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benchacom
member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 60
Loc: Moetown
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At the moment my only way to take photos is by pointing the scope at something bright and holding my cheap digital camera up to the eyepiece. It's arduous and time-consuming but occasionally I get photos good enough to get ooohs and aaaahs from my friends. (and myself)
My question: would one of the wide field-of-view eyepieces make this crazy game a bit easier?
With the cheap eyepieces that came with my scopes I find that it's very tricky to center the camera and get anything to show up on the camera's screen. I've been thinking that if I got one of those more pricey eyepieces with large fields-of-view this might be less of a chore. Could I be right about this?
btw, here's a sample of what I've been able to do with the basic equipment I've been using so far:
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Ben C
 Detroit, MI
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mark Jimenez
sage
Reged: 01/08/07
Posts: 339
Loc: Atlanta GA.
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Hi Ben, Try one of these adapters. It allows you to mount a small digital cam directly to an EP. They work great.
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=photo_accessories/~pcategory=astro-imaging/~product_id=05338
For now, its much cheaper then a high $ EP, thats a very nice moon shot BTW.
-Mark
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Celestron ASGT
Astro Tech 8" f4 Newt
QHY8
Meade DSI pro
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RobertED
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/11/03
Posts: 1194
Loc: Johnston, RI
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Ben, great Moon shot!! You could also try Scopetronix...but check to see if they have your particular model!! They don't carry ones for all the more recent cameras yet!!
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benchacom
member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 60
Loc: Moetown
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Thanks for the suggestions guys!
Trouble is: my current "camera" is actually a cell phone, the LG enV Touch...
I'm not sure any of these camera adaptors will work with a small brick like this with no tripod screw or lens barrel.
My question still stands, waiting for direct answer: will one of the wide view eyepieces allow me to more easily get this phone's camera to see the image?
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Ben C
Detroit, MI
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benchacom
member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 60
Loc: Moetown
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Just popping in to add a clarification: I appreciate the fact that the first two responders are trying to save me money by finding alternatives to the wide field eyepieces. But the thing is, those camera adaptors require that I have a camera, which I don't, I just have the cell phone camera. So to use those adaptors I'd need to buy a camera, and if I do that I'd be spending as much or more than I'd spend on the eyepiece.
I'm not ready yet to go full-bore into imaging, thus I don't need to address the camera issue at this time. I'm happy just aiming my cell camera at the eyepiece to get shots of the moon. But those wide field eyepieces? Those I could use in general anyway just for visual observing, hence my interest in them. I'm set to buy one or more of those next year, but if I find out they'll make cell camera imaging easiser I might get one now. That's why I'm asking.
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Ben C
Detroit, MI
Edited by benchacom (10/17/09 11:11 PM)
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mark Jimenez
sage
Reged: 01/08/07
Posts: 339
Loc: Atlanta GA.
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OOH, Well, thats different. I am by no means an expert on eyepieces, but I did own a few Hyperions, and I think the short answer is no, it wont really help. The WA EPs will show you more sky, but you are still going to have to find that "sweet spot" right down the middle! Some EP/scope combos will provide larger exit pupiles than others, but I dont know how to calculate it. Check into that, maybe with the folks in the EP forum, but Im not sure thats really going to help.
I still think your best bet for this is to rig up some kind of bracket/brace out of plastic, metal, whatever, that you can atleast rest the phone against to get some repeatable results without the frustration. With a little DIY inginuity, you could probabbly modify one of these camera holders to hold your phone without to much effort, something to think about.
-Mark
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Celestron ASGT
Astro Tech 8" f4 Newt
QHY8
Meade DSI pro
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Midnight Dan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/23/08
Posts: 2768
Loc: Brockport, NY
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Exit pupil is the focal length of the eyepiece divided by the f/ratio of the scope. The larger the exit pupil, the less critical your placement should be. So, the field of view of your EP will not help your problem, but lower power EPs will. Of course, your view will be less magnified as well.
-Dan
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Scopes: Celestron NexStar 8SE, Orion EON 72mm ED/APO, Orion ShortTube 80
Mounts: NexStar Alt/Az GoTo, Orion Astroview (EQ3) w/single axis drive
Eyepieces: Baader Hyperion 36mm (Aspheric), 21mm 13mm, 8mm, 5mm;
Other: 2x & 3x Barlow, 0.63x Focal Reducer, Dew-not strips, DewBuster controller, SQM Meter
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benchacom
member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 60
Loc: Moetown
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Thanks guys, the info about exit pupil is just what I needed!
As it happens, during the night I got my hands on an older version of the camera adaptor that Mark mentions, (the part that grabs the eyepiece is more rudimentary in design). I've managed to mount the cell phone by simply stretching a rubber band around the top of it and the eyepiece clamp. The phone has a grippy exterior cover that helps keep it in position with the help of the rubber band. I'm hoping skies are clear tonight so I can test it.
(btw: the cell phone's camera has higher resolution and better quality than the camera I used to get that moon shot I posted here)
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Ben C
Detroit, MI
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benchacom
member
Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 60
Loc: Moetown
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Well, the experiment was almost a bust due to persistent high level clouds. (this despite clear sky clock showing clear viewing all night!) This is the best I could do on Jupiter with the cell phone cam last night through my 8" dob at 114 power. I'm impressed that I could get two of the moons, but disappointed that the planet is over-exposed. If I get more time and less interference from clouds I will attempt tinkering with the (limited) exposure and white balance settings in the phone, to see if I can do better. All-in-all, I'm somewhat amazed to be able to get this out of a cell phone camera.
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Ben C
Detroit, MI
Edited by benchacom (10/19/09 04:15 PM)
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