The Celestron T-Adapter for Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes is the accessory of choice if you'd like to attach an SLR or DSLR camera to the rear cell threads of a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for prime focus photography.
The Celestron T-Adapter for Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescopes is the accessory of choice if you'd like to attach an SLR or DSLR camera to the rear cell threads of a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope for prime focus photography. Suitable for the NexStar 5SE, NexStar 6SE and NexStar 7SE.
To get started you will need the appropriate T-Ring for your camera body (93402 for Nikon & 93419 for Canon EOS). First you remove the lens from your camera and attach the T-ring in its place. As the T-ring is camera-brand specific, it will snap right on just like a lens. Next, remove the diagonal and visual back from the rear cell of your telescope and screw the Celestron T-Adapter onto the rear cell threads until secure. Now, thread the T-ring & camera onto the T-Adapter. That's all there is to it and your camera is now using your telescope as a giant telephoto lens. The magnification will depend on the telescope's focal length - for instance, a 300 mm camera lens is considered to be pretty powerful and if you are using an 8" SCT at prime focus, you've got yourself a 2000 mm lens with a lot of light-gathering capability.
Prime focus photography is popular for short exposure images of terrestrial objects as well as celestial objects like the Moon. If you want to do longer exposures of deep sky objects with this method, we suggest using a separate guidescope or off-axis guider and an equatorial mount.