Telescopes and digital cameras?

I have a meade Jupiter telescope and a Canon A540 camera. Is there a way to mount that camera to that telescope? I've looked but have not found.

edmund scientifics has the adaptor you need. They also sell the Meade products.

http://scientificsonline.com/Default.asp...

The camera that you have is a point and shoot with auto focus. Therein lies your problem. In order to get a shot that has not movement in it, you will need to get an SLR that will couple to your telescope. That camera has to have the feature of locking your mirror up, or stabilizing the camera completely to eliminate movement. You can take a picture with a 50mm lens, the standard for 35mm SLR cameras and a little movement you might not even see. However when you attach it to a longer lens, any movement will be amplified and your picture will not be worth it.

I would not go and purchase a digital SLR to just do this, I would get something as simple as an Olympus OM1, which has mirror lock up. There are then coupling rings that will allow you to tightly fit your camera to the telescope. You focus, lock up your mirror, and shoot that way. Even the slightest movement of the mirror will mess your photograph up. You can get an OM1 for about 60 bucks or so and lenses are cheap. You can get your film developed at WalMart or Target for a cheap price and they can digitalize it into a disk for you, and this can be done within an hour or so. I have OM1s and an OM2, the OM2 will not work because there is no lockup feature. Be sure to get a manual - they are on line and you can just print them out.

Your camera wont work, as it wont attach to your telescope, or to anything else. Just the way its built.

Also, the telescope itself, while it can be modified to accept a camera, is really to light weight to work well with some like a camera attached to the end of the telescope. The slightest breeze will rock your telescope minutely, but any camera stabilization will be overpowered by the bounce froma breeze. You would always have to shoot in a wind protected area, like a shed with a removable roof.

Try going to a real camera shop, and talk to a pro. They will be able to suggest a good set to buy, that will work well for you.

Go to Orion telescopes and look over their adapters. MAYBE there is something that can help you. If they have something to mate your camera to your telescope, maybe you can use it on "infinity lock." See their "Learning Center" and search for astrophotography.

http://www.telescope.com/content/learnin...

If you google Digiscopy (the practice of combining cameras and telescopes) you should come across some methods to jerry-rig it together. Good luck