Hi,

I've just got my hands on my farther-in-laws telescope (a Bresser Skylux) and would like to attach it to my camera (Canon 20D). I'm a bit confussed about what I'll need to do this. Can you help. As far as I can tell all i need it is a T-mount and a camera adapter (1.25") is this true?

Thanks, Tom

Any other tips would be appreciated!!

tbab,

Welcome. I feel a bit bad that you haven't had a response yet. I'm not exactly qualified since I don't have a 20D, but I'll take a stab at it.

In getting started, there are two approaches to astrophotography, prime focus and image projection.

With prime focus, you are essentially setting up the telescope to be the lens of the camera. For that you would need an adapter that hooks into the front of the camera (I assume it is an SLR, no time to google a picture this morning) and provides a t-thread to the other end. You would then need an adapter that goes from the t-thread to the telescope, probably a 1.25" adapter. At this point you are on your own. I don't know if back-focus (ability to come to a focus) will be a problem, and focusing itself can be a challenge.

For eyepiece projection, you take the image by pointing the camera at an eyepiece. There are adapters that fit on the scope and hold the camera in place. You can also set up another tripod and point the camera into the eyepiece, but of course the scope will move over time as it tracks (if your mount tracks in RA).

HTH and good luck! Let us see what you get.

--Andy

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Observatorio de la Ballona

Hi Tom, I too missed this one, from my experience i had a Canon 350d all you need is a EOS Adapter ring and the 11/4" "T" Adapter screws into the EOS Adapter. Thats it Anymore questions feel free to ask sorry for the late reponse

hi Tom,

welcome greetings from Austria!

well - I once used canon 300d with an adapter for imaging.
those adapters fitting to the canon 20d (it should have the same bajonett-thread as the 300d) are easy to get.
do You have a local astro-shop in Your vicinity? or just browse the web.
You will find an onlinestorethat will provide the adapter.

next You`ll need a remote-controll for the camera, that is useful to prevent any movement to the scope when "pressing" the image-button on the camera.

well - that`s it.
You can achieve some very nice images in the beginning with short exposure time.
when You get mpore experienced You might wanna go for long time exposure - for that You`ll need a reliable mount.
but moon shots e.g. are possible with htis samll setup.

where are You from? there are so many dealers around the globe...
tell us where You are located and we list some dealers You can ask for Your equipment.

the adapter and the remote controll cover some 15 or 20 bucks.

You can store the images on the camera and then download them to the laptop, pc or whatever You`re gonna use for processing.

in 04 when I started imaging with 300d I used the opriginal software canon provides.
I`m sure there are more esophisticated software packes for free in the web - hey CANON guys "out there" please help Tom in that issue

good luck and keep us informed!
Dietmar

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best regards,
Dietmar
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www.stargazer-observatory.com

Hi All, thanks for getting back to me. Sorry i haven't replied sooner, but after the disapointing responce i stopped checking the forum.

I did in fact take the bull-by-the-horns and order what i thought i might need (a Meade camera adapter and T-mount) and i am now up and running.

Unforutnatly the moon has been out of view at night since i got all the kit. However this morning i took this photo, not bad for my first ever through a telescope.

Let me know what you think. Not sure how to process yet. All i did was to adjust the levels and increase the shapness as i took in RAW format.

Tom

Attached Images

My_First_Moon.jpg (32.3 KB, 20 views)

Hi Tom,
First a question. Did you shoot through the eyepiece of the scope?
It looks as if it was dawn when you took this shot that is why the sky is blue. The moon was not centered in the FOV. But not bad for a start.
More disturbing is the fact that there seems to be quite a lot of dirt around probably on the eyepiece or otherwise dewdrops.
Repeat the same when it is dark and try to center the moon in the picture. Make sure your eyepice is clean.

Phil

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If at first you fail, you're running average

Yes is was about 8:45 am. I'll make sure if give everything a good clean next time.

Cheers,

Tom