AstrophotographyMethod 1 |
  A company called Scopetronix used to make these small ring
adapters which lock onto an eyepiece. The other ring threads into the 28mm filter mount on the lens of the Nikon Cookpix.
The two rings screw together to hold the eyepiece directly in front of the lens. The camera then fits into the eyepiece holder
of the focuser. The Nikon Coolpix needs to be set on manual and focused at infinity. You can still zoom in a little to avoid
vignetting. The lens of the Coolpix does not move in and out when you zoom, unlike most other digital cameras.
Also, the lens is small enough to allow you to get an image without vignetting, and it's threaded for 28mm
filters and accessories. Nikon makes a wide angle and telephoto lens attachment for this camera, so the
filter ring has to be pretty sturdy. All of these reasons explain why the Coolpix is so popular with amateur astronomers.The image will appear on the camera's LCD screen. It's a good idea to use the self-timer to avoid camera or telescope movement. This gives the scope ten seconds to settle down after you let go of the camera. The Nikon Coolpix has one major advantage over the digital video cameras discussed in methods 2 and 3 on the following pages: You can set the exposure for a longer time than 1/60th of a second. Most digital video cameras automatically adjust the exposure from 1/60th to 1/100,000 of a second. This makes the Coolpix more successful in photographing fainter objects. Video movie cameras are great for shots of the bright planets, and for setting up a display and sharing the results with people immediately, as you will see on the next page. Some people have had success simply by holding a digital camera up to the eyepiece, but this only works well for the moon and the sun. For photographs of the planets and dimmer objects, its a good idea to have some sort of mechanical attachment to hold the camera in place a little more securely. |
 To see how to capture images with a common security camera for public displays, go on to Method 2. |
For the Digi-T system of adapter rings for eyepieces, check http://www.scopetronix.com/.