How to Take Pictures Through a Telescope

Does anyone here know if I can take pictures of objects in space through my orion 130 eq telescope with my 5.0 megapixel digital camera?

reply to post by The Universal Mind


Generally the answer is yes. The telescope takes standard 1.25" eyepieces, which is a must, the real question is what kind of camera do you have? You could use a universal camera adapter, but they're a real pain to work with and don't produce the best results. I used to use this product to attach my previous two cameras to my telescope (a 3 megapixel kodak dx4330 and an 8 megapixel sony dsc-f828).
www.amazon.com...
It attaches directly to your eyepieces with set screws, just take the rubber eye cup off first (carefully! They can snap easily). You'll still need one more part that is specific to your camera, a stepper ring that screws onto the front of your camera and steps down to a standard t-thread size. Not all cameras have threads on the front though, so it really depends on your exact model of camera. You can find the list of supported cameras and the second part you'll need here: www.microscope.com...
If your camera's not listed call them and see if they have yours. The list online is not complete.

One more thing, your telescope doesn't seem to have a motor drive system (unless you've added one yourself), so deep space astrophotography won't be possible, and your camera probably doesn't have a bulb setting anyway. You'll be able to get great shots of the moon though, and probably saturn and jupiter as well.

Astophotography is a great hobby and it can get very complicated so before you start spending a lot of money it's a good idea to learn what you can about your equipment and what you want it to do. Taking pictures of the Moon is different then that of the planets and more so for deep sky imaging. For deep sky imaging you need long exposure times and for that you need a scope that can auto track as ngchunter pointed out. If your camera can except different lenses then you probably can find an adapter to fit it and that shouldn't cost too much.

I think the way your going is a great way to get started (hoping it works of course) and there are a lot of forums just for this subject. Here is a link to some info on CCD imagers and a site you might find the adapter you need or at least get an idea of what to look for. Here is another link to an online store I've ordered stuff through before. They both have a lot of scope accessories, eye pieces and adapters. Good luck.