broan13]

The telescope is not mine, so I do not know the specifications on it. It is an 8 inch telescope, but yes I don't know terribly much about the telescope.

I am not looking to take pictures of globular clusters or anything nearly that difficult. More with planets and to utilize the telescope more. I enjoy viewing, but I enjoy photography more. I wanted to try a new approach in photography, star trails, shots of the moon etc.

There is a lot of information around, and I mostly asked this board a question to help alleviate the confusion.

[RickJ]

Planetary photography is best done with a USB2 640x480 web cam that can do 30 frames per second uncompressed. It takes literally thousands of images for a good planetary image. Only a web cam cam do this in the few minutes available before the scene changes too much. Also you'll need to extend the focal length to f/30 or so or give up a lot of resolution.

Star trails take no scope, just a camera, tripod, dark skies and lots of batteries if the weather is cold ( I once needed 12 batteries to do a 6 hour star trail shot at 15F {-9C} with a borrowd DSLR). I already covered a simple way to do the moon.

Also as I said, photo experience is often a liability rather than an asset as you have to throw out much of what you know. For instance, stopping down a few stops from wide open sharpens an ordinary photo, it reduces resolution for astrophoto work, exactly the opposite. A teleextender fuzzes a good lens but the equivalent, a good barlow is a great aid in planetary photography. Again, an opposite result. The list goes on.

The Covington book covers all this and what attachments you need etc.

Rick