Orion 5228 instruction manual What to photograph with the SteadyPix, Terrestrial Photography

8.Push the threaded bolt of the eyepiece securing knob through the larger of the two holes on the top of the eye- piece clamp. Make sure it lines up with the smaller hole on the other side of the clamp. Thread the bolt into the smaller hole by turning it clockwise. Do not thread it more than a few turns.

9.You are now ready to use the new clamp to secure eye- pieces. Replace the shaft in the camera support plate as described in the assembly section (Part 1).

5.What to photograph with the SteadyPix

Now that you have assembled the SteadyPix, the only ques- tion remaining is “What do I want to photograph?” We have a few suggestions for you:

Terrestrial Photography

With literally millions of objects to photograph on earth, there are only a few hints we can give for using the SteadyPix for terrestrial photography. One is to consider using a telescope with an Alt/Az (short for altitude/azimuth) mount on a sturdy tripod. An Alt/Az mount will allow simple up/down, left/right motions of the telescope so that you can easily adjust and aim the camera. Equatorial mounts (mounts designed to track the movement of stars in the sky) are not recommended, as they will be needlessly heavy due to the counterweight, and their ability to track celestial objects is of no use when photograph- ing an object like a bird’s nest. In fact it will likely get in the way. Dobsonian mounts will also have trouble with terrestrial pho- tography since aiming a Dobsonian mounted telescope at something close to the horizon (where most terrestrial photog- raphy takes place) will mean it has to be very low to the ground and hard to use.

Remember that objects viewed through certain types of tele- scopes can be oriented backwards, upside-down, or both.

The Moon

The Moon is one of the easiest and most interesting targets to photograph. With its rocky, cratered surface there is a wealth of detail to be photographed with your camera and SteadyPix. The Moon is a very large target, so at higher magnifications you will only get a part of the surface in each picture. Use eye-

pieces that provide low powers (50x and below should work with most telescopes) if you wish to have the entire surface of the Moon in your field of view.

Try to avoid photographing the full moon since sunlight falling directly on lunar surface will mean there are very few shad- ows, so details will be harder to see. Instead, photograph the Moon when it is in one of its partial phases, when the angle of the sun provides many detailed shadows on its surface. You might also want to use an optional Moon filter that threads onto the bottom of the eyepiece to bring out more subtle fea- tures on the lunar surface.

The Bright Planets

Next to the Sun and the Moon, the planets Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn are the brightest objects in the sky and make excellent targets for photography. Keep in mind that the planets don’t stay still like the stars, so to find them you should refer to Sky Calendar at our website (telescope.com), or to charts published monthly in Astronomy, Sky & Telescope, or other astronomy magazines.

To get the right amount of detail on the planets, eyepieces that give high powers (at least 75x or more) should be used when using the SteadyPix. Low powers will make it easier to find the planets, but they will not bring out any significant details on the planets to make them worth photographing. High powers must be used to get images of the famous details of the plan- ets, such as the rings of Saturn or bands on Jupiter’s surface.

You might also consider using colored planetary filters that thread onto the bottom of the eyepiece (just like the Moon filter does). These colored filters bring out the subtle detail of the planets by filtering out various colors that reduce detail. Orion has several sets of colored filters available. Visit our website, telescope.com, for more information on colored planetary fil- ters

Deep-Sky Objects

Since deep-sky objects are very faint, use only digital camer- as to photograph them when using the SteadyPix. Film cameras require too much exposure time to get good results. A few bright deep-sky objects can be photographed effectively using your SteadyPix (such as the Orion Nebula). Other deep-sky objects may also be photographed for interesting pictures. Try experimenting with different deep-sky objects to see what kind of results you can obtain.

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