Jump to content

  •  

CNers have asked about a donation box for Cloudy Nights over the years, so here you go. Donation is not required by any means, so please enjoy your stay.

Photo

Digital camera eyepiece for 6" Dobsonian?

  • Please log in to reply
9 replies to this topic

#1 Wynken

Wynken

    Lift Off

  • -----
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 15
  • Joined: 26 Aug 2023

Posted 04 February 2025 - 04:31 PM

Hello, total noob here to astrophotography. Just wondering, are any of those $60-$80 digital Wifi eyepieces on Amazon that fit over the eyepiece are worth trying out? Ultimately, my son would love to take a pic of a nebula, but I think star clusters would be nice if at all possible. Please let me know if it would just be a waste of money, or if we may get something decent.
We are in Bortle 4 area, and can get to a Bortle 3 area once a month if that helps.

Thanks for any advice.



#2 BrentKnight

BrentKnight

    Cosmos

  • *****
  • Moderators
  • Posts: 9,827
  • Joined: 29 Dec 2014
  • Loc: Foley, Alabama

Posted 04 February 2025 - 05:36 PM

The closest thing that I have seen to a "digital eyepiece" is the soon to be released SmartEye from Pegasus Astro.  That device will cost $1,600.  It's hard to imagine anything costing $80 would do anything useful.  And while the SmartEye could be used with a Dobsonian, you will most likely want something that can track the sky to get the best results with it.



#3 Alex McConahay

Alex McConahay

    Hubble

  • *****
  • Posts: 13,878
  • Joined: 11 Aug 2008
  • Loc: Moreno Valley, CA

Posted 04 February 2025 - 05:53 PM

Those have been around for a while. And unless they have improved them, they are of some use, but not at all a substitute for a traditional camera, etc. 

 

They work (kinda) on the moon. Other than that, you will find it hard to get a great image. Just too many things to juggle at once. Keeping a six inch dob aimed at the target, getting a bright enough picture, and bringing it out with the right software on the computer you are using can be a challenge. Their sensor is kinda small, which means you will not get a wide field of view. 

 

Now, at $31 (what I saw at Wal-mart) it might be worth a chance. But, you will, I think, exceed its capabilities pretty quick. 

 

Do you have a DSLR? Or a Mirrorless camera. YOu can get an adapter that allows you to hook one of them right up to the Dob. The adapter costs less than digital eyepiece, and offers a much more powerful sensor. However, it may need a bit of adjustment to get the thing to focus. (It can be done......just not as automatic as with a digital eyepiece, I assume. )

 

Alex



#4 ShaulaB

ShaulaB

    Fly Me to the Moon

  • *****
  • Posts: 5,239
  • Joined: 11 Oct 2012
  • Loc: Missouri

Posted 04 February 2025 - 06:45 PM

They are glorified web cams.

 

Try using your smartphone's camera. There are adapters that hold a phone onto an eyepiece. https://www.highpoin...-phone-adapters

 

Some folks can even get good photos holding the phone up to the eyepiece by hand. I don't, but a younger steadier person might have better luck.



#5 Wynken

Wynken

    Lift Off

  • -----
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 15
  • Joined: 26 Aug 2023

Posted 04 February 2025 - 07:26 PM

The closest thing that I have seen to a "digital eyepiece" is the soon to be released SmartEye from Pegasus Astro.  That device will cost $1,600.  It's hard to imagine anything costing $80 would do anything useful.  And while the SmartEye could be used with a Dobsonian, you will most likely want something that can track the sky to get the best results with it. Ah, oh well. I guess that's on the long term bucket list then. Thank you.

 



#6 Wynken

Wynken

    Lift Off

  • -----
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 15
  • Joined: 26 Aug 2023

Posted 04 February 2025 - 07:27 PM

Those have been around for a while. And unless they have improved them, they are of some use, but not at all a substitute for a traditional camera, etc. 

 

They work (kinda) on the moon. Other than that, you will find it hard to get a great image. Just too many things to juggle at once. Keeping a six inch dob aimed at the target, getting a bright enough picture, and bringing it out with the right software on the computer you are using can be a challenge. Their sensor is kinda small, which means you will not get a wide field of view. 

 

Now, at $31 (what I saw at Wal-mart) it might be worth a chance. But, you will, I think, exceed its capabilities pretty quick. 

 

Do you have a DSLR? Or a Mirrorless camera. YOu can get an adapter that allows you to hook one of them right up to the Dob. The adapter costs less than digital eyepiece, and offers a much more powerful sensor. However, it may need a bit of adjustment to get the thing to focus. (It can be done......just not as automatic as with a digital eyepiece, I assume. )

 

Alex

I do have a DSLR! I am now looking for an adapter. I have the Canon Rebel T7 but the only Canon adapter on Amazon says it doesn't work for that particular model. I will have to call one of the telescope shops. Thank you for the advice!



#7 Wynken

Wynken

    Lift Off

  • -----
  • topic starter
  • Posts: 15
  • Joined: 26 Aug 2023

Posted 04 February 2025 - 07:28 PM

They are glorified web cams.

 

Try using your smartphone's camera. There are adapters that hold a phone onto an eyepiece. https://www.highpoin...-phone-adapters

 

Some folks can even get good photos holding the phone up to the eyepiece by hand. I don't, but a younger steadier person might have better luck.

Yeah, I had a little luck using my phone during the solar eclipse, but it's very tedious work. I'm afraid whatever we try to take a picture of at night will be out of view before we could manage to snap a decent pic. lol  Thanks!



#8 ShaulaB

ShaulaB

    Fly Me to the Moon

  • *****
  • Posts: 5,239
  • Joined: 11 Oct 2012
  • Loc: Missouri

Posted 04 February 2025 - 08:00 PM

 I'm afraid whatever we try to take a picture of at night will be out of view before we could manage to snap a decent pic. lol  Thanks!


It takes practice. The more you do it, the quicker you get at it.



#9 Cliff Hipsher

Cliff Hipsher

    Vanguard

  • *****
  • Posts: 2,083
  • Joined: 31 Dec 2008
  • Loc: Disputanta VA

Posted Today, 12:52 PM

Don't even think about it.  I know you want to make your son happy but trying to use a 6" dobsonian reflector as a platform for a cheap planetary camera IS NOT going to end well.  BTDT. 

 

The fact of the matter is there are no shortcuts or easy routes to success in either planetary or DSO (Deep Space Object) photography.  Until you are familiar with the reputable brand names like ZWO, QHY, Player One etc., the vendors who carry them, and the differences between a planetary and DSO camera, avoid  places like ebay and Amazon.

 

The bottom line is to be successful you need quality equipment and you need to know how to use it.  That's why we are here.  Welcome aboard.



#10 Alex McConahay

Alex McConahay

    Hubble

  • *****
  • Posts: 13,878
  • Joined: 11 Aug 2008
  • Loc: Moreno Valley, CA

Posted Today, 02:02 PM

A couple of weeks back, I did a tutorial about what it takes to really get into deep space astroimaging.

 

 

https://youtu.be/1EFZyb37DaE

 

 

I will admit it was not about "trying;" astroimaging. It was about what you would need eventually to do competent astroimaging at the beginning, and perhaps advanced level.

 

Because of this, I omitted the "Trying" tools. Trying tools are things that would allow you to take a picture of a something in the sky (nightscape, star trails, webcams, cell phone on the focuser, smart telescopes) but not get you where you want to be (long exposure imaging of dim, dark sky objects). Trying tools allow you to try out imaging things in the sky. But they are not much help in deep space astroimaging.

 

This was not to disparage any of those tools. It was to clear the air and establish that to really get into astroimaging you needed to be prepared to spend $5000 (if you had no buddies to borrow from, bought new, and had nothing (not even a laptop computer and a campstool and......) to start with) or a realistic minimum of $2100 or something (if you bought used, borrowed from buddies, had a lot of stuff already, etc.). The single most important purchase was a mount. This was in the $1500-$2000 range in itself (new) and could have been more. By definition, a dob is not in that category. (Yes, you can take wonderful images with a dob, but it is exponentially more difficult.)

 

You have proposed one of those $80 digital eyepieces........Are they worth it? Depends on what $80 is worth to you. They will do what they say they can do. They will deliver a brighter, larger image to your viewing device (usually a tablet or phone or computer screen). But, unless you can track the target somehow, the target will come into the picture and out of the picture within 30 seconds or so. Therefore, you have to constantly nudge the scope to keep the image in view. On the moon, it will be pretty cool for the first few times you do it. On brighter deep sky objects (M42, others), you will probably get something pretty interesting. Note also that you will need a very good, well aligned finder scope, since you will be doing a lot of work to find the objects. This in itself will limit you to brighter things.  Is all this regular deep space astroimaging? I don't think so, but only if I get to use my definition of deep space astroimaging. Others may have different definitions.

The big deal is--------will spending $80 here delay your entry into the kind of astroimaging that we talk about here in this forum. If you got the bucks, then spend the $2000 to $5000 to get into imaging. If not, be careful of spending so much on intermediate steps (a flimsy mount, a camera with a small sensor, a wonky focuser on a telescope) buying "trying" tools, stuff that you will have to unload later to get what you really need.

 

So----as a tool to show what is in the dob on bright objects (the moon), it will do something. As a tool to get into astroimaging, it won't do much. So, what is $80 worth to you?

 

Alex


Edited by Alex McConahay, Today, 02:04 PM.



CNers have asked about a donation box for Cloudy Nights over the years, so here you go. Donation is not required by any means, so please enjoy your stay.


Recent Topics






Cloudy Nights LLC
Cloudy Nights Sponsor: Astronomics