The Photo SetUp

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="015285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>N.T.L. - The Starfinders' Home          </B></FONT><A HREF="http://astronomie.n-t-l.de" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://astronomie.n-t-l.de"><U><B>To NTL-AstroHome</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="http://www.n-t-l.de" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.n-t-l.de"><U><B>To  NTL-Homepage</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="starfinder_types.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Overwiew of Types"><U>Overwiew of Types</U></A>   |   <A HREF="starfinder_eq_eng.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Starfinder EQs"><U>The Starfinder EQs</U></A>   |   <A HREF="starfinder_faq_eng.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The StarfinderFAQ"><U>The Starfinder-FAQ</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=150 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="013d4c00dkelyh.gif"> <bR> <div> <B>Overview of Types</B></div> <bR> <div> <B><U>The Starfinder EQs</U></B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The SF1</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The</B></div> <div> <B>RA-Drive</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Astro Photography</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#003399" FACE="Wingdings" >ü</FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Stabilizing the </B></div> <div> <B>tube straps</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>The Dobsonians</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The Starfinder-FAQ</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="starfinder_eq_eng.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Starfinder EQs"><U><B>back</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#000066" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <I><B>Astrophotography with the SF1</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> As already described in the SF1 section, the mount is a bit too small for focal</div> <div> photography through the big Starfinder OTA. This is primarily due to the</div> <div> mounting straps which hold the OTA on the wedge.</div> <div> The SF1 doesn't have a standard prism mounting system. That's not too bad</div> <div> because therefore You can build Your own adaptions without almost any costs!</div> <div> The wedge, made of Aluminium, can easily be machined by a handy electric</div> <div> drill. You should drill four holes as seen below:</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="37a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The distance of these four holes should match the holes in metal mounting plates which You</div> <div> can buy in any store for carpenter's needs.</div> <div> This plate will be tightened with four winged screws. The wedge with the rounded scope bearings</div> <div> is ideal for this because it ensures  a stable position of this plate and keeps distance to the wedge</div> <div> so that You can fix any scope onto it:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="37c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Here the same seen in side view:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="37ee0680.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> This gives a good base for mounting the tube rings of, e.g.,  my 5-inch Newtonian:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="380e0680.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> On these rings, I fixed a ledge of Aluminium with two more holes holding</div> <div> the guide scope ring:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="382680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Here You can see both, the rings for the Newtonian and the one for the guiding scope:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="386e0680.jpg" border=0 width="480" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Equipped with both scopes, it looks the following way:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="38880e00.jpg" border=0 width="640" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     </div> <bR> <div> In my case, the upper refractor (d=70mm/f=700mm) is the focal instrument. This is, because</div> <div> with the Newtonian (d=130mm/f=900mm) I don't reach the focus without a barlow lens.</div> <div> So I take the Newtonian as the guiding scope.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="38a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">     With this setup, I could get</div> <div> photos with 15 minutes and longer exposure times. The mount really doesn't see</div> <div> those two scopes on it's back! You don't need any counterweight for these totally</div> <div> 5kgs! (5" Newtonian, 3" refractor and camera).</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>