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Digital Camera Attachment
I
have a Canon PowerShot G1 digital camera and wanted to use that to capture images through
my telescopes.
After a search through the internet I came across the range of Digi-T Digital Camera Attachments from ScopeTronix.
I purchased one for my camera - the attachment screws into the lens ring on the camera and uses a ring with three screws to attach to any 1.25" eyepiece. You remove the rubber eyeguard and the three 'allen' screws use the eye-guard slot for attachment. See ScopeTronix site for more details.
The Scopetronix site shows some amazing results with this type of adaptor: my results are not up to their quality - as usual, time and perseverance are required!
Focussing the image is a problem with digital
photography. I feed the 'video out' from the camera to a cheap B&W monitor;
the larger image on the monitor greatly assists more accurate focus adjustment.
I also turn off the automatic focus control on the camera.
Sun
My first try has been to work on getting photograph of sunspots (as weather has been bad in the evenings).
This
picture was taken on 1 i 2002 using Meade ETX 70AT telescope.
I am very much in the experimental phase with photography through the telescope
- not helped by the fact that we did not see the sun (nor stars) between the 3rd
and 12th of January!! This picture was taken with Canon G1 digital
camera at f8 with exposure of 1/15
sec through a sun filter. Camera was mounted on 25mm eyepiece. I have changed picture to grey scale and
enhanced contrast with PaintShop Pro7.
Full details are on the Scopetronix website with clear photographs of the
device.
Sun image on the right was taken with Canon G1 with "Digi-T" on 1 iii 2002
using 24mm eyepiece and mounted on Meade ETX 70AT - this is colour as recorded by Canon with no post adjustments with
PaintShop Pro! Camera on full zoom with auto-exposure using centre-spot
metering.
At present I am not happy with the focus when aiming at the Sun - when I go at branches of a tree a couple of hundred yards away I get a somewhat sharper image. More experiments are needed when sun or stars show themselves this way again.
This sunspot was so large that it was easily seen with the
naked eye through 'eclipse' glasses.
Below, further views of 10484 and the larger 10486:
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Dorridge,
UK 26 x 2003 09:18 UT |
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Two very large sunspots three years after the 11 year sunspot cycle maximum |
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The
weather has been poor so I have been trying all opportunities to try to capture
photographs with digital Canon G1.
This picture of the moon was taken on 22 i 2002 at 15.38 UT mounted on Meade
ETX 70AT through a
thin cloud layer - Yes, it was still daylight here at 52oN.
The camera was mounted on 25mm eyepiece.
Camera Settings: Speed 1/100; Aperture f8; Spot Metering; ISO 100; Focal Length 7.0mm (no zoom); Delayed Action. Full frame image shown on the right - note extension tube vignetting.
This image using my Meade ETX 70AT should have been taken with 6mm eyepiece, but I had left that at home!
Image of Saturn using Meade LX90 showing Saturn with four of its moons taken with Canon G1 camera
These two images were taken without a telescope but using a Canon TeleConvertor on the camera. Venus was imaged near to a new Moon.
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Canon G1 Digital Camera |
Canon G1 Digital Camera |
Venus transit of Sun. 8th June 2004
We took the opportunity to host a Transit Party in our backyard and viewed the transit with 23 friends. A most enjoyable time was had by all with most opting for Bucks Fizz, a full English fried breakfast, toast and marmalade eaten outside!
Three telescopes were set up with white solar filters plus an H-alpha Maxscope 40 solar telescope and a binocular projection. Solar glasses were also available.
Great fun was had by all but with such a party and breakfasts to cook there is no time for much photography. The general comments from our guests were that they did not expect to be so enthralled with the event (i.e. schools, TV and press had not provided adequate information and enthusiasm) and how they were interested not only on the mechanics of the solar system but the history and human exploits surrounding the stories of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Jeremiah Horrocks, Cook and others.
I managed to snatch two images with Canon G1 digital camera through the solar Maxscope 40 (note large prominence on first image).
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Soon after First Contact -
05:25UT |
Nearing end of transit - 10:27UT |
For those who missed the transit, the next transits completely visible from Dorridge, UK are detailed below
| June 11th | 2247 | |
| June 12th | 2490 | |
| December 13th | 2611 | |
| June 15th | 2733 | |
| June 13th | 2741 |
To calculate next transits visible from
your own location click -> 
As usual, I experimented first with Mizar in my digital adventures with the stars. Using the same star across differing technologies provides comparisons!
The two images below were taken using Canon G1 mounted on LX90 using the Digi-T attachment on a the Meade 25mm eyepiece that came with my ETX 70AT scope. The images have been E-W flipped, the stars selected and the part of the image I wanted reduced in size by 50% using PaintShop Pro7.
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Zeta Ursa Major + Mizar
LX90 with Canon G1 digital camera mounted on Meade 25mm eyepiece (as supplied with ETX 70AT scope) with Digi-T adaptor. Camera on full zoom. Star separation is 14" 16 vii 2002 at 21:38UT |
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Alcor and Zeta Ursa Major + Mizar LX90 with Canon G1 digital camera mounted on Meade 25mm eyepiece (as supplied with ETX 70AT scope) with Digi-T adaptor. Camera on full wide angle. 16 vii 2002 at 21:37UT
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To assist with focussing, I took the video-out from the camera and ran it into a cheap 5inch B&W monitor - I believe this results in better digital images than those I saw from my 35mm camera where I have major focussing problems.
Note: on both images a weak star is seen below Mizar - I cannot identify the star from my atlases - I would appreciate an e-mail if you can identify it for me. john@cuckney.net
The Orion Nebula looks glorious on a good night through the LX90.
This image taken with Orion low in the sky and with poor viewing conditions but does show the illumination within the nebula.
This image was taken with maximum exposure/aperture of the Canon PowerShot G1 digital camera. (8secs/f2.5) with ISO 100.
Note that this exposure is much greater than that which is possible using my converted webcam which has maximum exposure time of 1/25sec.
If you do take similar images, do not despair when you first load the image into your computer - all I could see on the initial image were the trapezium and other local bright stars - work on the contrast and brightness with PaintShop Pro revealed the glowing nebula!
M45 Pleiades
This image taken with Canon G1 plus Canon Tele-Convertor lens.
Camera mounted on telescope but viewing sky directly. The Pleiades is too large to be photographed in one frame through the telescope.
Canon Powershot G1 with teleconvertor: 8 seconds f2.5
Dorridge, UK 13 xii 2003 18:34UT
