Page listing for the category: Optical Equipment


Skywatcher EQ6 and ED80, plus Canon 1000D – A marriage made for the heavens?

Welcome back!

Canon DSLR attached to Skywatcher ED80, with Vixen Flip Mirror

Canon DSLR attached to Skywatcher ED80, with Vixen Flip Mirror

Finally, I got the Canon DSLR 1000D attached to my Skywatcher refractor.  I’ve been waiting for the T-mount adaptor and it arrived a day or two ago.  

 

It has a Canon EOS fitting on one side (you remove the camera lens and the adaptor slots in, in its place), and a “T” thread on the other side (perfect for screwing into my Vixen flip mirror).

Here’s a picture of the arrangement, on the right..

It seems to attach really well.  And of course, with the flip mirror, I can switch in a second between an eyepiece and the camera.

I’m now waiting for some clear skies to try it on an astronomical target.  There has been so much cloud, recently.

Distant trees with the camera and telescope

Distant trees with the camera and telescope

I took this picture in daylight of some distant trees, through the telescope..

 

 And here’s another shot, showing the camera with its ‘Live View’ facility turned-on. Like this, you can see what the camera is seeing, live on the screen, enabling you to adjust focus and other settings, before taking the shot. Particularly important if you are doing an astro image with a long exposure.

 

Canon with 'Live View' on the screen

Canon with its Live View on the screen





Vixen Flip Mirror Plus Skywatcher 80ED Pro Refractor

Vixen Flip Mirror

Vixen Flip Mirror

I wrote a few weeks ago I had bought a Skywatcher ED80 Refractor and I’m very pleased with it (in spite of the excess of grey cloudy skies, we seem to have had recently!).

Well.. I’ve just added a great accessory to the refractor..

It’s a Vixen Flip Mirror.  

And I’m also very pleased to have come across this well-made gadget, because it’s already making my observing so much better. read on..

More News On The Alan Young Telescope Declination Axis Problem

I have been consulting with experts over the last two weeks, about how to fix our big telescope and make it usable.

It has a problem with the slow-motion drive on the declination axis.  The screw thread and rack section drive, no longer mesh properly.  So the dec drive does not work. read on..

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