photo through a spotting scope ......

[Rich K]

had a spotting scope for christmas and as with all things, options need to be investigated.
Has anyone tried taking a photo through a spotting scope. I've tried this evening with the moon, the scope on a tripod and a dslr on another tripod. Focused the moon with the camera and the scope via the camera eyepiece. Managed a clear picture in the viewfinder............. the results are really poor (see below). I used various settings with shutterspeed ranging from 1/20th sec to 1/4 sec.

is out of focus or blurred due to the amount of inferiour glass in the scope (less than £100)

what are your thoughts?

[Rich K]

mmertens said:

What camera and f-stop did you use?

this pic was taken at 1/20 @ f5.6 iso100

mmertens said:

I'd say either your focus is off and/or indeed you're witnessing the quality of your scope.

the viewfinder image was very sharp and clear

JohnS said:

Most of my sharper ones are around 1/100th or faster.

I couldn't get it any faster I was using the largest aperture, the moon is quite small at the moment

JohnS said:

Make sure you use mirror lock up as well on the camera to eliminate any vibrations and use a remote shutter release cable or the timer to ensure everything is stable when the picture is taken.

I dont have a mirror lock on the olympus E500....... I did use the self timer

JohnS said:

Could be down to movement of the moon as well.

yes, I though that as the scope magnification was around 40x its going to move much quicker than with a less powerful lens.

Edited by Rich K on Sunday 9th January 18:30

[Rich K]

DIW35 said:

I've taken shots of the moon through a scope that only cost £30 that have come out better than that.

how did you align the camera and scope? I've seen adapters but have no experience of them.

I set my camera focal legnth to around 50mm, focussed the camera as best I could then fine tuned the focus on the scope, via the camera viewfinder.

should I seek an adapter that connects the camera body directly to the scope eliminating the camera lens.

all advice / experiences are welcome