Camera Adaptor for Telescope

sculver · Guest

Greetings. I was wondering if you could help me with a question please. I recently purchased a Celestron SLT 130 (love the telescope!).

I was thinking about using my digital camera to try and get some pictures of the moon and planets. I have a Canon Powershot A710IS camera and I know there is a ring on the front of this camera that can be removed so a close-up lens etc. can be attached.

Can you please tell me what I might need to order form you to be able to take pictures with my SLT 130 (if this is possible at all)?

Thank you for your time.

Best regards,

Steve Culver

Jne_K · Site Admin Joined: 24 Sep 2003 Posts: 5403

Hi

Sorry, wrong type of camera, both in terms of an adapter (adapters are for SLR cameras, only) and suitability for anything other than a quick snapshot of the moon at very low power.

To take pictures of astronomical objects requires two things: 1) a telescope with a motorized mount due to the long exposure times needed. Exposure times in astrophotography run from a few minutes to over an hour. 2) an SLR camera (camera with removable lenses) and the appropriate adapters.

A digital point and shoot like your Canon is not suitable for serious astrophotograpy, since it can only take exposures in terms of seconds, rather than minutes and because small digital cameras lack the sensitivity for capturing faint objects.

For the basics on astrophotography, see my short article,
Astrophotography in a nutshell
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Guest · Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:20 pm Post subject:

Okay, thanks. I guess I'll be looking at getting a SLR camera. Appreciate the advice.

Regards,

Steve