The famous philosopher and astronomer Plato once said, “Astronomy compels the soul to look forward, and leads us from this world to another.” Well, there is no doubt that observing space, spending hours after hours looking at the stars, moon and the planets is something that soothes our heart and gives us mental peace. Not only that, it has a great educational value as well. And this activity becomes more viable when you can take some fantastic photos of your observation. But astronomy is a very tough thing, and more tough is to attach the camera with your telescope.
Attaching the camera with a telescope is the first step to do astrophotography. You need to connect your camera with a telescope properly. To help you with this work, we have designed this article with easy steps. This article is for both beginners and amateurs; also, it will help everyone know this technical thing for taking some fantastic astrophotographs.
Things You Need
You do not need a lot of things for this job. All you need are some filters, a Barlow lens, and a T mount adapter for this job. We always suggest you use a DSLR from renowned brands like Nikkon, Canon, or any other brand that you prefer for the best astrophotographs. DSLR cameras can provide you with high-quality pictures.
Steps to Attach a Camera to a Telescope
Follow the steps given below to attach your camera with the telescope.
Step 1: Remove the lens from your camera
The regular lens that is fixed with the camera is not good enough for astrophotography. First of all, you need to remove the camera lens mounted in your DSLR camera. Remove the lens very carefully. Because if you make any mistake while removing the lens, your camera can face some damage. And do not forget to keep your camera lens in a safe and secure place.
Step 2: Use a T-ring adapter for your camera

T ring adapter is a device that attaches the camera to the telescope. And you can not do this task without the T ring adapter. T ring adaptors are designed so that they will fit your camera’s body entirely, just like a lens. So mount the T ring adapter in your camera. Line up the T mount indicator with the body of your camera, and then lock it properly. When it is done, you will hear a click sound that notifies you of the success.
It is quite hard to find a suitable T ring adapter as there are so many products present in the Astro-market. Newbies are way more distracted when they go to buy one. But we have a solution for all. After judging almost 50 T mount adaptors in the market, our team experts have come with the products mentioned below:
- Celestron T-Ring for 35mm Canon EOS Cameras
- SVBONY T2 T-Ring and 1.25″ Adapter for Canon EOS Cameras
- Astromania T-Ring and M42 to 1.25″ Telescope Adapter for Nikon DSLRs
- Gosky Metal 1.25″ Telescope Camera Adapter and Nikon T2 T-Ring
- Foto4easy T2 Sony E-Mount Adapter Ring
Step 3: Use your camera filters

You won’t use filters when we take regular photographs as there is no specific purpose. But in the field of astrophotography, it is essential to use a filter while taking astrophotographs. Two types of filters are available in the market for cameras- clip-in filters and internal threaded filters. Clip-in filters are filters that sit inside your camera. This filter is beneficial for cameras, especially for DSLRs, as they completely cover the sensor of the camera. And it also allows the T ring adaptor to be mounted in the front of it.
On the other hand, an internal threaded filter sits inside the adaptor of the camera. It is a little bit tricky to use this kind of filter for beginner astrophotographers. But professional astronomers love to use this type of filter.
Why Use a Telescope Over Camera Lens?

You might be thinking, why to use a telescope for astrophotography when your camera is good enough to take photos. Well. it is true that you can take fine pictures of your surroundings or the sky with your DSLR camera but the result won’t be good when it comes to astrophotography. You won't be able to capture your favorite star or planet just with your camera lens without using a telescope. A telescope helps you to take better photos. Also, using a telescope comes with many other benefits like:
- You will get a longer focal length (that gives perfect magnification) at a meager and affordable price,
- It gives you perfect focus on the stars.,
- Telescopes are easy to mount with adapters and
- As the telescopes are designed for astrophotography, you will get amazing astrophotos.
How do I attach my camera to my Celestron telescope?
Using a DSLR camera, you can easily attach your camera with a Celestron telescope using a T mount adaptor. This T mount adapter is a device or gadget that attaches the camera with telescopes securely. Celestron telescopes are super handy to take pictures of the sky.
How do you attach a mirrorless camera to a telescope?
Mirrorless cameras are not that good for astrophotography. If you still want to use this camera for this purpose, you can. All you need is a T mount adapter to attach your mirrorless camera with the telescope.
How do you photograph planets with a telescope?
If you have an astronomy telescope, you can easily take pictures of the planets with it. We suggest you follow the astrophotography method called eye projection astrophotography. In this method, you will be able to point out the planet in an easy way. Then use your camera to take amazing pictures.
Conclusion
Attaching a camera to the telescope is not an easy thing to do. But once you get used to doing this job, you will have perfect and fabulous photographs of the planets, nebulae, and stars. We hope that this article will help you a lot to master the technique of attaching your camera to the telescope. If you still have any doubt feel free to ask us. Just leave your query in the comment section. Our experts will clear all your doubts regarding astrophotography.
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