Attaching a telescope to an Eos450d?

[onyx39]

Have borrowed a telescope attachment to connect my Celestron telescope to my eos450d.
I have connected it, have focused, can see an image through the viewfinder, but when I take a shot, nothing!
This is clearly more complicated than I thought!

[jmorgan]

What is the adapter and how connected? What are you imaging? Try the moon first, big bright and easy, other stuff has issues for a camera with no tracking on the scope.

I use my 350D with a Skywatcher 200. Shutter lockup. Remote release, anything else will blur.


Edit. I use a T adaptor, the tube part is not used as the lens is removed off the camera. The T adaptor is basically inserted to the eye piece holder. Focusing is by the telescope focus. For the moon I use the camera timed setting, let that do the work. If I try for a star field then it is the bulb setting and go for a minute or so. Play around with times and see what you get. Do not forget that long exposures are still writing to the card when you finish so wait for that.

Edited by jmorgan on Sunday 10th August 21:38

[troc]

For many DSLR and telescope combinations you need to add a Barlow lens between the t mount and the telescope to achieve focus. Otherwise the camera is unable to focus onto the focal point of the telescope.

[jmorgan]

I do not have that problem though I have heard that people have had issues. I have used a barlow on the moon with the camera but that was to get in close rather than for focus.

Though Onyx39 reported an image, where was that seen? If the 450 is like my 350 then I only have the view finder, as opposed to the rear screen, former which gives me grief for fine detail focus. And my focuser is coarse at certain points and could do with a better focuser, last years weather and work meant I had no time at the scope so never got around to it.

Are there kits to mount the camera and lens? The mount would have to be a good one though, which is another thought. Can the mount take the camera and scope? (weight wise). I know there are adapters for other non SLR camera's

[sgrimshaw]

Does the "shutter" actually fire?

On my Minoltas/Sonys there is a setting in the menu to allow the shutter to fire when no lens is attached.

The T-mounts etc don't register with the camera's electronics, so the camera thinks there is no lens attached.

[troc]

jmorgan said:

I do not have that problem though I have heard that people have had issues.

Are you sure it's not that problem?

In your attempt to focus, you could be preventing the mirror from opening because the lens(es) from the telescope are protruding too far into the camera. I can't operate my 40D with my telescope without a Barlow attached.

[jmorgan]

I remove the eye piece and use the eyepiece mount, attach that to the T piece. I am a gnats knacker away from cracking focus, I have heard that some cannot get the camera in far enough.

I should add that I can move the focused either side of good focus, just that the eye piece is not the best to see detail. Nearly there.

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 11th August 22:25

[jmorgan]

sgrimshaw said:

Does the "shutter" actually fire?

On my Minoltas/Sonys there is a setting in the menu to allow the shutter to fire when no lens is attached.

The T-mounts etc don't register with the camera's electronics, so the camera thinks there is no lens attached.

Seems to be fine with my 350d. Best option I discovered was shutter lock up, and the remote release, never considered that some camera's would not like no lens attached? Something to think about.

[Tycho]

jmorgan said:

I remove the eye piece and use the eyepiece mount, attach that to the T piece. I am a gnats knacker away from cracking focus, I have heard that some cannot get the camera in far enough.

I should add that I can move the focused either side of good focus, just that the eye piece is not the best to see detail. Nearly there.

Edited by jmorgan on Monday 11th August 22:25

I had the same problem with my 500D and Skywatcher. I had to take the focuser apart and dremel a bit of the top part of the mount off in order to let the camera get closer to the body of the telescope. I also had to take a piece off the bottom of the focuser tube because when you let the camera get closer to the main body of the scope then the tube the camera is attached to will protrude into the telescope and can affect the image.

There may be a black screw on cover at the end of the focusing tube. My T-mount came in 2 pieces. I unscrewed the cylinder part and screwed this straight onto the focusing tube after removing the black plastic piece where you slide your eyepiece in.

Edited by Tycho on Tuesday 12th August 08:01

[jmorgan]

What I am finding is that I can alter the focus to either side of the best point. The mechanical tolerances in the focuser are not good and there is slop in the movement. The eye piece I look through is the camera view finder. There is no rear screen image. That camera view finder is too small for me to see if the focus is bang on. So couple that with the slop in the focuser and I have problems.

It is not with way the camera is attached. I have some cracking nearly there but not quite and the Barlow images on the same are also just not quite there. I was going to use my lap top with a doohickey that allowed me to see the result on a lap top pre shutter release(I think), but it gave the lap top away.