whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

I want to experiment by piggybacking my DSLR or mirrorless camera and lens to a Super C8+. Use the C8 with the Byers motor drive as a guide scope. Some lens I'm wanting to use will be telephoto or possible RedCat 51 with either stock camera or one shot digital. I'm having trouble finding a suitable bracket mount for this rig that will allow adjustments depending on the camera/lens combo. I'm thinking a rail that I can screw in to the front and rear rim of the scope. Any ideas where I could find something like that?

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

on my c-8 I placed a bar running from the corrector plant to the back mirror plate. it also serves as a handle. I found a bracket that slides on the bar and has a 1/4 - 20 bolt. I placed a ball head on that so its adjustable. I zoom to fix my field then focus and place painters tape on lens to avoid movement.
This is set up from 30 yrs ago so dont know whats available. The front and back plates have extra screws for accessories already there

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi whfowle
If you have a German Equatorial Mount, I have found that side by side mounting works very well and can keep the image very steady during exposures. Below are a couple of photos of the side by side dovetail plate I have used for some of my comet pictures and some other astronomical shots. The photos in this case show a 200mm f2.8 lens mount in the setup with a spacer below the lens mount I made for this lens. I also have used this with my 500 F4.0 lens with a different spacer below the Neewer camera mount. Parts include a Losmandy side by side mount, a Neewer camera/lens mount (used 1/4 20 cap head screws to mount the Neewer camera/lens mount and screw length depends on the spacer required), a set of Losmandy rings and two Losmandy dovetail plates mounted back to back to allow the rings to attach to the dovetail and allow the dovetail to mount to the side by side plate and remain completely adjustable for balancing (also needed some M6-1.0x16mm cap head screws to tie the dovetail plates together without protruding on either side). Note: These larger rings are required for the 500mm lens but I had to made a another spacer to hold the smaller 200mm lens in place that can be seen holding the lens hood on the top. Normally I have used a refractor for the other side of the side by side mount, but have also used my C11 on the other side as the guide scope in the past. Note: the Losmandy side by side adapter slides into a standard Losmandy dovetail plate holder so you can adjust the side to side balance of the scope and the camera with lens. I have used this on both my G11 mount and on my astrophysics mount.

Comet shots using this set up
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-656332-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-656754-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-657398-1.html

A couple of other images using this technique
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-629210-1.html
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-620263-1.html
https://static.uglyhedgehog.com/upload/2019/11/6/716535-andromeda_2.jpg

(Download)


(Download)

Sidwalkastronomy Loc: New Jersey Shore

i think a bar on top with a ball head easier way to go. i have the double bar from ADM, for my mount too. My bar fits on top of C 8 and has the 1/4 - 20 bolt mount on bar. The bar is same as the one for mounting counter weights on C 8. I think the setup mention above great system but lot more expensive

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Thanks Sidwalkastronomy and Ballard for sharing your setup ideas. I will look at various web sites to see if I can purchase something that will be rigid and stable. I was hoping to get a rail that would extend end cap to end cap but have not seen anything that long so far. I'll check out ADM to see if that will work. Ballard, those rings were what I was thinking to support my Nikon 500mm f4. For a combo that long, I'll need support front and back. My tripod and Byers worm gear drive was the best that Celestron offered in 1985. At that time, it was called a tracking mount but it acts like a GEM. I still think it ranks right up there with the best GEMs of today. Very heavy, rock steady, and I hardly ever have to make any RA correction once I get it properly aligned. So far, I've only used it for visuals but I want to get into astrophotography.

Ballard Loc: Grass Valley, California

Hi Wayne
Once you get to a 500mm focal length even great mounts will may require some guiding after a few minutes. I have used the side by side setup with a guiding CCD inserted into a telescope combined with the freeware PHD software for guiding my mount while taking images through the camera lens with a DSLR. Piggy back should work fine also as long as you have a very stiff connection of the camera to the telescope it is riding on. I've also used off axis guiding on my telescopes with some success as I've gotten more into it (however this isn't possible with my camera lenses since there isn't room between the lens and is focal point to insert an off axis guider and still focus the image on the DSLR sensor.

whfowle Loc: Tampa first, now Albuquerque

Thanks, Ballard for the tip.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Just an assist to Ballard's post, here is a link to Losmandy's parts and piece's for you to browse over.
http://www.losmandy.com/secondary.html

There are a lot of ways to skin a cat. So you can imagineer a system to assemble your equipment.

I recently took my ring mounted telescope that has Williams Optics rings, W/ available top flats and tapped holes in it, and I mounted a 7" D-bar,, and 2- rings to mount my guide camera.
The addition is quite substantial, and made it easier to adjust the guide scope to be co-planner to the main telescope. But, finally, I've been able to get the two centered almost perfectly.
I added a Z-Bolt laser, and it shows up in my images when aiming, then I center the star shown.

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

Here is an easy mount to add. I have one.

https://www.adorama.com/cnpbm5.html?msclkid=adc98a3e9b7a19c608bdd5441453b9ba&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%5BADL%5D%20%5BShopping%5D%20%5BPLA%5D%20-%20%7BLong%20Tail%7D&utm_term=4580428009562551&utm_content=%7BLong%20Tail%7D%20-%20Bing&adlclid=ADL-bc67d761-5a12-4048-9a62-b479a2511c74&utm_source=adl-umbase

I mostly use it to hold my red dot finder, but perhaps I should mount two of them so as to use both the red dot finder and a camera.