Telescope as Lens

[johnno02]

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone else is using a Telescope as a Telephoto lens.

I have been mucking about today with my Nikon D40,and Skywatcher ED80,and am very impressed.
I have been very happy with the Tamron 70-300,but always looking for more reach.

I bought an old non working sigma lens off Ebay some time ago,stripped it down,and used the body to couple the Camera to the telescope.

Getting used to Manual everything is the hardest part,especially for a beginner,but I,m very happy with the setup.

Regards.
John

[peterking]

That sounds like an interesting setup.
Would love to see some images of it.
What sort of range does it give you?

[johnno02]

Hi Peter,
The range is very good,for example there is a Pic of a telephone pole in the next street over from ours
1 pic is with the Tamron at 300mm,and the next is taken with the Skywatcher at 600mm
I have uploaded some Photos to Photobucket,and I will try to put them on here.

Please be aware,I have very little knowledge of using the Camera in Manual mode.

The pics have not been processed in any way,just resized for AP.

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/079.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/109.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/073.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/061.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/P1060910.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/093.jpg

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/096.jpg

Hopefully,I have been able to download the Photos.

The blocks of land here are very long,it is over 30 metres to my back fence,and the spinning air circulator is on the neighbours shed,I would guess the distance to be least 70,or 80 metres,and the telephone post is in the next street across.......It's a fair distance

You can see the difference between the Tamron at 300mm,and the Skywatcher at 600mm

Regards.
John

[Derek-C]

Looks like you have quite a set up there. Nice clear shots :th3:

Good luck with it and looking forward to seeing some more images .

Derek

[johnno02]

Hi Derek,
Thanks for your interest,I will upload some more shots..............when I get some more practice with using the Camera in manual mode.

You can see, by the tree near the Telephone pole,how windy it was yesterday,unfortunately its just as bad today.

Regards.
John

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Johnno

I have a mate in Canberra who is into birding, and he has a spotting telescope that he has fitted his little slip-in-the-pocket camera to ~ gets great images that keep him happy

If it interests you, the web site for these gadgets is...
http://www.eagleoptics.com/digital-camera-adapters

Hope this helps ...
Regards, Phil

[B D H]

Careful you don't get addicted to astrophotography

I had my 40D attached to an Orion ED 80 (750mm) using a T ring adapter I bought cheaply on ebay,
it worked well & still allowed focus confirmation whilst adjusting manually & could attach to almost any telescope

Yours is nice and sharp on the close up of the fence post,
might be real good for whale watching or the like

[johnno02]

G'day Johnno

I have a mate in Canberra who is into birding, and he has a spotting telescope that he has fitted his little slip-in-the-pocket camera to ~ gets great images that keep him happy

If it interests you, the web site for these gadgets is...
http://www.eagleoptics.com/digital-camera-adapters

Hope this helps ...
Regards, Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the link mate,
I also have been doing this for several years,its a great way to get some seriously long distance shots,the only problem is, you have to focus the scope,grab the camera,and take the photo,
Quite often the bird is gone or moved,by the time you shoot.

That's why I decided to try my hand with a DSLR...............It's a long learning curve from a point n shoot Mate.

hope this little digiscoped pic uploaded ok,
It was taken through the ED80 from my front Porch,distance to the wire connecter on the power pole is around 35 metres


Regards.
John

[johnno02]

Careful you don't get addicted to astrophotography

I had my 40D attached to an Orion ED 80 (750mm) using a T ring adapter I bought cheaply on ebay,
it worked well & still allowed focus confirmation whilst adjusting manually & could attach to almost any telescope

Yours is nice and sharp on the close up of the fence post,
might be real good for whale watching or the like

Hi Bryan,

looks like your setup is very similar to mine,I think the Orion ED80 is exactly the same as the Skywatcher.

I will have to get an adapter,my "reworked" Sigma barrel is a little too long and awkward

Here a pic of a Blue Faced Honeyeater taken today at about 15 metres

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/0431.jpg

Imagine waking up with this laying next to you.

Regards.
John

[johnno02]

Careful you don't get addicted to astrophotography

I had my 40D attached to an Orion ED 80 (750mm) using a T ring adapter I bought cheaply on ebay,
it worked well & still allowed focus confirmation whilst adjusting manually & could attach to almost any telescope

Yours is nice and sharp on the close up of the fence post,
might be real good for whale watching or the like

Hi Bryan,

looks like your setup is very similar to mine,I think the Orion ED80 is exactly the same as the Skywatcher.

I will have to get an adapter,my "reworked" Sigma barrel is a little too long and awkward

Here a pic of a Blue Faced Honeyeater taken today at about 15 metres

http://i626.photobucket.com/albums/tt344/johnno02_photos/Skywatcher%20and%20nikon%20D40/0431.jpg

Imagine waking up with this laying next to you.

Regards.
John

[johnno02]

Sorry,
Edited post to include pic,and ended up with 2 posts the same

John