Hello to all, thanks for this video. Just want to share how i solved this issue on a Celestron Astromaster 130 newtonian. Basically i used a mirrorless camera to fix the issue. Unlike DSLR camera, mirrorless camera sensor is positioned more forward. Instead of modifying the mirror or focuser, if you have a mirrorless camera which is popular nowadays, it can work.
@@jaspei we can also discuss in Astrophotography Pihilippines group FB. I saw you are also a member there. Feel free to post questions and I will help answer and post photos.
@@guitarintune408 nice, and small world! I posted a question in the group to start the discussion (although still pending approval). Thanks for raising that!
Hello. You have no idea how much of a value this video is. I am very new to the field of astro-photography and your clear and precise explanation has helped me solve a problem I had with my telescope with extraordinary ease (and without spending any money). Your video illustrates that there are those who are really willing to be guide to those who need to learn. My sincere thank you for taking your time to make this video. I recently purchased a dobsonian telescope from astronomers without borders. I could not get the DSLR to focus because of the obvious reasons you explained. However when I watched your video It struck me that I could use method of moving mirrors to adjust focus. Now with this Dobsonian telescope I got, its secondary mirror is collapsible so in short, instead of moving the primary mirror, I automatically have ability to move secondary mirror on rails and bingo. That pretty much did the trick. Your video pretty much lit the light bulb. Thanks again for getting me out of my frustration.
That’s fantastic. I’m glad you didn’t give up and found the answer. That’s why I started this channel. This hobby is solid full of pitfalls and annoyances. I can’t tell you how many I ran into. I’m still finding them. There’s absolutely no reason anyone should have to repeat the mistakes of others in the age of the internet. Thank you for taking the time to write. That’s encouragement for me to continue finding and solving problems. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the hobby and never give up. Clear skies.
This problem has bothered me off an on for over a year, as to why I could focus on trees 600 yards away and not an antenna tower 1 mile away with my Newtonian scope. Tons of videos show successful astrophotography for the kind of scope I have (Celestron 130 SLT), but I always failed. Thank you for confirming that the problem is focal plane being inside the tube (as I suspected), and for providing solutions. Been driving me nuts. I thank you immensely,
I did some reading and found what I needed to get started with prime focus photography with my DSLR and Meade Newtonian telescope. So went out and got the T ring and adaptor and remote shutter release. Did some more reading on camera settings and got all ready to have a go photographing the moon one early morning. The rig was all set up and the sky was clear. Turned on the camera live view. Boom, couldn't focus :( Thanks Garnett for explaining what is happening and why. I am surprised that none of the articles I read discussed this issue. Is it a problem limited to the inexpensive Newtonians?
+Tom Ball I was once in your same exact position. It was so frustrating I decided to make this video. You’re right, there isn’t much info on it strangely. The problem is astrophotography is becoming more and more popular. Companies buy their parts from a handful of distributors and they are designed around visual use only still. They produced specific lines of telescopes called astrographs for imaging and for years these were extremely expensive. They are starting to wise up to the trend finally and you’re starting to see newtonians being released with low profile stock focusers and extensions at a reasonable price. Meade has a wonderful 150mm with a 2” focuser for under $400. Most curious folks aren’t willing to shell out for expensive apochromatic refractors. It’s unreasonable to expect a hobbiest photographer to go out and buy an L series lens and the concept is the same. Fortunately they are bridging that gap now and soon most folks won’t need metal cutting tools anymore. Lol. Clear skies.
What really sucks is you can actually ask for help and they say, "buy this" and sell you half of what you need. Example: I want to shoot eyepiece projection thru a meade etx 60at. The high point guru says , "buy t ring and 1.25" adapter". Uhhhhhhh
This video is fantastic! you've very clearly explained the physical problem, and equally clearly explaining the solutions while giving the audience exactly what they need to know to make a judgement about which to go with. This was exactly what I needed to see right now.
Fantastic video, super helpful explanation! I have this exact telescope with this exact problem you have saved me hours of tinkering. I am a noob to this and this is is my first telescope, but I quickly realised I wanted more than just the eye-piece view. I found this video after a disappointing first night, where none of my shots are usable. It's quite hard to see if you are exactly in focus or not at the time, but next day, definitely not!! I had already thought the barlow might help but this video has nudged me in that direction for tonight!! I'll sleep when i'm dead :)
Very well done, cannot thank you enough. To see this explained via diagrams helps tremendously. On the forums people talk about these adapters/etc, but a newbie is still left scratching their head. Luckily, I can just barely reach focus with my Nikon on a Celestron C8-N either with no filter, or using a 1.25" UHC on an adapter for light pollution. I have yet to figure out how to employ a 2" filter , but with your explanation I at least know what I'm up against and what a potential remedy might be.
Thanks for the info. I feel a lil duped from people saying " just buy an adapter" and your T3I is perfect for astrophotography. Now I have a new telescope and adapter that wont help me in my pursuit. I always think ive done the correct research but why is it that i only find these problems after my purchases. Although i have learned that most camera reviewers are bad people, jeez!!!
I honestly never knew Astrophotography could be so easily explained, thank you so much, i am in the process of getting a digi, no doubt, you have saved me some time...keep it, have subscribed. (Yorkshire)
Thank you and I try really hard. It’s my passion to bring people to that light. At first glance most would expect it takes thousands of dollars and years of study. Nothing is further from the truth and it’s a shame that’s the impression made. Your comment confirms I’m on the right track and it’s encouraging. Thank you and good luck on your journey. What could possibly be cooler than learning about the universe we live in?
Awesome! Thank you for this! Last year we went camping at Cherry Springs, PA for stargazing and astrophotography. When I attached my D3400 DSLR to the reflector telescope all I saw was the mirror and round thing (I don't know what it's called, it's my nephew's telescope). At least now I know why. I bought a new T ring with the capability to attach the eye piece or Barlow. Hopefully this year will be better.
Thanks for watching. Over 90% of your retail telescopes are designed around visual use. What you purchased should be sufficient to allow for photography. Good luck and I hope your next vacation is amazing. Clear skies.
Excellent video. I have this problem with my Sky-watcher 130 MM Explorer Newtonian and am aware of some of the solutions but this video puts all the solutions together into one well presented and easy to follow video
+Dilip Sharan thank you. That was my aim. At some point most Newtonian, non-Astro graph users run into it. There's no need for folks to repeat mistakes others have in the past. I've got a lot of positive feedback from videos like this and intend on sharing more of my experiences in order to save others from the same pitfalls. Clear skies.
Low profile focuser's are far too expensive and priced because they believe astronomers have money and are willing to throw it away, there really should be taken to task for the manufacture costs to end user costs, these are probably manufactured for a couple of dollars in Taiwan/China with an extreme profit margin. I have the eyepiece projection type but want prime focus for the lower F stop value and wider view, I can I believe achieve this with my narrow shoulder T ring adapter but we have so much cloud in Western Scotland it may be a while until we see a clear sky, I can focus on the clouds okay with about 1" of forward movement left but and I won't truly know until the sky is clear. Great video covering everything, thanks.
I totally agree. Astronomy equipment is likely more inflated than furniture. Aside from premium fluorite glass found in apochromats you really never get what you pay for. Most folks who can spend the better half of a month up until the wee hours of the morning do have plenty of money. It’s an expensive hobby unfortunately. The more cash you dump into it the less headaches. Regarding testing focus you could check against a street light at a distance. Good luck. I hope it works out for you. Clear skies.
Great video, and really appreciate the info, I have a celestron QE130 Newtonian and could never reach focus, but thanks to you info I will now modified the focuser and also get measurements on how far from the Chip i need to be to get sharp focus.. I thinking about making a 2" focus tube that treads in and out to achieve focus with locking ring.. thanks again for the upload.
+TheflickerofMotion you're welcome. Glad it was helpful. This is a huge issue with very little info available. After a lot of digging I decided to publish on it. Had to test first myself. A 2" upgrade is a fantastic idea. The difference is well worth the effort. I may be wrong but it seems to produce less vignetting. I imagine more light gather and generally higher quality optics are available in 2". A lock is a great addition. The GSO micro I have has a tension adjustment and focus lock. Invaluable convenience. Again, thank you for the nice comments and I am very glad it was useful. Clear skies.
Thank you. This was an issue for me so I had to try to save others. Information was hard to come by. Good luck and If I can help don’t hesitate. Clear skies.
Well I have a 6 inch Galileo reflector , it's a older one but works well for me . I just like to get some photos of the moon and Jupiter and it's moons. Thank you so much . Do you post any photos ? If so I will check out your channel more in detail .
I actually had one of those. It was my friend Jeff’s first telescope. Ignore the community opinion at large about Bird Jones scopes. Yes they’re typically slower systems but they are corrected. Had it not been for the advent of this style reflector many people of the past couldn’t afford a telescope. The corrector is there to counter the spherical aberration caused by a non-parabolic mirror. I’ve taken some of my favorite lunar photos with just a smart phone and my Celestron Power Seeker 127. I post on Instagram occasionally under my name. Ultimately enjoy the hobby and use what you have. I’ve personally owned just about every kind of scope there is. I’ve never tried the Rasa. I can’t honestly say I’m interested either. Lol. Second only to the Maksutov is the Newtonian reflector in my opinion. I consider the value of aperture and also the cost. A six inch apochromatic refractor would cost the same as a car. A 6” non-Bird Jones reflector, although relatively inexpensive, typically has a great deal of coma at the edge. That’s exaggerated in the faster F5’s etc where the mirrors aren’t particularly figured well. You find yourself going out to purchase an expensive coma corrector. You arrive at the same point practically. People in general just hate the Bird Jones because they think they should. A large percentage of folks claim Maksutov’s are too slow for photography of deep sky. They haven’t used one. Long story short ignore it and enjoy it. With your particular scope I think the biggest obstacle is to mitigate focus creep. A heavy camera will cause the focuser to rack in under the weight. If I’m not badly mistaken you don’t have a lock on the focuser. With a 6” Bird Jones I would be shopping for a quality smart phone adapter. Primarily I’d use it for solar system objects. A white light filter could be a great accessory also.
Great video Garnett. Good and well illustrated explanations, thorough, clear, concise and to the point. No added junk or loud music. A youtube endangered species Y.E.S. ;-)
Thank you. You’re very kind and your comment is encouraging. I want to explore the situations and concepts I struggled with in hopes to help someone else avoid them. It’s worth it to me if it was helpful to just one individual. This was a nice thing to log on to and read. Merry Christmas.
Yeah it’s unfortunate. The industry is very deceptive as a whole. On top of that most RUclips astro channels are more interested in entertainment than how-to’s. You’re not completely at a loss tho. If you continue your pursuit a t-ring is invaluable. If you’re willing to dump $50+ more into it then you can get something like the SvBony 105. Webcam style planetary cameras come into focus similar to eyepieces. The sensors aren’t buried 44+mm like dslr’s. It’s a viable option for your current situation. Additionally you could modify an old webcam. A 35mm film canister is practically identical to the barrel of a 1.25” eyepiece. You still see Hubble-like images on the boxes of telescopes. You still see products marketed without specifying wether it’s an “astrograph” or not. You still see false claims of impossible weight allowances, impossible tracking accuracy, and deceptive optical clarity. It’s a trap almost everyone falls into because there’s way more promoting than honestly available unfortunately. Don’t be discouraged. It’s a fantastic hobby once you get everything ironed out. A lot of times you can move your primary mirror. I moved one in a recent video on an Orion XT8. Typically you only need longer collimation bolts. That was true of many scopes I owned. Best of luck. Clear skies.
Thanks for that clear and concise video. I have recently encountered this problem. I am trying both the Barlow method and the eyepiece projection. I have also gone for a thin, low profile t-ring, but waiting for a m48 to T2 ring (got the wrong size t-ring). Don’t understand the reason so many t-rings are wide (depth), particularly for micro 4/3 cameras. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching. Unfortunately there are far less products with ammeter scopes in mind. There’s a definite need for products that help make the hobby easily available to everyone. The market assumes you’re using a high dollar setup. There’s a million examples of this that span over an equal amount of issues. Everything from finding a platform that will support a camera/lens system and guide scope, to software, to you name it. I’ve often discussed starting a business with Jeff Lucas and innovating products that are user friendly and designed around reasonable setups. The genre is in need of it.
Thank you, this is very helpful. Just got given a telescope and wanted to take some photos with it but I had no idea how to attach my camera to. This gives me a bunch of stuff to try out. 👍
Great explanation, thanks for sharing. My Orion XT6 has threads for a camera adapter on the stock focuser but cannot achieve focus for the reason you describe. I've been using just the lower section of a 2X barlow clamped into the focuser so it does not protrude above the threads allowing the camera adapter to utilize the stock threads without interference. Now for a look at moving that mirror...
This is exactly the position i am in. Finally decided to search RUclips for help and found this video. Will try the Barlow first, since i already have one. Great video and much appreciated.
Thank you very much. You helped me focus the light at the end of the t- ring and its long adapter barrel with which it came. It turns out that the one I bought can fit my 10 and 25mm lenses inside so the plane can be moved like you explained. I wouldn't have thought about it until I watched your video.
Glad you found the solution. That’s one less telescope that ends up in a closet or garage. This hobby is filled with endless pitfalls unfortunately. Getting useful information out there is my goal. Thanks again for watching and clear skies.
@@GarnettLeary Thank you very much. Astrophotography is secondary. I wanted the telescope mainly to see the stars and amaze myself with our surroundings. Thank you for taking the time to make videos. I'll keep watching.
So I didn't have the correct random stuff lying around to mount it. Ended up just holding the camera body up to the focus tube with live view on. I could focus on trees a little ways out, but more distant trees about a half mile away won't focus. Couldn't run the focus tube in far enough. I'll try a test shot anyway to see how it compares to my cheapo 1300mm lens. Not sure which might have more magnification.
Thank you for sharing this information, great video and lots of detail there. I am now hoping for clear and darker skies to get out there and have a play with my 6" newtonian reflector to see what I need to do. I could do with an electrical focuser too as that is a real pain :-D
+Gabe Paredes it was a nightmare for me. All the opinions, random info, etc. I'm glad it was helpful. I wanted to combine everything I learned into one place so other people could avoid the headache. Clear skies friend.
Thankyou Garnett, I am currently waiting for my DSLR T adaptor to arrive. I have a barlow lens, but I may try an extension tube to get the larger field of view. The methods you explain are invaluable for a beginner like me.
@@GarnettLeary I can't wait to start taking some pics and learn to process them. I cant believe how many satellites fly past on any given night, damn Elon Musk. I,m saving for a 90 mm F5.5 refractor, probably just a doublet lens. The APO get pretty expensive. I found the Jewel Box cluster the other night by accident when browsing around the Southern Cross last week with my 10" Dobsonian. Australian skies on the east coast of NSW are bad now, some regions have major floods occurring. Thanks again Garnett.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I hope you stick to it. The depths of this hobby are endless. Sagan said we are the universe discovering itself. I love that.
Thank you for helpinh others! I have tye same issue and solved it with the 4th method (eyepeice projection) using celestron 24 to 8mm Zoom eyepiece. The eyepice has attachment to a T ring and can directly be used as a zoom lens at the same time.
I you use a micro four thirds camera, which have no mirror box and 19.25mm back focus with a thin T2 adaptor you will get closer to the focal plane. The Celestron 130SLT has a 2-inch/1.¼-inch focuser, with T2 threads available, that is relatively shallow to the OTA and will achieve prime focus (just the camera) in mid travel. Whereas a DSLR will be nominal 45mm back focus distance flange to sensor presents many problems. Sony E (NEX), mirrorless, are 18mm. These can also be used with a Barlow, where it is probably better to use a T2 threaded one than a loose fitting nose piece projector, or an eyepiece projector with eyepiece and/or Barlow. The more solidly the camera is attached to the OTA, the less it will vibrate. The Olympus E-M5ii (&up) has a further advantage in having a special Live View Boost that produce an enhanced slow frame rate with long shutter speeds, which can be magnified, allowing one to focus on the striations from the spider. Body=stabilisation can also be set for the "lens" focal length, of benefit even on a tripod. Panasonic although less noisy due to their heat sink, cannot do this. It should be noted however that a crop sensor camera is already going to 'magnify' the image by its crop factor due to its reduced field of view. Example a 400mm lens on MFT gives the same view as an 800mm on full frame, and a smaller image than the 650mm 130SLT "5-inch" on prime focus, with the advantage that the Newtonian is f/5 and a typical 400mm prime about f/8.
Thanks for this! Too bad I didn't find your video before as I stumbled over this problem thinking I was too stupid to achieve focus but recently solved this with your options 1 and 4. Option 4 I don't like too much as with Eyepiece projection I experience significant disfocus (is that a real word?) at the edges. So the center is focussed, but the farther from the center the more out of focus the picture gets. Hence using a barlow is my only option but not happy with the loss of light and increased f. Thanks for illustrating the problem and possible solutions.
“Defocused”. I believe that’s correct. It’s possible the result would be greatly different with a different eyepiece. There’s a bunch of different eyepiece designs and they will yield varied results. Don’t rule it completely out. This was a topic that really hammered me as well. Information was scattered and hard to find. I wish someone like Astrobackyard would do a video on it so it reaches more people. Fighting with a Newtonian is a road many have traveled. Unfortunately, adding a barlow or eyepiece also adds additional aberrations. Cheap barlows will add chromatic aberration to an otherwise c.a. Free system. There really is no perfect setup. They typically are only as good as the money you throw at it unfortunately. I’ll continue to make videos about subject matter that either appeals to beginners or solves problems that largely end up discouraging people. The best part about this conversation to me is it seems you didn’t give up. It’s tragic when people do. It truly is only a hobby full of pitfalls because you can’t squeeze the lack of information into the Grand Canyon. Most folks are either trying to sell you something or show you what they can do. Both of those things are equally discouraging. Thanks for taking the time to share your story. Thanks for watching. Keep looking up. Clear skies.
i have successfully shortened focuser tube on the Celestron 130eq (the telescope pictured) to achieve prime focus, by cutting off the top 20mm or so off the focuser tube.. solution works well, although the drawtube does take up a bit of "wiggle" (these telescopes do not have enough teflon buffering tape in the drawtube, only one strip which creates a pivot point for the tube to rock back and forwards on)
Thank you sooooo much for this video. I bought all the gear I needed but then did something incredibly stupid; and I mean proper face/palm stupid. Your video has put me right, so liking and subscribing. Cheers!
Thanks for great video and explanation of the problem. I’m having the exact problem, I know that I wasn’t getting down far enough to focus but didn’t understand why until now! I think I’ll try the adjustable tube with lens holder. Thanks again.
Thanks Garnett. This is a problem I am dealing with at the moment. My solution is to use a Raspberry Pi High Quality camera with a suitable adapter. What is strange is that the focal point with this camera is further out (not in!) than the focusser goes. I use a barlow with the barlow lens removed to get the extra distance.
Sounds like you own an astrograph Newtonian. The mirror in those is positioned in such a way as to bring cameras into focus. I’d like to know which model scope you’re using.
@@GarnettLeary I don't know sorry. All I know is that it is a Skywatcher 130p like the following, Mod a Celestron SLT130 for Prime Focus for DSLR - RUclips
I just watched that video. It’s odd that Celestron would include a built in t-ring on a scope incapable of prime focus with a dslr. Somebody got fired in quality control. I read a lot of articles and don’t think it’s a Bird Jones. You’re going to have to move the primary Mirror forward.
I have enjoyed all of your videos. I hope to get a telescope soon. What would you suggest for around a $1000.00 dollars I have a camera just want a goto scope that would best for astro use. Thanks and keep up the great videos
Thank you so much. That’s very encouraging. A skywatcher EQM-35 mount is around $700. Check out Ian Nemes channel. He’s been very successful with it. That doesn’t leave much for a telescope OTA so you could do the Apertura 6 F4 and the optional coma corrector. That’s total at or around $1000. I’ve thought of this question in great detail. That’s how I would spend $1000. Any questions don’t hesitate to hit me up. Thanks again for watching. Clear skies
+condenser mike glad it was helpful. I really need videography lessons according to some. I hope I can make it more pleasurable to watch. Content over flash but I will try to make it more entertaining. Thanks for the kind words. Clear skies.
Hi, I have a problem which I think is the opposite of what is explained here. I can get the moon in sharp focus on my dslr using prime focus, but the image is too big and cropped out on the display. How do I correct this and get the entire orb in view of the display?
It’s not really a problem per say. The image scale derives from a combination of the focal length and the sensor size. If you had a full frame camera you’d have more of the Moon in frame due to a larger sensor. The key to your current setup is a focal reducer. Something like a GSO 0.5 would be affordable and work to reduce the scale.
Thank you, explained everything very well. I myself have been dealing with this. I have an Orion 130mm Starseeker refractor and wanted to try some astrophotography myself. With the 4th method, do you use the same eye pieces that you use for visual viewing? So all would be needed is the barrel and the normal t-ring?
+SS Sandman that's right. Some of the larger diameter barreled eyepieces might not work but your standard 1.25" will. Eyepiece projection is difficult. Very tedious due to the extreme magnification you get. A great entry level eyepiece projection tool is a variable zoom lens. Celestrons has a t-mount. That's an amazing product. I have a video review of it. You say you have a refractor. Likely your focus issue is opposite of this video about reflectors. With a refractor you typically lack back focus. You need an extension tube and that's all. In 90% of cases it's only 2" or less that's needed. Orion makes a 2" extension tube that conveniently has t-threads on one side and also accepts eyepieces. That's my recommendation. Clear skies.
My apologies. The Starseeker I have is a reflector. Just pulled it out recently and working to get the kiddos excited about astronomy. Got my new Agena Dual ED 8mm delivered today, so excited to get home tonight to see things compared with the 25mm that came with it. The forums mentioned the same thing about the tediousness with the AFocal setup as you mention. Perhaps my best option for my scope is one of those USB CMOS cameras. At least until I can get another scope dedicated for AP.
+SS Sandman Orion Starshoot is a great product. I'll give you life experiences and explain why. Kids have a natural tendency to both argue for time at a scope. They also have an uncanny talent for knocking a scope off target. Been there many times. The great thing about usb is tethering to a pc puts the focus on the cpu monitor and leaves you to the telescope. There generally isn't any argument over viewing time either as long as everyone can crowd around the computer screen. That setup is by far my best experience when dealing with children. A lot of adults too. Watch folks. A natural tendency of beginners is to grab the eyepiece barrel as they put their eye to it. That's detrimental for extreme magnification. Another consideration you will have when viewing is pupil size. Believe it or not kids have different pupil sizes than adults. So whatever is in sharp focus thru the eyepiece will be slightly blurry for children. Monitor eliminates that complication also. Hope this helped.
Hello, great video! Do you know if the methods described here help with achieving prime focus on star discovery 150p? Do you have any experience on this specific telescope?
No personal experience with it but after reviewing it yes. It appears they sell it with an included “threaded” barlow. They had intentions on it being used for astrophotography. The F5 mirror will exhibit coma at the edges. Typically any Newtonian can make use of these methods unless it’s an astrograph. A scope that’s sold specifically titled as an astrograph already has the tube length and mirror configured for prime focus. 90% or more Newtonians on the market are not astrographs, this one included.
I hope you stay inspired in the hobby. There’s endless beautiful things to see and record. Good luck on your journey. If I can ever help don’t hesitate to drop a line. Clear skies.
Nice explanation..thanks..will try my sony alpha 6000 with attachments i received from B&H...I won't expect perfection..just curious if there is any focus setting I should on the camera? Ill just point and shoot. Didn't know if better to do manual exposure/f stop etc..experiment Thanks
Definitely manual. The auto features of any camera fail miserably for night photography of stars. Sonys are really good for astrophotography. You should have a good experience. I’d start at around 1600-3200 ISO. That’s a typical sweet spot.
Thanks, Garnett for video. Very useful information! I have Celestron 114LCM. I have been doing research and came up with negative feedback from most of the people about it for photography. I liked your 4th method. what do you call it while buying? I really hope to take deep space photos with 114lcm.
All I get as black images.. I feel like I've tried everything.. I know that's not true but it's getting frustrating.. I've used a Barlow and still got no light in the image.. I'm using a celestron nexstar 130slt and canon t6, t ring, male adapter and Barlow.. vega was not visible. I tried to focus on a street lamp but it didn't help.. I'm so lost..
+flamingo boot I've read a lot about that scope. Everyone is saying to position the mirror all the way forward. Likely you need more inward focus. A barlow should have solved for that tho. What about your camera settings? Boost the ISO up and shutter speed to 6" or more. Have you tried live view daytime? If you can focus during daylight that will answer a lot.
Garnett Leary thank for the speedy reply, living in Charlotte I have literally no help from other astronomers.. but I will try some daytime focus today.. what should I focus on?
+flamingo boot I live in New Bern. I know all about it. Anything. Don't worry about range. If you can focus daytime but not night it's definitely mirror position. It means you can't focus to "infinity".
I don't think you want to move the primary mirror forward. Seeing how it is set to the secondary for maximum light gather. Moving it forward will move the light cone forward and lose light gathered by the secondary. Which yes should extend the focal point. But instead of 1.5 inches of light turned 90 degrees. You will only turn 1.25 inches of light err what ever the width of the light cone is at the distance you moved the mirror forward. Moving the mirror backward or secondary with focuser forward ... will capture all the light but decrease the side ways distance. Which I think is what you meant to say Garnett Leary. Ergo the camera can be closer than the intended focal distance. This is what I was talking about with intercepting the light cone before it goes through apogee. Say for example on an 8" dob the sideways cone travel is 6" , with a 25mm adding another 1" past apogee for 3" outside the 8" tube. Standardly we view the image past that , and why it is flipped. But maybe a camera could get the light cone on its sensor before it hits apogee. Try 5.5" and less off the center axis. Still seems strange to me you would get the most magnification off of the smaller light cone. But there is probably more to the lensing on the capture side I am missing >?
Yes indeed. Same principle. The only problem you run into overall on any unit is the size of the secondary. It’s possible to move them too close together and clip the light cone.
Helpful video and I understand the problem you are solving. But when you add up the cost of some of these modifications isn’t it cheaper to buy a dedicated Astro camera?
An astrograph is typically much more expensive than a retail visual scope. It’s overall better to get an astrograph in my opinion but this is a good solution for the many who already have the other more common. Thanks for watching.
Garnett Leary Sorry i don’t think I made myself clear. I was asking if it was easier to put one of these instead of the eye piece, rather than try to use the DSLR. www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/ALTAIRGP224C-BASIC.html
Garnett Leary am I right in thinking that replacing the eyepiece with a CCD camera will place it at the focal point and bypass the problem you get with a DSLR?
In most cases yes. The CCD sensor is usually not recessed as much. Most of your CCDs have a huge weight advantage too being much lighter. They truly are superior in many ways. There are a number of popular CMOS versions too. DSLR is still the middle road between webcam ( for planetary ) and ( CCD ) for deep sky. I’m just a huge fan of conventional DSLR photography and primarily just broadband. Only love for camera should drive someone to adapt it to telescope. I’m not saying DSLR can’t produce but for the serious and dedicated astrophotographers a CCD or dedicated CMOS is much better overall. For me personally my relationship with my working camera drives me to use it in every instance. I am a huge fan of SLRs. I practically sleep with my camera ready. Most folks have some type of SLR or point and shoot and I feel it’s truly the best way to get started. I say that because it’s sufficient for the work and typically not an additional investment. One needs to make certain astrophotography is for them before spending lots of money on things they’ll never use. I have owned all the bells and whistles and to this day I find more enjoyment out of innovation and just a camera and tripod. That’s my personal feeling but definitely if I wanted to get published again I’d get an auto guided platform and shoot narrowband thru a CCD. The most impressive work I’ve seen on RUclips is Chucks from Chucks Astrophotography. The guy is brilliant and very friendly. I’m not a huge proponent to heavily altering images and I feel like his work is about as close to pure as one gets. The majesty of our universe needs no edit. It’s beautiful as it is. Wow you got me rambling. That’s my overall take on the camera type experience tho. Ultimately for me a DSLR feels more human. It’s about freedom.
Hi, Thanks for sharing this helpful information. I have done the eyepiece projection setup last night with my Canon rebel t7i on my reflector telescope Orion starblast 6"/750 mm, But I couldn't find the Saturn on my camera live view screen at all. Anything else I missed ? Or some camera settings needs to be done that I didn't do?
Starblast should be perfectly adequate for the job of Saturn. One of two things probably happened. Either you weren’t centered on Saturn... easy mistake at such high magnification, or your camera settings weren’t adequate. Once you eyepiece project you need to bump your ISO way up and increase your shutter speed in terms of seconds. That will help you find Saturn which would be otherwise blacked out. Then you adjust your exposure down to get it correct. Could either of these two things be an issue? What helps me is starting wide and increasing my magnification as I go by changing eyepieces each time. It’s very difficult but your equipment should be more than sufficient
I tried the Barlow method and projection methods, and while they both allow me to focus, I still can't get sharp pictures. When I eyeball it through the lens (of the camera) I get it to where it looks the most sharp. I tried focusing using the camera's "live view" mode, but all it does is show a box I can move around that is supposed to turn green when focus is achieved, but it never does. Also, the projection method is a lot closer than even the Barlow method, and I'm not sure if it's going to be too close... I'm trying to photograph the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction.
You’re camera likely won’t achieve focus because the image is too dim. This is true of most high end DSLRs. The meter just isn’t powerful enough. EP projection does magnify much more and is difficult because of tracking requirements etc with reduced field of view.
I have a 10” Newtonian reflector and recently purchased a 2 inch low profile Crayford focuser and a super wide angle 38 mm eyepiece. I can focus on a street lamp 100 feet away and achieve focus but when I aim the telescope on the moon all I get is a blob of light. Any ideas as to why this is happening. I move the focuser through its entire focus length but the moon is still a blob of light. Seems counterintuitive that I get perfect focus on a street lamp but not on the moon. Any ideas??
The focus throw of scopes varies a lot. I have a Maksutov that requires turning the focus knob around twenty revolutions from minimum focus to maximum. I also own one that makes those resolutions in under six. My immediate thought in your situation is that you need an extension. It’s very possible to have close focus and not infinite focus and the inverse. With large aperture fast scopes it’s also possible you need a Moon or ND filter. I can’t even bare to look at the Moon in my F4 10” Newtonian. It hurts my eyes it’s so bright. If you try an extension and it doesn’t work then try a Barlow. One of the two will work and will determine where you need focus travel.
Hi, I have an Astromaster 114, and I attached to it a Sony A7 mirrorless just with the T-Ring and T-adapter (no barlow, no eyepiece). I was trying to take pictures to Jupiter and it seemed to be focused, but the problem I had is that if Jupiter was not placed exactly at the center then it presented coma. What do you think this may be? In fact, Jupiter seemed to also be very bright that I was not able to see its bands with the camera display. Do you think it was out of focus? why I got comma if Jupiter was not placed exactly at the center?
Uncorrected Newtonian Reflectors will exhibit coma. It’s more severe towards the edges because the shape of the curve in the mirror is more pronounced towards the edge. All of them have it. It’s not as noticeable visually. That’s just an unfortunate design problem inherent in mirrors. The exposure of Jupiter is an unrelated issue. Jupiter is an extremely bright object as you know. You have plenty of aperture at 114mm to resolve cloud bands. If all you see is a bright white ball it must be overexposure. You need to reduce the exposure time on the camera and/or use a lower ISO. Unfortunately when you expose properly for surface details you’ll notice you lose sight of Jupiters Moons. If you’re uncertain about focus (don’t worry this is true with everyone) find a bright star to test on first. Once you get a bright star in focus you will be correct for planets. It’s very difficult to focus correctly directly on a planet, especially with the rack and pinion focuser that’s stock on the 114. I don’t know of any coma correctors in a 1.25” format that I can recommend that would negate the coma inherent in that mirror. The faster the Newtonian, the steeper the mirrors curve, and hence the more pronounced it will be toward the edge. Cloudy Nights forums suggest overall that a Celestron 6.3 focal reducer/flattener is fantastic. Wether or not it combines well with your Astromaster I’m unsure. Put your camera in video mode. Reduce exposure and ISO until the bands resolve. Try to keep Jupiter centered. I hope this helps. Clear skies.
In focus referring to the shortening of the distance between the camera sensor and the primary optics. With the Newtonian that would infer that the focuser tube is moving in towards the secondary. If you need additional out, or “back”, focus it would mean the sensor would have to be placed further away. In the latter it would mean the focuser tube would be extending outwards away from the secondary mirror. I’m only guessing but if you use a reducer I think you may not have enough inward focus travel. In other words the camera will come to a hard stop against the tube before it’s coming to the focal plane. That’s a guess. Hopefully you can make it work. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. I have one. What scope and camera are you trying to use? If I had this information I might be able to help more.
Hi everybody! I am starting to build my own telescope and am trying to track down the right parts for the build. It appears eyepiece projection is the simplest solution, with the drawback being the balance with the camera hanging to the side. Could that be solved with rotating the tube so camera is straight up?
Yes. That’s a great question too. If you’re trying to get spot on balance it’s also possible to place small counterweights opposite the focuser. I personally prefer tube rings on Newtonian telescopes so that I can change the orientation as I need. Eyepiece projection is very demanding. You may get frustrated at first but don’t give up. If I were to suggest the best starting point for Newtonian users I would say get a coma corrector first. A very reputable one is the Celestron 6.3. I love the Newtonian myself. Here’s some potential problems you’ll face with ep projection: 1) Stock rack and pinion focusers tend to sink. The top/down camera position may not work best for you unless you have a good focuser. 2) tracking demands are increased due to increased magnification. I’d like to know your exact setup. It’s easier to make recommendations.
@@GarnettLeary I have a D203F800 mirror set on its way. The focuser I am not finding many to choose from; I mostly use ebay for my shopping. I am trying to build this on a reasonable budget, but not against spending money where I need it most. Any suggestions on websites (preferably USA) on where to find DIY parts? The tube i will be using is a 10" concrete form with fiberglass wrapped on the outside to give it strength. I will probably buy the secondary mirror holder/spider or construct it myself with threaded rods if I can accommodate the fine tuning aspect. I watched a video yesterday that used a 2" extension tube to accomplish prime focusing which has me confused a little. I thought you need to bring the camera closer unless it is going farther out past the focal point and focusing on a flipped image(still learning optics). Thanks for the help!
I’m sorry I don’t know any US based parts dealers. The extension you mentioned may have been from an RC? Those have very specific back focus requirements. I use a 2” extension with my Maksutov in combination with dslr. It’s for a different reason tho. The exit hole out the back is smaller than my camera sensor so it clips. Heavy vignetting. With a 2” extension I can place the sensor over a wider part of the light cone. In this way the sensor is fully illuminated. I’ve never heard of this with a Newtonian. There are Newts designated as astrographs. In that case you have a scope already figured to reach focus with a camera. With those you need an extension to use it visually. I’ve got an excellent book on optics and scope building at home. It will be several months until I return but I’ll get the name once there. It has listings for parts dealers, although some may no longer be relevant as it’s an older book. As you probably know Synta makes the majority of stuff in China to be rebranded for Orion, Celestron, etc. Most of my dealings are with China but I would of course prefer to keep things domestic and local. I’m interested in your project. Feel free to share any info. Good luck and clear skies.
Garnett Leary true, a lot of effort for not a good result. I find it's better to use a camera setup and technique without using a telescope; much better results, unless you're prepared to spend the money on a proper astrophotographers scope.
Nigel Waterhouse agreed. Certainly camera only is far more portable. If you could see the Moon in say an 8" Astro graph you'd quickly notice the roll in clear aperture unmatched by camera too. It zig zags in price between the two depending on what you're trying to do. A high quality 500mm camera lens on a star tracker mount can generate most DSO images. I do both and I'm constantly on the fence of that topic.
+Jonsie Ripley Let's back up because I can't find that model. Three questions: 1) Is it a reflector or refractor?, 2) Are you using an imager or an eyepiece?, and 3) What type of objects are you focusing on? I want to help but need more information.
PLEASE HELP ME! So I have a celestron astromaster 130 Newtonian reflector and canon eos rebel t6 camera. When I attach my camera to the scope I don’t see anything it’s just black please help!
We can figure this out. First I have a question. Is there glass inside the focuser? I’m trying to determine if it is a Bird-Jones telescope. The answer will determine what I can suggest.
Watch this video to see what I’m talking about. It’s hard to tell looking in the focuser. You could either remove the focuser to look or take a pencil, eraser side down, and gently press thru the focuser. Be careful. If your pencil eraser made contact inside the focuser you have a Bird Jones.
Garnett Leary so here is my complete setup, I’m using the celestron astro master 130. I’m using a canon rebel eos t6 camera. I’m using a t ring and t adapter also a 5x Barlow lens. When I have everything hooked up I don’t see anything but black in the live view on my camera. The other night I set my scope and camera up and had my scope pointe at Orion’s nebula and couldn’t see anything but black in the live view on my camera.
Hi, I just got a new telescope and went out tonight to use my telescope. When I went to look at a star, the spider was blocking part of my image. I have seen people saying it's because I need to refocus my barlow, but I only had my 20mm eyepiece on the telescope. Do you know what I have to do to fix this?
+Matthew Kerner could be a lot of things going on but you definitely shouldn't have an image blocked by the spider. The only thing the spider arms should do is split incoming light and create diffraction spikes. All instruments have a maximum and a minimum magnification. On the minimum end you could use an eyepiece at too low a power it becomes obstructed. That happened to me using a 40mm eyepiece on a large F5. The secondary obstructs the exit pupil when below the minimum usable power. Try increasing the magnification using a higher power eyepiece. A center obstruction can also be due to a misaligned secondary. Just shipping a Newtonian can knock it out of alignment. I'm sure you have checked your collimation but if you can get your hands on a laser collimator you can bypass a misaligned secondary easily. Much harder to judge with a cheshire. Was there a huge difference in temperature when you set it up? For example carrying the scope outside from a well cooled house into a hot environment or vice versa. Mirrors actually flex under these situations. In larger instruments it's more prevalent. I always recommend rough alignment indoors then fine out in the field. You can do testing daytime. Find an object at the edge of the distant horizon and try to resolve it. That would be infinity focus. If nothing here helps you get back up with me. Likely I covered it. Good luck.
Hello to all, thanks for this video. Just want to share how i solved this issue on a Celestron Astromaster 130 newtonian. Basically i used a mirrorless camera to fix the issue. Unlike DSLR camera, mirrorless camera sensor is positioned more forward. Instead of modifying the mirror or focuser, if you have a mirrorless camera which is popular nowadays, it can work.
That’s great info. Thanks for sharing.
I have the same telescope and a DSLR. Thanks for this great tip. Can I ask what mirrrorless camera did you use specifically?
@@jaspei Canon EOS RP :) T ring can directly fit into the RF mount without adapter so focus distance is reduced
@@jaspei we can also discuss in Astrophotography Pihilippines group FB. I saw you are also a member there. Feel free to post questions and I will help answer and post photos.
@@guitarintune408 nice, and small world! I posted a question in the group to start the discussion (although still pending approval). Thanks for raising that!
Hello. You have no idea how much of a value this video is. I am very new to the field of astro-photography and your clear and precise explanation has helped me solve a problem I had with my telescope with extraordinary ease (and without spending any money). Your video illustrates that there are those who are really willing to be guide to those who need to learn. My sincere thank you for taking your time to make this video. I recently purchased a dobsonian telescope from astronomers without borders. I could not get the DSLR to focus because of the obvious reasons you explained. However when I watched your video It struck me that I could use method of moving mirrors to adjust focus. Now with this Dobsonian telescope I got, its secondary mirror is collapsible so in short, instead of moving the primary mirror, I automatically have ability to move secondary mirror on rails and bingo. That pretty much did the trick. Your video pretty much lit the light bulb. Thanks again for getting me out of my frustration.
That’s fantastic. I’m glad you didn’t give up and found the answer. That’s why I started this channel. This hobby is solid full of pitfalls and annoyances. I can’t tell you how many I ran into. I’m still finding them. There’s absolutely no reason anyone should have to repeat the mistakes of others in the age of the internet. Thank you for taking the time to write. That’s encouragement for me to continue finding and solving problems. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the hobby and never give up. Clear skies.
Thank you very much for your very clear explanation of the problem and the possible solutions. Clear skies to you, my friend!
+Kevin Franke glad it was useful. Same to you. Hope you get to enjoy the eclipse.
This problem has bothered me off an on for over a year, as to why I could focus on trees 600 yards away and not an antenna tower 1 mile away with my Newtonian scope. Tons of videos show successful astrophotography for the kind of scope I have (Celestron 130 SLT), but I always failed. Thank you for confirming that the problem is focal plane being inside the tube (as I suspected), and for providing solutions. Been driving me nuts. I thank you immensely,
Trust me when I say I’ve been there. That’s why I made this video. Thank you for watching. Clear skies.
Thank you. Everyone makes hooking their camera up so easy. No one says anything about focusing issues. Thank you for explaining it.
Ty for watching. Clear skies.
I did some reading and found what I needed to get started with prime focus photography with my DSLR and Meade Newtonian telescope. So went out and got the T ring and adaptor and remote shutter release. Did some more reading on camera settings and got all ready to have a go photographing the moon one early morning. The rig was all set up and the sky was clear. Turned on the camera live view. Boom, couldn't focus :( Thanks Garnett for explaining what is happening and why. I am surprised that none of the articles I read discussed this issue. Is it a problem limited to the inexpensive Newtonians?
+Tom Ball I was once in your same exact position. It was so frustrating I decided to make this video. You’re right, there isn’t much info on it strangely. The problem is astrophotography is becoming more and more popular. Companies buy their parts from a handful of distributors and they are designed around visual use only still. They produced specific lines of telescopes called astrographs for imaging and for years these were extremely expensive. They are starting to wise up to the trend finally and you’re starting to see newtonians being released with low profile stock focusers and extensions at a reasonable price. Meade has a wonderful 150mm with a 2” focuser for under $400. Most curious folks aren’t willing to shell out for expensive apochromatic refractors. It’s unreasonable to expect a hobbiest photographer to go out and buy an L series lens and the concept is the same. Fortunately they are bridging that gap now and soon most folks won’t need metal cutting tools anymore. Lol. Clear skies.
What really sucks is you can actually ask for help and they say, "buy this" and sell you half of what you need. Example:
I want to shoot eyepiece projection thru a meade etx 60at.
The high point guru says , "buy t ring and 1.25" adapter".
Uhhhhhhh
This video is fantastic! you've very clearly explained the physical problem, and equally clearly explaining the solutions while giving the audience exactly what they need to know to make a judgement about which to go with. This was exactly what I needed to see right now.
Awesome! Mission accomplished then. Thank you for the reply. Clear skies.
Fantastic video, super helpful explanation! I have this exact telescope with this exact problem you have saved me hours of tinkering. I am a noob to this and this is is my first telescope, but I quickly realised I wanted more than just the eye-piece view. I found this video after a disappointing first night, where none of my shots are usable. It's quite hard to see if you are exactly in focus or not at the time, but next day, definitely not!! I had already thought the barlow might help but this video has nudged me in that direction for tonight!! I'll sleep when i'm dead :)
Awesome. I’m glad you didn’t give up. Wishing you many clear skies.
Very well done, cannot thank you enough. To see this explained via diagrams helps tremendously. On the forums people talk about these adapters/etc, but a newbie is still left scratching their head. Luckily, I can just barely reach focus with my Nikon on a Celestron C8-N either with no filter, or using a 1.25" UHC on an adapter for light pollution. I have yet to figure out how to employ a 2" filter , but with your explanation I at least know what I'm up against and what a potential remedy might be.
Thank you, good luck, and clear skies
Thanks for the info. I feel a lil duped from people saying " just buy an adapter" and your T3I is perfect for astrophotography. Now I have a new telescope and adapter that wont help me in my pursuit. I always think ive done the correct research but why is it that i only find these problems after my purchases. Although i have learned that most camera reviewers are bad people, jeez!!!
I honestly never knew Astrophotography could be so easily explained, thank you so much, i am in the process of getting a digi, no doubt, you have saved me some time...keep it, have subscribed. (Yorkshire)
sorry just read it back, ment to say keep it up
Thank you and I try really hard. It’s my passion to bring people to that light. At first glance most would expect it takes thousands of dollars and years of study. Nothing is further from the truth and it’s a shame that’s the impression made. Your comment confirms I’m on the right track and it’s encouraging. Thank you and good luck on your journey. What could possibly be cooler than learning about the universe we live in?
Awesome! Thank you for this! Last year we went camping at Cherry Springs, PA for stargazing and astrophotography. When I attached my D3400 DSLR to the reflector telescope all I saw was the mirror and round thing (I don't know what it's called, it's my nephew's telescope). At least now I know why. I bought a new T ring with the capability to attach the eye piece or Barlow. Hopefully this year will be better.
Thanks for watching. Over 90% of your retail telescopes are designed around visual use. What you purchased should be sufficient to allow for photography. Good luck and I hope your next vacation is amazing. Clear skies.
Excellent video. I have this problem with my Sky-watcher 130 MM Explorer Newtonian and am aware of some of the solutions but this video puts all the solutions together into one well presented and easy to follow video
+Dilip Sharan thank you. That was my aim. At some point most Newtonian, non-Astro graph users run into it. There's no need for folks to repeat mistakes others have in the past. I've got a lot of positive feedback from videos like this and intend on sharing more of my experiences in order to save others from the same pitfalls. Clear skies.
Low profile focuser's are far too expensive and priced because they believe astronomers have money and are willing to throw it away, there really should be taken to task for the manufacture costs to end user costs, these are probably manufactured for a couple of dollars in Taiwan/China with an extreme profit margin.
I have the eyepiece projection type but want prime focus for the lower F stop value and wider view, I can I believe achieve this with my narrow shoulder T ring adapter but we have so much cloud in Western Scotland it may be a while until we see a clear sky, I can focus on the clouds okay with about 1" of forward movement left but and I won't truly know until the sky is clear.
Great video covering everything, thanks.
I totally agree. Astronomy equipment is likely more inflated than furniture. Aside from premium fluorite glass found in apochromats you really never get what you pay for. Most folks who can spend the better half of a month up until the wee hours of the morning do have plenty of money. It’s an expensive hobby unfortunately. The more cash you dump into it the less headaches.
Regarding testing focus you could check against a street light at a distance. Good luck. I hope it works out for you. Clear skies.
Great video, and really appreciate the info, I have a celestron QE130 Newtonian and could never reach focus, but thanks to you info I will now modified the focuser and also get measurements on how far from the Chip i need to be to get sharp focus.. I thinking about making a 2" focus tube that treads in and out to achieve focus with locking ring..
thanks again for the upload.
+TheflickerofMotion you're welcome. Glad it was helpful. This is a huge issue with very little info available. After a lot of digging I decided to publish on it. Had to test first myself. A 2" upgrade is a fantastic idea. The difference is well worth the effort. I may be wrong but it seems to produce less vignetting. I imagine more light gather and generally higher quality optics are available in 2". A lock is a great addition. The GSO micro I have has a tension adjustment and focus lock. Invaluable convenience. Again, thank you for the nice comments and I am very glad it was useful. Clear skies.
Next week I'm going to show a newtonian I modified by moving the primary and how I did it.
Thank you I am working out a way to use this information ! You have been more informative than anyone I have watched ! Thanks
Thank you. This was an issue for me so I had to try to save others. Information was hard to come by. Good luck and If I can help don’t hesitate. Clear skies.
Well I have a 6 inch Galileo reflector , it's a older one but works well for me . I just like to get some photos of the moon and Jupiter and it's moons. Thank you so much . Do you post any photos ? If so I will check out your channel more in detail .
I actually had one of those. It was my friend Jeff’s first telescope. Ignore the community opinion at large about Bird Jones scopes. Yes they’re typically slower systems but they are corrected. Had it not been for the advent of this style reflector many people of the past couldn’t afford a telescope. The corrector is there to counter the spherical aberration caused by a non-parabolic mirror. I’ve taken some of my favorite lunar photos with just a smart phone and my Celestron Power Seeker 127. I post on Instagram occasionally under my name. Ultimately enjoy the hobby and use what you have. I’ve personally owned just about every kind of scope there is. I’ve never tried the Rasa. I can’t honestly say I’m interested either. Lol. Second only to the Maksutov is the Newtonian reflector in my opinion. I consider the value of aperture and also the cost. A six inch apochromatic refractor would cost the same as a car. A 6” non-Bird Jones reflector, although relatively inexpensive, typically has a great deal of coma at the edge. That’s exaggerated in the faster F5’s etc where the mirrors aren’t particularly figured well. You find yourself going out to purchase an expensive coma corrector. You arrive at the same point practically. People in general just hate the Bird Jones because they think they should. A large percentage of folks claim Maksutov’s are too slow for photography of deep sky. They haven’t used one. Long story short ignore it and enjoy it. With your particular scope I think the biggest obstacle is to mitigate focus creep. A heavy camera will cause the focuser to rack in under the weight. If I’m not badly mistaken you don’t have a lock on the focuser. With a 6” Bird Jones I would be shopping for a quality smart phone adapter. Primarily I’d use it for solar system objects. A white light filter could be a great accessory also.
Great video Garnett. Good and well illustrated explanations, thorough, clear, concise and to the point. No added junk or loud music. A youtube endangered species Y.E.S. ;-)
Thank you. You’re very kind and your comment is encouraging. I want to explore the situations and concepts I struggled with in hopes to help someone else avoid them. It’s worth it to me if it was helpful to just one individual. This was a nice thing to log on to and read. Merry Christmas.
and no selling for a camera or telescope company. And no " youll be able to see the rings of saturn clearly
Yeah it’s unfortunate. The industry is very deceptive as a whole. On top of that most RUclips astro channels are more interested in entertainment than how-to’s. You’re not completely at a loss tho. If you continue your pursuit a t-ring is invaluable. If you’re willing to dump $50+ more into it then you can get something like the SvBony 105. Webcam style planetary cameras come into focus similar to eyepieces. The sensors aren’t buried 44+mm like dslr’s. It’s a viable option for your current situation. Additionally you could modify an old webcam. A 35mm film canister is practically identical to the barrel of a 1.25” eyepiece. You still see Hubble-like images on the boxes of telescopes. You still see products marketed without specifying wether it’s an “astrograph” or not. You still see false claims of impossible weight allowances, impossible tracking accuracy, and deceptive optical clarity. It’s a trap almost everyone falls into because there’s way more promoting than honestly available unfortunately. Don’t be discouraged. It’s a fantastic hobby once you get everything ironed out. A lot of times you can move your primary mirror. I moved one in a recent video on an Orion XT8. Typically you only need longer collimation bolts. That was true of many scopes I owned. Best of luck. Clear skies.
Thanks for that clear and concise video. I have recently encountered this problem. I am trying both the Barlow method and the eyepiece projection. I have also gone for a thin, low profile t-ring, but waiting for a m48 to T2 ring (got the wrong size t-ring). Don’t understand the reason so many t-rings are wide (depth), particularly for micro 4/3 cameras. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching. Unfortunately there are far less products with ammeter scopes in mind. There’s a definite need for products that help make the hobby easily available to everyone. The market assumes you’re using a high dollar setup. There’s a million examples of this that span over an equal amount of issues. Everything from finding a platform that will support a camera/lens system and guide scope, to software, to you name it. I’ve often discussed starting a business with Jeff Lucas and innovating products that are user friendly and designed around reasonable setups. The genre is in need of it.
Thank you, this is very helpful. Just got given a telescope and wanted to take some photos with it but I had no idea how to attach my camera to. This gives me a bunch of stuff to try out. 👍
Thanks for watching and I hope you enjoy the new equipment
Great video Garnett, it simple clear explanation that very usefull for a newbe like me in astrophotography
+Jean Kavanagh if it was helpful it was a success. Clear skies. :)
I figured the same thing, i bought barlow lens, but it reduces sharpness and induces chromatic aberration. good vdo.
Great explanation, thanks for sharing. My Orion XT6 has threads for a camera adapter on the stock focuser but cannot achieve focus for the reason you describe. I've been using just the lower section of a 2X barlow clamped into the focuser so it does not protrude above the threads allowing the camera adapter to utilize the stock threads without interference. Now for a look at moving that mirror...
+L Helbock that's a great idea you had. Whatever works. I really wish more telescopes were made with photographic use in mind. Good luck to you.
Thanks for explaining focal length, I was wondering why I couldn't get focus even with adaptors to the eye piece. This makes sense.
Thank you for watching. I hope you stick to it
Thank you! Clear and concise.I have a barlow so I'll try it first and experiment from there. The low-profile focuser would be next. Thanks again.
This is exactly the position i am in. Finally decided to search RUclips for help and found this video. Will try the Barlow first, since i already have one. Great video and much appreciated.
I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for watching. Clear skies.
Thank you very much. You helped me focus the light at the end of the t- ring and its long adapter barrel with which it came. It turns out that the one I bought can fit my 10 and 25mm lenses inside so the plane can be moved like you explained. I wouldn't have thought about it until I watched your video.
Glad you found the solution. That’s one less telescope that ends up in a closet or garage. This hobby is filled with endless pitfalls unfortunately. Getting useful information out there is my goal. Thanks again for watching and clear skies.
@@GarnettLeary Thank you very much. Astrophotography is secondary. I wanted the telescope mainly to see the stars and amaze myself with our surroundings. Thank you for taking the time to make videos. I'll keep watching.
Good to know all this. I was looking at getting the mounting stuff to hook my dslr up to my reflector scope, and now I know what else I need to do.
+ordinaryJeff you may not need to. Check it first. Some telescopes are capable of focus out the box.
Guess I could try it. I might already have enough stuff to do it now that I thought about it.
So I didn't have the correct random stuff lying around to mount it. Ended up just holding the camera body up to the focus tube with live view on. I could focus on trees a little ways out, but more distant trees about a half mile away won't focus. Couldn't run the focus tube in far enough. I'll try a test shot anyway to see how it compares to my cheapo 1300mm lens. Not sure which might have more magnification.
Thank you for sharing this information, great video and lots of detail there. I am now hoping for clear and darker skies to get out there and have a play with my 6" newtonian reflector to see what I need to do. I could do with an electrical focuser too as that is a real pain :-D
+Michael O'Donnell glad you found it useful. Good luck to you.
Thank you so much, I've been having this problem for a while now and couldn't find an explanation
+Gabe Paredes it was a nightmare for me. All the opinions, random info, etc. I'm glad it was helpful. I wanted to combine everything I learned into one place so other people could avoid the headache. Clear skies friend.
Thank you for this, I'm definitely new to astrophotography and have been struggling with this for a bit.
Thanks for watching and good luck on your journey. Never give up.
Great information. I am very interested in getting a DSLR for my setup and this information will come in handy.
Thankyou Garnett, I am currently waiting for my DSLR T adaptor to arrive. I have a barlow lens, but I may try an extension tube to get the larger field of view. The methods you explain are invaluable for a beginner like me.
I’m happy it was helpful. I struggled to find this information myself.
@@GarnettLeary I can't wait to start taking some pics and learn to process them. I cant believe how many satellites fly past on any given night, damn Elon Musk. I,m saving for a 90 mm F5.5 refractor, probably just a doublet lens. The APO get pretty expensive. I found the Jewel Box cluster the other night by accident when browsing around the Southern Cross last week with my 10" Dobsonian. Australian skies on the east coast of NSW are bad now, some regions have major floods occurring. Thanks again Garnett.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I hope you stick to it. The depths of this hobby are endless. Sagan said we are the universe discovering itself. I love that.
Thanks for the video, a massive help i went for the 2x Barlow. Worked a treat. Clear sky's
Same to you friend
Great explanation! Now I finally understand this. Just what I was looking for
Thank you for watching. Clear skies
Thank you for helpinh others! I have tye same issue and solved it with the 4th method (eyepeice projection) using celestron 24 to 8mm Zoom eyepiece. The eyepice has attachment to a T ring and can directly be used as a zoom lens at the same time.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad you found a solution. Clear skies.
I you use a micro four thirds camera, which have no mirror box and 19.25mm back focus with a thin T2 adaptor you will get closer to the focal plane. The Celestron 130SLT has a 2-inch/1.¼-inch focuser, with T2 threads available, that is relatively shallow to the OTA and will achieve prime focus (just the camera) in mid travel. Whereas a DSLR will be nominal 45mm back focus distance flange to sensor presents many problems. Sony E (NEX), mirrorless, are 18mm.
These can also be used with a Barlow, where it is probably better to use a T2 threaded one than a loose fitting nose piece projector, or an eyepiece projector with eyepiece and/or Barlow. The more solidly the camera is attached to the OTA, the less it will vibrate.
The Olympus E-M5ii (&up) has a further advantage in having a special Live View Boost that produce an enhanced slow frame rate with long shutter speeds, which can be magnified, allowing one to focus on the striations from the spider. Body=stabilisation can also be set for the "lens" focal length, of benefit even on a tripod. Panasonic although less noisy due to their heat sink, cannot do this.
It should be noted however that a crop sensor camera is already going to 'magnify' the image by its crop factor due to its reduced field of view. Example a 400mm lens on MFT gives the same view as an 800mm on full frame, and a smaller image than the 650mm 130SLT "5-inch" on prime focus, with the advantage that the Newtonian is f/5 and a typical 400mm prime about f/8.
Thank you for this very informative video! Gives me just the information I need to use my Celestron 600D with my Orion 15cm Newtonian.
Thanks for watching and clear skies
Clear, comprehensive, short. Thanks!
Thank you for watching. Clear skies.
Thanks for this! Too bad I didn't find your video before as I stumbled over this problem thinking I was too stupid to achieve focus but recently solved this with your options 1 and 4. Option 4 I don't like too much as with Eyepiece projection I experience significant disfocus (is that a real word?) at the edges. So the center is focussed, but the farther from the center the more out of focus the picture gets. Hence using a barlow is my only option but not happy with the loss of light and increased f.
Thanks for illustrating the problem and possible solutions.
“Defocused”. I believe that’s correct. It’s possible the result would be greatly different with a different eyepiece. There’s a bunch of different eyepiece designs and they will yield varied results. Don’t rule it completely out. This was a topic that really hammered me as well. Information was scattered and hard to find. I wish someone like Astrobackyard would do a video on it so it reaches more people. Fighting with a Newtonian is a road many have traveled. Unfortunately, adding a barlow or eyepiece also adds additional aberrations. Cheap barlows will add chromatic aberration to an otherwise c.a. Free system. There really is no perfect setup. They typically are only as good as the money you throw at it unfortunately. I’ll continue to make videos about subject matter that either appeals to beginners or solves problems that largely end up discouraging people. The best part about this conversation to me is it seems you didn’t give up. It’s tragic when people do. It truly is only a hobby full of pitfalls because you can’t squeeze the lack of information into the Grand Canyon. Most folks are either trying to sell you something or show you what they can do. Both of those things are equally discouraging. Thanks for taking the time to share your story. Thanks for watching. Keep looking up. Clear skies.
i have successfully shortened focuser tube on the Celestron 130eq (the telescope pictured) to achieve prime focus, by cutting off the top 20mm or so off the focuser tube..
solution works well, although the drawtube does take up a bit of "wiggle" (these telescopes do not have enough teflon buffering tape in the drawtube, only one strip which creates a pivot point for the tube to rock back and forwards on)
Yes poor focuser design. Re-grease and baffle job due.
Thank you sooooo much for this video. I bought all the gear I needed but then did something incredibly stupid; and I mean proper face/palm stupid. Your video has put me right, so liking and subscribing. Cheers!
We all do. Trust me this hobby is full of blunders and fails. Thank you. Clear skies.
Great discussion. I also used a mirrorless Sony Nex 5N and it was ok at prime focus.
Thanks for great video and explanation of the problem. I’m having the exact problem, I know that I wasn’t getting down far enough to focus but didn’t understand why until now! I think I’ll try the adjustable tube with lens holder. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching and I’m glad it was helpful. Clear skies.
Garnett Leary I ordered the adjustable tube today. Thanks 💫
I hope you enjoy it.
finally! a video that answers all my doubts. thank you
+G TR you're welcome. Been there. Done that. No need for anyone else to fight the same nightmare. Clear skies.
Thankyou! Love the visuals. I bought a 2x Barlow for my 130 newt, just waiting for the clouds to disappear....
Great video, thank you!! The barlow method worked great for me!
I’m glad it was helpful. I hope you stick with it. Clear skies.
Thanks Garnett. This is a problem I am dealing with at the moment. My solution is to use a Raspberry Pi High Quality camera with a suitable adapter. What is strange is that the focal point with this camera is further out (not in!) than the focusser goes. I use a barlow with the barlow lens removed to get the extra distance.
Sounds like you own an astrograph Newtonian. The mirror in those is positioned in such a way as to bring cameras into focus. I’d like to know which model scope you’re using.
@@GarnettLeary Skywatcher 130p
I don’t know that scope. I’ve seen the Heritage version. It’s not a Bird Jones is it? Is there a corrective lens inside the focuser tube?
@@GarnettLeary I don't know sorry. All I know is that it is a Skywatcher 130p like the following,
Mod a Celestron SLT130 for Prime Focus for DSLR - RUclips
I just watched that video. It’s odd that Celestron would include a built in t-ring on a scope incapable of prime focus with a dslr. Somebody got fired in quality control. I read a lot of articles and don’t think it’s a Bird Jones. You’re going to have to move the primary Mirror forward.
Thank you for the straightforward and very informative video!
I have enjoyed all of your videos. I hope to get a telescope soon. What would you suggest for around a $1000.00 dollars I have a camera just want a goto scope that would best for astro use. Thanks and keep up the great videos
Thank you so much. That’s very encouraging. A skywatcher EQM-35 mount is around $700. Check out Ian Nemes channel. He’s been very successful with it. That doesn’t leave much for a telescope OTA so you could do the Apertura 6 F4 and the optional coma corrector. That’s total at or around $1000. I’ve thought of this question in great detail. That’s how I would spend $1000. Any questions don’t hesitate to hit me up. Thanks again for watching. Clear skies
Very clear video. Many thanks. I'm off to buy a telescope for Astrophotography. My celestron is impossible and will be cheaper to replace.
Is it a bird jones style?
Great channel. Thanks for the info and time spent. Much appreciated.
+condenser mike glad it was helpful. I really need videography lessons according to some. I hope I can make it more pleasurable to watch. Content over flash but I will try to make it more entertaining. Thanks for the kind words. Clear skies.
Don't let people discourage you. Everyone one has an opinion but few actually create content. Keep it up. Clear skies.
Thank you. I was getting frustrated. I did put a fishing weight on the bottom to balance better
This answered a lot of questions! Thanks for the vid
Hi, I have a problem which I think is the opposite of what is explained here. I can get the moon in sharp focus on my dslr using prime focus, but the image is too big and cropped out on the display. How do I correct this and get the entire orb in view of the display?
It’s not really a problem per say. The image scale derives from a combination of the focal length and the sensor size. If you had a full frame camera you’d have more of the Moon in frame due to a larger sensor. The key to your current setup is a focal reducer. Something like a GSO 0.5 would be affordable and work to reduce the scale.
@@GarnettLeary Thank you for the help! I'll check out the focal reducer. Cheers! 😊
Anytime. What you want is something that can thread into a T-ring nosepiece. That’s the easiest configuration.
@@GarnettLeary Ah, that makes perfect sense. Thank you once again for the guidance! 😊🙏
Thank You for such an informative and interesting explanation!!
Thanks for the kind words. It’s encouraging. Clear skies friend
Thank you, explained everything very well. I myself have been dealing with this. I have an Orion 130mm Starseeker refractor and wanted to try some astrophotography myself.
With the 4th method, do you use the same eye pieces that you use for visual viewing? So all would be needed is the barrel and the normal t-ring?
+SS Sandman that's right. Some of the larger diameter barreled eyepieces might not work but your standard 1.25" will. Eyepiece projection is difficult. Very tedious due to the extreme magnification you get. A great entry level eyepiece projection tool is a variable zoom lens. Celestrons has a t-mount. That's an amazing product. I have a video review of it. You say you have a refractor. Likely your focus issue is opposite of this video about reflectors. With a refractor you typically lack back focus. You need an extension tube and that's all. In 90% of cases it's only 2" or less that's needed. Orion makes a 2" extension tube that conveniently has t-threads on one side and also accepts eyepieces. That's my recommendation. Clear skies.
My apologies. The Starseeker I have is a reflector. Just pulled it out recently and working to get the kiddos excited about astronomy. Got my new Agena Dual ED 8mm delivered today, so excited to get home tonight to see things compared with the 25mm that came with it.
The forums mentioned the same thing about the tediousness with the AFocal setup as you mention. Perhaps my best option for my scope is one of those USB CMOS cameras. At least until I can get another scope dedicated for AP.
+SS Sandman Orion Starshoot is a great product. I'll give you life experiences and explain why. Kids have a natural tendency to both argue for time at a scope. They also have an uncanny talent for knocking a scope off target. Been there many times. The great thing about usb is tethering to a pc puts the focus on the cpu monitor and leaves you to the telescope. There generally isn't any argument over viewing time either as long as everyone can crowd around the computer screen. That setup is by far my best experience when dealing with children. A lot of adults too. Watch folks. A natural tendency of beginners is to grab the eyepiece barrel as they put their eye to it. That's detrimental for extreme magnification. Another consideration you will have when viewing is pupil size. Believe it or not kids have different pupil sizes than adults. So whatever is in sharp focus thru the eyepiece will be slightly blurry for children. Monitor eliminates that complication also. Hope this helped.
Very good and clear explanation. Thanks.
Very good explanation!
Easy to understand! Tks!
Thank you for watching.
Hello, great video! Do you know if the methods described here help with achieving prime focus on star discovery 150p? Do you have any experience on this specific telescope?
No personal experience with it but after reviewing it yes. It appears they sell it with an included “threaded” barlow. They had intentions on it being used for astrophotography. The F5 mirror will exhibit coma at the edges. Typically any Newtonian can make use of these methods unless it’s an astrograph. A scope that’s sold specifically titled as an astrograph already has the tube length and mirror configured for prime focus. 90% or more Newtonians on the market are not astrographs, this one included.
@@GarnettLeary Thank you for your answer! Its great info that i can achieve prime focus on this telescope too.
I hope you stay inspired in the hobby. There’s endless beautiful things to see and record. Good luck on your journey. If I can ever help don’t hesitate to drop a line. Clear skies.
Nice explanation..thanks..will try my sony alpha 6000 with attachments i received from B&H...I won't expect perfection..just curious if there is any focus setting I should on the camera? Ill just point and shoot. Didn't know if better to do manual exposure/f stop etc..experiment Thanks
Definitely manual. The auto features of any camera fail miserably for night photography of stars. Sonys are really good for astrophotography. You should have a good experience. I’d start at around 1600-3200 ISO. That’s a typical sweet spot.
Thanks for a clear and concise video.
+Berny M glad you enjoyed it. Clear skies.
Thanks, Garnett for video. Very useful information! I have Celestron 114LCM. I have been doing research and came up with negative feedback from most of the people about it for photography.
I liked your 4th method. what do you call it while buying? I really hope to take deep space photos with 114lcm.
Thank you. Check this out:
ruclips.net/video/zH4KlmgoBYw/видео.html
That was perfect.
Cleared up a lot.
Thank you. Clear skies.
All I get as black images.. I feel like I've tried everything.. I know that's not true but it's getting frustrating.. I've used a Barlow and still got no light in the image.. I'm using a celestron nexstar 130slt and canon t6, t ring, male adapter and Barlow.. vega was not visible. I tried to focus on a street lamp but it didn't help.. I'm so lost..
+flamingo boot I've read a lot about that scope. Everyone is saying to position the mirror all the way forward. Likely you need more inward focus. A barlow should have solved for that tho. What about your camera settings? Boost the ISO up and shutter speed to 6" or more. Have you tried live view daytime? If you can focus during daylight that will answer a lot.
Garnett Leary thank for the speedy reply, living in Charlotte I have literally no help from other astronomers.. but I will try some daytime focus today.. what should I focus on?
+flamingo boot I live in New Bern. I know all about it. Anything. Don't worry about range. If you can focus daytime but not night it's definitely mirror position. It means you can't focus to "infinity".
Garnett Leary I found focus, thanks.. quick 10 sec video on my channel
+flamingo boot awesome. I'll check it out
2" 1:10 Double Helical Focuser for Refractor Type Astro Telescope Photography
This really helped me out, thank you!!
I don't think you want to move the primary mirror forward. Seeing how it is set to the secondary for maximum light gather.
Moving it forward will move the light cone forward and lose light gathered by the secondary. Which yes should extend the focal point. But instead of 1.5 inches of light turned 90 degrees.
You will only turn 1.25 inches of light err what ever the width of the light cone is at the distance you moved the mirror forward. Moving the mirror backward or secondary with focuser forward ... will capture all the light but decrease the side ways distance. Which I think is what you meant to say Garnett Leary.
Ergo the camera can be closer than the intended focal distance.
This is what I was talking about with intercepting the light cone before it goes through apogee.
Say for example on an 8" dob the sideways cone travel is 6" , with a 25mm adding another 1" past apogee for 3" outside the 8" tube.
Standardly we view the image past that , and why it is flipped.
But maybe a camera could get the light cone on its sensor before it hits apogee. Try 5.5" and less off the center axis.
Still seems strange to me you would get the most magnification off of the smaller light cone.
But there is probably more to the lensing on the capture side I am missing >?
What about the collapsible reflectors? Can't someone play around with the length and get the same effect as moving the primary?
Yes indeed. Same principle. The only problem you run into overall on any unit is the size of the secondary. It’s possible to move them too close together and clip the light cone.
Helpful video and I understand the problem you are solving. But when you add up the cost of some of these modifications isn’t it cheaper to buy a dedicated Astro camera?
An astrograph is typically much more expensive than a retail visual scope. It’s overall better to get an astrograph in my opinion but this is a good solution for the many who already have the other more common. Thanks for watching.
Garnett Leary Sorry i don’t think I made myself clear. I was asking if it was easier to put one of these instead of the eye piece, rather than try to use the DSLR. www.rothervalleyoptics.co.uk/ALTAIRGP224C-BASIC.html
Oh sure. Definitely. DSLR has become popular but the best images are definitely CCD.
Garnett Leary am I right in thinking that replacing the eyepiece with a CCD camera will place it at the focal point and bypass the problem you get with a DSLR?
In most cases yes. The CCD sensor is usually not recessed as much. Most of your CCDs have a huge weight advantage too being much lighter. They truly are superior in many ways. There are a number of popular CMOS versions too. DSLR is still the middle road between webcam ( for planetary ) and ( CCD ) for deep sky. I’m just a huge fan of conventional DSLR photography and primarily just broadband. Only love for camera should drive someone to adapt it to telescope. I’m not saying DSLR can’t produce but for the serious and dedicated astrophotographers a CCD or dedicated CMOS is much better overall. For me personally my relationship with my working camera drives me to use it in every instance. I am a huge fan of SLRs. I practically sleep with my camera ready. Most folks have some type of SLR or point and shoot and I feel it’s truly the best way to get started. I say that because it’s sufficient for the work and typically not an additional investment. One needs to make certain astrophotography is for them before spending lots of money on things they’ll never use. I have owned all the bells and whistles and to this day I find more enjoyment out of innovation and just a camera and tripod. That’s my personal feeling but definitely if I wanted to get published again I’d get an auto guided platform and shoot narrowband thru a CCD. The most impressive work I’ve seen on RUclips is Chucks from Chucks Astrophotography. The guy is brilliant and very friendly. I’m not a huge proponent to heavily altering images and I feel like his work is about as close to pure as one gets. The majesty of our universe needs no edit. It’s beautiful as it is. Wow you got me rambling. That’s my overall take on the camera type experience tho. Ultimately for me a DSLR feels more human. It’s about freedom.
Hi, Thanks for sharing this helpful information. I have done the eyepiece projection setup last night with my Canon rebel t7i on my reflector telescope Orion starblast 6"/750 mm, But I couldn't find the Saturn on my camera live view screen at all. Anything else I missed ? Or some camera settings needs to be done that I didn't do?
Starblast should be perfectly adequate for the job of Saturn. One of two things probably happened. Either you weren’t centered on Saturn... easy mistake at such high magnification, or your camera settings weren’t adequate. Once you eyepiece project you need to bump your ISO way up and increase your shutter speed in terms of seconds. That will help you find Saturn which would be otherwise blacked out. Then you adjust your exposure down to get it correct. Could either of these two things be an issue? What helps me is starting wide and increasing my magnification as I go by changing eyepieces each time. It’s very difficult but your equipment should be more than sufficient
@@GarnettLeary Ok . Thanks for reoly. I will try again applying this guide's.
I tried the Barlow method and projection methods, and while they both allow me to focus, I still can't get sharp pictures. When I eyeball it through the lens (of the camera) I get it to where it looks the most sharp. I tried focusing using the camera's "live view" mode, but all it does is show a box I can move around that is supposed to turn green when focus is achieved, but it never does.
Also, the projection method is a lot closer than even the Barlow method, and I'm not sure if it's going to be too close... I'm trying to photograph the Jupiter/Saturn conjunction.
You’re camera likely won’t achieve focus because the image is too dim. This is true of most high end DSLRs. The meter just isn’t powerful enough. EP projection does magnify much more and is difficult because of tracking requirements etc with reduced field of view.
Use the terminating line of the Moon to get your focus set. At its sharpest the planets will also be correctly in focus.
Very clearly explained. Thankyou
I have a 10” Newtonian reflector and recently purchased a 2 inch low profile Crayford focuser and a super wide angle 38 mm eyepiece. I can focus on a street lamp 100 feet away and achieve focus but when I aim the telescope on the moon all I get is a blob of light. Any ideas as to why this is happening. I move the focuser through its entire focus length but the moon is still a blob of light. Seems counterintuitive that I get perfect focus on a street lamp but not on the moon. Any ideas??
The focus throw of scopes varies a lot. I have a Maksutov that requires turning the focus knob around twenty revolutions from minimum focus to maximum. I also own one that makes those resolutions in under six. My immediate thought in your situation is that you need an extension. It’s very possible to have close focus and not infinite focus and the inverse. With large aperture fast scopes it’s also possible you need a Moon or ND filter. I can’t even bare to look at the Moon in my F4 10” Newtonian. It hurts my eyes it’s so bright. If you try an extension and it doesn’t work then try a Barlow. One of the two will work and will determine where you need focus travel.
Hi, I have an Astromaster 114, and I attached to it a Sony A7 mirrorless just with the T-Ring and T-adapter (no barlow, no eyepiece). I was trying to take pictures to Jupiter and it seemed to be focused, but the problem I had is that if Jupiter was not placed exactly at the center then it presented coma. What do you think this may be? In fact, Jupiter seemed to also be very bright that I was not able to see its bands with the camera display. Do you think it was out of focus? why I got comma if Jupiter was not placed exactly at the center?
Uncorrected Newtonian Reflectors will exhibit coma. It’s more severe towards the edges because the shape of the curve in the mirror is more pronounced towards the edge. All of them have it. It’s not as noticeable visually. That’s just an unfortunate design problem inherent in mirrors. The exposure of Jupiter is an unrelated issue. Jupiter is an extremely bright object as you know. You have plenty of aperture at 114mm to resolve cloud bands. If all you see is a bright white ball it must be overexposure. You need to reduce the exposure time on the camera and/or use a lower ISO. Unfortunately when you expose properly for surface details you’ll notice you lose sight of Jupiters Moons. If you’re uncertain about focus (don’t worry this is true with everyone) find a bright star to test on first. Once you get a bright star in focus you will be correct for planets. It’s very difficult to focus correctly directly on a planet, especially with the rack and pinion focuser that’s stock on the 114. I don’t know of any coma correctors in a 1.25” format that I can recommend that would negate the coma inherent in that mirror. The faster the Newtonian, the steeper the mirrors curve, and hence the more pronounced it will be toward the edge. Cloudy Nights forums suggest overall that a Celestron 6.3 focal reducer/flattener is fantastic. Wether or not it combines well with your Astromaster I’m unsure. Put your camera in video mode. Reduce exposure and ISO until the bands resolve. Try to keep Jupiter centered. I hope this helps. Clear skies.
Good explanation 👍
Will try it on my 8" Dob
Very simple and easily reversed. Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoy it.
Great detail and explanation. Thank you
Thanks for watching
What if I replace the Barlow with a 0.5x focal reducer lens??
Not sure but likely you’ll still need the in focus. Try it. I’d love to hear the results.
In focus?? I'm new..
In focus referring to the shortening of the distance between the camera sensor and the primary optics. With the Newtonian that would infer that the focuser tube is moving in towards the secondary. If you need additional out, or “back”, focus it would mean the sensor would have to be placed further away. In the latter it would mean the focuser tube would be extending outwards away from the secondary mirror. I’m only guessing but if you use a reducer I think you may not have enough inward focus travel. In other words the camera will come to a hard stop against the tube before it’s coming to the focal plane. That’s a guess. Hopefully you can make it work. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. I have one. What scope and camera are you trying to use? If I had this information I might be able to help more.
Super cheap scope.. 150mm aperture 1400mm focal length. I want to make it faster. Nikon D5600
There’s ways to speed it up. You have to determine if it’s a Bird Jones style Newtonian. Is there a corrective lens inside the focuser?
Hi everybody! I am starting to build my own telescope and am trying to track down the right parts for the build. It appears eyepiece projection is the simplest solution, with the drawback being the balance with the camera hanging to the side. Could that be solved with rotating the tube so camera is straight up?
Yes. That’s a great question too. If you’re trying to get spot on balance it’s also possible to place small counterweights opposite the focuser. I personally prefer tube rings on Newtonian telescopes so that I can change the orientation as I need. Eyepiece projection is very demanding. You may get frustrated at first but don’t give up. If I were to suggest the best starting point for Newtonian users I would say get a coma corrector first. A very reputable one is the Celestron 6.3. I love the Newtonian myself. Here’s some potential problems you’ll face with ep projection: 1) Stock rack and pinion focusers tend to sink. The top/down camera position may not work best for you unless you have a good focuser. 2) tracking demands are increased due to increased magnification. I’d like to know your exact setup. It’s easier to make recommendations.
@@GarnettLeary I have a D203F800 mirror set on its way. The focuser I am not finding many to choose from; I mostly use ebay for my shopping. I am trying to build this on a reasonable budget, but not against spending money where I need it most. Any suggestions on websites (preferably USA) on where to find DIY parts?
The tube i will be using is a 10" concrete form with fiberglass wrapped on the outside to give it strength. I will probably buy the secondary mirror holder/spider or construct it myself with threaded rods if I can accommodate the fine tuning aspect.
I watched a video yesterday that used a 2" extension tube to accomplish prime focusing which has me confused a little. I thought you need to bring the camera closer unless it is going farther out past the focal point and focusing on a flipped image(still learning optics).
Thanks for the help!
I’m sorry I don’t know any US based parts dealers. The extension you mentioned may have been from an RC? Those have very specific back focus requirements. I use a 2” extension with my Maksutov in combination with dslr. It’s for a different reason tho. The exit hole out the back is smaller than my camera sensor so it clips. Heavy vignetting. With a 2” extension I can place the sensor over a wider part of the light cone. In this way the sensor is fully illuminated. I’ve never heard of this with a Newtonian. There are Newts designated as astrographs. In that case you have a scope already figured to reach focus with a camera. With those you need an extension to use it visually. I’ve got an excellent book on optics and scope building at home. It will be several months until I return but I’ll get the name once there. It has listings for parts dealers, although some may no longer be relevant as it’s an older book. As you probably know Synta makes the majority of stuff in China to be rebranded for Orion, Celestron, etc. Most of my dealings are with China but I would of course prefer to keep things domestic and local. I’m interested in your project. Feel free to share any info. Good luck and clear skies.
Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you.
Thank you the same for watching
I had a meade polaris 130 ,have the same problem ,i just used a mirrorless camera instead of a dslr
That’s awesome. I’ve considered switching myself.
Great video. Thanks for the help.
Thanks for this video.
Thanks for watching
Great explanation, very usefull, Thx!
Thank you
Thanks for the education! Very good info!
+Nigel Waterhouse Thank you. There's not much info around about this topic but it's definitely one myself and many others have fought with.
Garnett Leary true, a lot of effort for not a good result. I find it's better to use a camera setup and technique without using a telescope; much better results, unless you're prepared to spend the money on a proper astrophotographers scope.
Nigel Waterhouse agreed. Certainly camera only is far more portable. If you could see the Moon in say an 8" Astro graph you'd quickly notice the roll in clear aperture unmatched by camera too. It zig zags in price between the two depending on what you're trying to do. A high quality 500mm camera lens on a star tracker mount can generate most DSO images. I do both and I'm constantly on the fence of that topic.
Great video many thanks for making it
Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment
Anyone know how or have recommendations to focus a 1996 xl200 Meade telescope, bought it used and I can't seem to focus it...
+Jonsie Ripley are you referring to scope focal length and diameter or imager resolution? What's the exact model of your telescope?
Garnett Leary it is model xl200? Focusing on an object, it is way to far and blurry and it should be extremely focused.
+Jonsie Ripley Let's back up because I can't find that model. Three questions: 1) Is it a reflector or refractor?, 2) Are you using an imager or an eyepiece?, and 3) What type of objects are you focusing on? I want to help but need more information.
Fantasic video and very helpful ty
Nice of you to say. Thank you. Clear skies
PLEASE HELP ME! So I have a celestron astromaster 130 Newtonian reflector and canon eos rebel t6 camera. When I attach my camera to the scope I don’t see anything it’s just black please help!
We can figure this out. First I have a question. Is there glass inside the focuser? I’m trying to determine if it is a Bird-Jones telescope. The answer will determine what I can suggest.
Watch this video to see what I’m talking about. It’s hard to tell looking in the focuser. You could either remove the focuser to look or take a pencil, eraser side down, and gently press thru the focuser. Be careful. If your pencil eraser made contact inside the focuser you have a Bird Jones.
ruclips.net/video/W8Ut6HlnUMk/видео.html
Garnett Leary so I checked and there is not a lens in the focused I took my eyepiece out and put a pencil through the focused.
Garnett Leary so here is my complete setup, I’m using the celestron astro master 130. I’m using a canon rebel eos t6 camera. I’m using a t ring and t adapter also a 5x Barlow lens. When I have everything hooked up I don’t see anything but black in the live view on my camera. The other night I set my scope and camera up and had my scope pointe at Orion’s nebula and couldn’t see anything but black in the live view on my camera.
Really really helpful, thank you
Thank you
Awesome, vid! Thanks a lot
+Gaming Fish Guy glad it was helpful. Clear skies.
Thank you so much
Thank you for watching.
Thanks for posting.
Thank you for watching. Clear skies.
Really helpful. Thank you!
Thank you for watching. Clear skies.
Thank you for good tips
Thank’s for watching
Thanks friend.
Nicely Done 👍🔭
Ty. Probably one of my more useful videos based on feedback. It’s totally worth taking the time if to help but one person. Hope you’re well.
Nice work keep it coming
Great video, thanks
Appreciate you taking time to watch it. Clear skies.
Hi, I just got a new telescope and went out tonight to use my telescope. When I went to look at a star, the spider was blocking part of my image. I have seen people saying it's because I need to refocus my barlow, but I only had my 20mm eyepiece on the telescope. Do you know what I have to do to fix this?
+Matthew Kerner could be a lot of things going on but you definitely shouldn't have an image blocked by the spider. The only thing the spider arms should do is split incoming light and create diffraction spikes. All instruments have a maximum and a minimum magnification. On the minimum end you could use an eyepiece at too low a power it becomes obstructed. That happened to me using a 40mm eyepiece on a large F5. The secondary obstructs the exit pupil when below the minimum usable power. Try increasing the magnification using a higher power eyepiece. A center obstruction can also be due to a misaligned secondary. Just shipping a Newtonian can knock it out of alignment. I'm sure you have checked your collimation but if you can get your hands on a laser collimator you can bypass a misaligned secondary easily. Much harder to judge with a cheshire. Was there a huge difference in temperature when you set it up? For example carrying the scope outside from a well cooled house into a hot environment or vice versa. Mirrors actually flex under these situations. In larger instruments it's more prevalent. I always recommend rough alignment indoors then fine out in the field. You can do testing daytime. Find an object at the edge of the distant horizon and try to resolve it. That would be infinity focus. If nothing here helps you get back up with me. Likely I covered it. Good luck.
Garnett Leary my secondary was misangled, and after I aligned it everything was great. Thank you!
+Matthew Kerner glad you got it working. Enjoy it.
Thank you! Well explained. Now I get it!
+Peter Meredith Mission accomplished then. I am glad it was helpful. This is a nightmare for everyone at first.