Re: [APML] 35 mm Camera & Focuser

[Jerry Lodriguss <jerry@astropix.com>]

>- I have an old Canon AT-1 manual camera,
>
>- Another option would be to buy a used Olympus OM-1 for which there seems
>to be more options.  I found a used one that comes with 2 shutter release
>cables and a Beattie IntenScreen for $299CDN. I have no idea as to whether
>this Beattie IntenScreen will be of any help for deep-sky observing.  John
>suggested that if I take the Olympus road, I should consider getting the
>Hutech circular knife edge. But again, it means unmounting and remounting
>the camera.


You won't find much difference between the Canon and Olympus for your 
purposes. The Beattie screen will be brighter, but you basically won't be 
able to focus on the screen anyway. It might help if you get the Lumicon 
magnifier, but remember that if your scope is pointed overhead, the 
magnifier will be pointed straight down and will be extremely difficult to use.



>- Finally, on a line of thought similar to John's Lumicon, the last approach
>I found was from Scott Tucker's web site where he uses a Peake 22x loupe
>mounted on a camera that has a removable finder. Neither my Canon or the
>Olympus OM-1 have removable finders, which would therefore leave me to buy a
>camera body such as a Nikon F series. Snooping around the APML archives, I
>found a thread where Wil Milan states that "The F1 can work, the F2 and F3
>are probably the best for pure astro work, the F4 can work well but is very
>heavy and very expensive, the F5 would not be a good choice because it has
>no manual (i.e., no-battery-drain) time-exposure mode as do the F1 - F4."

Wil has it right. Get an F2 if you have to go Nikon.  Get a Canon F1 if you 
have a choice. I would definitely stick with Canon if you already have 
Canon lenses.

As for focusing, take a look at:

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/I08/I08.HTM

Jerry


Photoshop for Astrophotographers - http://www.astropix.com/PFA/PFA.HTM











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