Gerard M. Foley

Travel & Photography Collection

Olympus C2000ZOOM/C2020ZOOM and Questart 3.5 inch telescope

I realized that I had everything lying around to couple my Olympus C2000ZOOM digital camera to my Questar 3.5 inch telescope. There must be dozens, perhaps hundreds, maybe thousands, of better digital pictures through telescopes on the Web, but these are mine!

I used the setup shown here to make this first set of images of the moon, and a few of Jupiter as well

The piggyback camera mount, designed to allow the Questar drive to move a camera, is here connected to a right angle bracket that was probably made to mount a flash in a camera. The camera is then connected by its tripod thread to the bracket. This is currently the only connection between the camera and the telescope. This mounting is quite flimsy, but the camera's infra-red remote control allows the shutter to be tripped without touching either camera or telescope. The C2000ZOOM is aimed at the eyepiece of the telescope.
The piggyback camera mount, designed to allow the Questar drive to move a camera, is here connected to a right angle bracket that was probably made to mount a flash in a camera. The camera is then connected by its tripod thread to the bracket. This is currently the only connection between the camera and the telescope. This mounting is quite flimsy, but the camera's infra-red remote control allows the shutter to be tripped without touching either camera or telescope. The C2000ZOOM is aimed at the eyepiece of the telescope.
Jul 23 1999 9:29PM EDT
Jul 23 1999 9:29PM EDT
Aug 17 1999 9:31:05 PM EDT
Aug 17 1999 9:31:05 PM EDT
Aug 20 1999 9:01:51 PM EDT
Aug 20 1999 9:01:51 PM EDT
Aug 22 1999 9:25:41 PM EDT
Aug 22 1999 9:25:41 PM EDT
Aug 27 1999 11:14:30 PM EDT
Aug 27 1999 11:14:30 PM EDT
Aug 28 1999 11:33:24 PM EDT
Aug 28 1999 11:33:24 PM EDT
September 23 1999 9:33:34 EDT
September 23 1999 9:33:34 EDT
Jupiter Sep 3 1999 06:23:00 AM EDT 1/50 sec exposure, C2000 set at maximum focal length
Jupiter Sep 3 1999 06:23:00 AM EDT 1/50 sec exposure, C2000 set at maximum focal length
Jupiter and Galilean Moons Sep 3 1999 06:38:31 AM EDT 1/2 sec exposure, C2000 set at maximum focal length
Jupiter and Galilean Moons Sep 3 1999 06:38:31 AM EDT 1/2 sec exposure, C2000 set at maximum focal length

I found another way to couple the camera (now an Olympus C2020Z) to the Questar. It uses components from Edmund Scientific and Questar to hold an eyepiece between the telescope and camera

March 12, 2000 7:40PM EST Composite of seven 1/25 sec exposures, Camera set to ISO100 2X Barlow lens in Questar, C2000 zoomed to maximum.
March 12, 2000 7:40PM EST Composite of seven 1/25 sec exposures, Camera set to ISO100 2X Barlow lens in Questar, C2000 zoomed to maximum.
Single Frame 1/25 sec. ISO100 March 13, 2000 00:46:07UT
Single Frame 1/25 sec. ISO100 March 13, 2000 00:46:07UT
An image by David Dench (d.j.dench@hud.ac.uk) of the same area the previous night Copied with permission from his webpage. The two images above are each as they came from the cameras and should be flipped to match uninverted moon maps.
An image by David Dench (d.j.dench@hud.ac.uk) of the same area the previous night Copied with permission from his webpage. The two images above are each as they came from the cameras and should be flipped to match uninverted moon maps.
About 8:55pm EDT May 8, 2000 A composite of four exposures Questar, 80X, Olympus C2020Z fully zoomed Snatched between twilight and cloud
About 8:55pm EDT May 8, 2000 A composite of four exposures Questar, 80X, Olympus C2020Z fully zoomed Snatched between twilight and cloud
Olympus C2020Z coupled to Questar 3.5 inch telescope.
Olympus C2020Z coupled to Questar 3.5 inch telescope.