Hello :-)

You will receive rants about the powerseeker shortly. It's mount is too weak, the accessories are of poor quality.

Luckily the 114/900 Powerseeker has better optics than the 127 Powerseeker or 114 Astromaster.

The 4mm eyepiece already pushes the magnification to the limits of the telescope, and it's also a rather poor eyepiece.

The barlow is almost useless, reduces the contrast quite a bit. For day-time and moon it'll somewhat work.

 

> DSLR

Unfortunately reflector telescopes made for visual use have pretty short back-focus. Fortunately a good barlow will solve two issues: Getting the focal point out a bit further, and getting planets a bit larger on the huge DSLR sensor.

Currently this barlow is on sale,

• https://old.reddit.com/r/telescopes/comments/d976ic/celestron_mars_kit_with_barlow_is_back_on_sale/
  
  And you'll need something like This camera adapter that screws into the barlow with T threading, or you can put the camera directly into the telescope's focuser (again, back-focus issues).
  
  
  I can not 100% guarantee that this combination will work. I am just guesstimating from my experience and equipment.
  
  
   
  
  > some parts
  
  Do you have a good guide? Turn left at Orion is the missing manual. Really, really worth it. It not only shows you where to find things, but how to observe, what to expect.
  
  A decent eyepiece would be nice for observing. On a budget a 6mm "gold-line" (Nicer apparent field of view)- Not as much magnification as the bad 4mm though. If you are getting the Barlow anyway, you could get the 9mm gold-line and combine it with the barlow to get 200x magnification, slightly less than with the 4mm but also slightly brighter, more crisp image.
  
  
   
  6mm
  
  https://aliexpress.com/item/Teleskop-Okular-von-1-25-Ultra-Weitwinkel-Okular-6-MM-66-Deg-Multi-beschichtet-Teleskop/32805977303.html?
  
  https://www.amazon.com/Tosuny-1-25inch-Telescope-Eyepiece-Multi-Coated/dp/B07RLS8KX1/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=6mm+66+eyepiece&qid=1569441884&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&refresh=1&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-2
  
  https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Telescope-Eyepiece-Accessories-Astronomy/dp/B07JWDFMZ4/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=6mm+66+eyepiece&qid=1569441884&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011&refresh=1&rnid=2470954011&rps=1&s=gateway&sr=8-4
  
  https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-25-inch-6mm-66-Ultra-Wide-Eyepiece-Lens-Fully-Multi-coated-ES-For-Telescope-B/163188849116?hash=item25fed039dc:g:IaUAAOSwN91baCnb
  
  
  9mm costs around the same or slightly more.
  
  Do not get a 6mm Plössl. Plössl-type eyepieces have very short eye-relief. A 9-10mm is still somewhat tolerable. And a bit cheaper than the gold-line, but not as nice of a field of view! https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=%289%2C10%29+%28pl%2Cpl%C3%B6ssl%2Cplossl%2C52%29+eyepiece&_sacat=0&_sop=15
  
  
  
   
  
  > upgrade
  
  You could build a dobsonian rockerbox for a more sturdy experience than the EQ1/2 mount. See this and that. A better commercial mount will cost more than a better telescope (EQ3-2/NEQ3/CG4 costs $250 and up, $220 costs a refurbished XT6 telescope on telescope.com that will show more and is more rigid).
  
   
  
  If you use the mount as is, especially with the camera:
  
  
  
• Don't extend the tripod as far, or not at all
  
  
• Weight on/under the center plate can increase stability
  
  
• Some people filled their tripod legs with sand and stuff. Never did that myself though. Or replaced the tripod legs and only kept the mount head.
  
  
• Balance tube (my similar scope needed a magnet and weight to balance a bit more carefully depending on the eyepiece).
  
  
  
   
  
  
  Clear skies!

Jupiter & Saturn 7/8/2019 - Chicago, IL Area

Taken with my Skywatcher 8" Flextube 200P Collapsible Dob Telescope

Canon EOS Rebel T1i (500D) @ 3200ISO mounted via T-Ring EOS to 1.25" Adapter

SVBONY 2x Barlow

Captured with "EOS Camera Movie Record" using LiveView 5x Zoom for a 1:1 pixel ratio on my laptop

Videos Processed & Stabilized with PIPP, for Jupiter 4903 total frames, after PIPPing 4182 frames, Saturn 2027 frames

Stacked with Autostakkert 3.014, best 60% all settings used HERE for Jupiter

RegiStax 6 wavelets, RGB Align, RGB Balanced, wavelet settings HERE or in main pic

Slight contrast, brightness & shadows/highlights edits in Photoshop

Imgur Gallery HERE

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was my first ever attempt at Astrophotography with my new 8" Dob scope and I think it turned out very well! Seeing conditions where not optimal and I was in a light polluted park with lights all around and no shroud around the scope, but still the pics came out impressive to me! Please let me know which image you like the most, 1-4, and if you have any tips or comments let me know! I cant wait to get back out there and get some more pics!

Nice. A televue powermate is great. Do you have a local astronomy club you could get involved with. It's sort of hard to suggest a camera without trying things out given your scope and its limitations. Even if you don't have a nearby club, I would suggest finding someone who will lend you their DSLR. Get a cheap t-ring/ nosepiece adaptor for it (Canon example) and try it with the powermate. Try focusing on the moon.

To be clear, afocal involves mounting the camera (with a camera lens attached) in such a way that allows you to take pictures through an eyepiece inserted into the telescope's focuser. This method is also known as "eyepiece projection." Link to adapter, which only fits eyepieces of a certain maximum size.

It sounds like what you have in mind instead is prime focus photography. For this you replace your camera's lens with an adapter (available here for $14) which can then be inserted into the telescope's focuser (no eyepiece involved).

I don't have any personal experience with your scope, but that camera might also be a bit heavy for your scope's focuser. Someone else here might have a better idea about that, though.

With $100-150 you could probably either (1) get a nice tripod and try to take some wide-field shots of the Milky Way or certain constellations from a dark location (i.e. very far from Chicago) or (2) Get yourself an okay-ish telescope and take lunar and planetary shots. I took this and this with a ~$120 telescope + $35 barlow lens + $10 camera adapter and a very similar camera, and while they're definitely far less impressive than what most people on this sub can do, they were a lot of fun to take and (imo) a great way to get into the hobby. I'd recommend paying a bit more for a better telescope since this one is definitely not ideal, even for this price range. Unfortunately, AP gets expensive really quickly, so you'll most likely have to shell out at the very least a few hundred dollars to get some nice and crisp space shots. It's probably better to pay more now to avoid later feeling the need to upgrade your equipment immediately, especially if budget isn’t a big issue. I say this as someone who’s been using the same cheap equipment for several years, though, so it definitely depends.

Edit: The t3i also has a really great crop video mode that’s perfect for planetary photography, if I remember correctly.

If you’re trying to photography the Milky Way or galaxies/nebulae/etc, going for a sturdy tripod (and then eventually getting a sky tracker for ~$300 to really kick up your shots, if you enjoy the hobby) might be the move to get your feet wet without breaking the bank. Check out the “What Telescope?” page on the wiki for more info, but I’m not sure how recently it was updated. Hope you can find the equipment that’s right for you

I have a Canon EOS Rebel T3 and a Celestron 114LCM Newtonian telescope. Would this product be all I need to succesfully attach my camera to it?

What you'll need is a 1.25" T-adapter for your camera, with the right T-ring designed for the brand you have:

Example for Nikon: https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Compatible-Standard-Telescope-Microscope/dp/B00W123RBE/

Example for Canon: https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Standard-Telescope-Astrophotography-Accessories/dp/B0114884YA/

If you have a Sony or some other brand, you'll have to shop around.

Then you'll also want probably a 2x or even 3x barlow lens. This will increase your image scale to make the moon larger. Planets are tiny and you won't get much detail from them this way. If you want decent images of the planets, I recommend eventually getting a dedicated planetary camera like the ZWO ASI120MC or ZWO ASI224MC. Combine these with a 3x barlow and record high speed video of the planets, and then use free software like AutoStakkert to process the video and turn it into a still image. The results can be excellent.