Cameras

The cameras and equipment below are what I use for my astrophotography.

Canon G3

Main Use: Lunar/planetary photography, limited deep sky photography of brighter DSOs.
Used With: 25mm or 40mm scopetronix plossals.
Status: Still used from time to time mainly with the 5" MCT.

SAC7 CCD Air Cool Imager

Main Use: Deep sky imaging
Used With: IBM 1 Ghz thinkpad laptop running on windows XP
Status: Just got this only days ago and have not had the chance to use this yet. I have tested it with my laptop and 5" MCT and after some trouble getting the long exposure to work, it finally runs well and ready for use. Will be used mainly for deepsky photography.

The above image shows my setup with the SAC7 CCD camera and my laptop. I need to make an adapter so that the SAC7 will fit the T3 Tracker so I can focus more accurately and I can guide long exposure shots. Click on image to enlarge.

Canon Digital Rebel XT DSLR

Main Use: Lunar photography and deepsky photography
Used With: At prime focus or with eyepiece projection of 40mm or 25mm plossal.
Status: Just starting to use this camera for deepsky photography. SO far it is less sensitive then the canon G3 but I am able to take much longer exposures with the B setting then the G3 could take.

OTHER EQUIPMENT:

Taurus III Tracker



In this photo above you can see the Taurus II Tracker with my Canon Digital Rebel DSLR mounted mounted to my 5" MCT telescope. The T3 tracker is a great device which serves as an off-axis guider, a flip mirror and a fine focuser. It is a GREAT tool because with the view port, you can find and center the deepsky object as well you can focus the telescope so that the image is accurately focused on the camera. This works very well because the view port and the camera can be made parfocal making focusing and centering VERY simple which is an almost impossible task through the screen of the DSLR. Another port is used for off axis guiding either with an autoguider or a guiding eyepiece. Again the OAG port can be made parfocal to the camera. The whole imaging platform can be rotated so you can find a suitable guidestar while still keeping the DSO object in the center of the frame. This setup also works very well on planetary shots. I got it only a few days ago at a great deal so I have not yet had the chance to use it but had the chance to calibrate the focusing and it works really well! Click on image to enlarge.

Celestron 80mm (3.1") F11 firstscope refractor

This is the smallest telescope i currently own. It is seen on the above picture piggy backed to my old LX50 telescope which I no longer own. Telescope is long black scope on top of LX50. Currently this telescope uses the same tripod as my 5" MCT and i use it mainly for lunar and deepsky astrophotography. This telescope provides stunning wideangle views of deepsky and lunar images. Coupled with the accurate mounting of my 5" telescope, this can be used for longer exposure photography and thus I tend to use it often on the bright deepsky objects. This telescope has been with me for over 8 years while other telescopes I have owned and sold!

Orion 5" Starmax 127 F12 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope

Orion Starmax 127 5" f12 Maksutov Cassegrain Telescope (MCT) - This is my latest telescope of quite a few that I have owned over the last 10 years! So far the main use for this telescope has been for digital deepsky and planetary photography. I am just amazed that even thought its meant to be used as a planetary scope due to its large focal lenght, it performs great for deepsky!!! The camera attached to the telescope is my canon G3 4MP digital camera which is attached by a scopetronix digi-t-adaptor and a scopetronix 25mm plossal eyepiece. This camera is the one i use most for astrophotography. Other cameras I have used in the past are a pantex K2 SLR film camera, a connectix color quickcam VC, a connectix black and white webcam and a canon g2 (which i don't own anymore). What will be after the G3? my next step up will deffenitly have to be a DSLR but with my very shollaw pockets that will have to wait :-)

Meade 10" LX200 F10 Goto Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope

Meade 10" F10 LX200 Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope (SCT) - This is the king of all my scopes, its large size and goto capabilities allow me to use this telescope for faint deepsky viewing and awsome planetary views. I use this scope mainly for planetary astrophotography althought I have tried some very limitid deepsky shots. I can't realy use this one for song exposures as it has an alt-az mountin and I get what is called rotation. I would need to get a wedge and a polar finder scope all of which is very expensive. This first image shows my LX200 SCT and mounted on top is both my 8x50 finder scope and my meade 2045 4" F10 SCT which I sold a couple months ago.





The last two pictures show the telescope setup. The controller that is seen hangning from the telescope is the goto and slew controls. The telescope has a computer that has a database of 64,000 objects (if i am not mistaken) and all i have to do is bring up the object i want to see on its computer by the hand controller and say goto and the telescope will automaticaly go to that object!