Smartphone cameras have gotten sophisticated with every new iPhone or Samsung Galaxy release each year.<\/p>\n
iPhone cameras, in particular, can now take impressive photos. So much so that they are good enough for beginner astrophotographers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ideally, you want a capable DSLR<\/a> to take shots of planets, the moon, and galaxies. You can use it on its own or attach it to your telescope.<\/p>\n But not everyone is ready to make that kind of investment on a pricey Canon camera. A smartphone is a great place to start, and you can get some awesome photos off your telescope eyepiece.<\/p>\n You could just take your phone and place the camera directly onto the eyepiece. An image of whatever the telescope is pointing to will show up on your phone\u2019s screen when you fire up the camera.<\/p>\n But, as you\u2019ll quickly discover, this is a tedious and terrible way to do iPhone astrophotography. Your hands are not nearly steady enough to keep the iPhone camera and telescope eyepiece aligned.<\/p>\n This results in unfocused images, and shadows on the edges of the photo.<\/p>\n Videos will be worse.<\/p>\n A better way to take pictures through a telescope with an iPhone is to attach the iPhone to the telescope eyepiece.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll need a smartphone adapter or mount such as the Celestron NexYZ<\/a> or the Orion SteadyPix Pro<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some of these adapters are made to fit over a wide range of optical equipment including telescopes, binoculars, monoculars, and even microscopes.<\/p>\n An adapter ensures that once you align the iPhone camera with the telescope eyepiece, it stays aligned.<\/p>\n It also leaves your hands free to adjust camera settings and control the telescope.<\/p>\n Though there are several different types and designs of smartphone adapters, they all work the same way.<\/p>\n You attach your iPhone to the mount or adapter, then clip the adapter onto your eyepiece.<\/p>\n Next, adjust the position of your iPhone until the camera is pointing directly at the center of the eyepiece. Open your iPhone\u2019s camera app so that you can see in real time the image from your telescope.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll know the phone and eyepiece are perfectly aligned when you get a perfectly balanced image on your iPhone\u2019s screen.<\/p>\n Lock down the adapter to make sure the phone doesn’t move.<\/p>\n Orion has a great video with a step by step guide on how to use their Orion SteadyPix and SteadyPix Pro smartphone telescope mounts.<\/p>\nHow to Take iPhone Pictures With a Telescope<\/h2>\n
How To Attach An iPhone To A Telescope?<\/h2>\n