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 LXD55/75
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The Meade LXD55/75 series is a great value range of instruments, and when used with well-designed accessories they are good platforms for all sorts of astro-photography. |
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The best and quickest way to get into the fascinating world of astro-photography is to use a modern digital camera. Don’t worry if your camera is quite basic - you’ll be amazed at the results! Let us show you just how simple it can be to fit your camera to your LXD55/75.
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The Sun in white light shot with Canon digital IXUS mounted with Ultra (PH047) on a ETX125 and FI095 solar filter
All images taken by
RJ Dalby FRAS unless otherwise stated. |
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For truly stunning wide-field deep-sky images of star fields, nebulae and galaxies using standard film cameras (or new digital SLRs!) check out our Universal piggyback camera bracket.
The AC411 Universal tiltable piggyback mount has a unique design and allows the camera to be pointed in any direction regardless of telescope attitude. Wide-field astro-photography is easy and rewarding and doesn’t need much additional equipment, apart from the piggyback mounting and the great telescope you already have; the only other gadget you’ll need to try this kind of sky-shooting is a locking cable release. Simply select a short focal length lens (24, 28, and 35mm are great but a 50mm standard lens can be used), load the camera with ISO200 speed colour film (Kodak or Fuji transparency film is ideal) and attach the camera to the piggyback mounting. Working on a moonless night, align the telescope as normal and select a suitable target. Set the camera shutter speed dial to “B” for bulb, and with the telescope tracking simply open the shutter and expose the film for three minutes. Being careful not to kick the tripod or jog the camera when you open and close the shutter. Experiment with a series of exposures of the same target, increasing the exposure by three minutes each time. Work you way up to a 15-minute exposure, then move on to a new target and start the same sequence again. When you see the finished result back from the lab you will know a lot more about your telescope and your site. You may find that exposures over, say 6 to 9 minutes have stated to show trailing (stars that look like little lines rather than dots) and the images may show sky fog or light pollution. These are things that you can work on correcting - but meanwhile you’ll have shot your first good wide-field images.
For great film images using SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras we have a range of adaptors that allow your camera to be fitted to the eyepiece holder. Photography through the eyepiece holder is convenient, as the adaptors that fit the eyepiece holder are versatile and can achieve many different image scales and magnifications by allowing other accessories to be used with them (Barlow lenses etc). |
Wide-field image in
the constellation of Scorpio. The bright orange star upper left is the planet Mars. Shot with 50mm f1.8 Zuiko lens on OM-1 35mm SLR camera piggybacked via our tiltable piggy-back bracket PH024 on a Meade 10” LX200 SCT. |
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If you just want to attach an SLR straight to the eyepiece holder of the LXD55/75 for general photography our Basic camera adaptor (AC457) may be all the equipment you’ll need. This low-cost adaptor will allow a T-ring camera adaptor (for your particular brand of SLR) to be fitted at one end; the other end is a straight 1.25” nosepiece and simply pushes into the LX200’s eyepiece holder. To increase image magnification a 2x Barlow lens and many other image amplification accessories (AC555, AC519 etc) can be fitted to the adaptor.
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A near conjunction of the Moon and the planet Saturn captured by - ETX125 Nikon900 digital camera using the Ultra PH047 afocal digital camera mount fitted to a 26mm eyepiece. Photo credit: D Winser. |
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If you really want to try your hand at serious planet and lunar photography with your SLR camera, our combined Basic 1.25” camera adaptor and eyepiece projection unit (AC325) will allow you to get the magnification you need for a detailed target with ease. |
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When you feel ready to attempt deep sky imaging through the main telescope optics the right accessories are going to be essential for the task. The drive system in the LX200 is excellent, and with good periodic error correction training (PEC) and accurate polar alignment, it is easily possible to make 5 minute unguided exposures at f6.3 without showing any signs of trailing on film or CCD images. However, exposures longer than 5-minutes or working at higher f ratios (typically f10 with the standard instruments) some form of active drive correction will be needed. Your shopping list of equipment might include a ring system and guide scope. |
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Probably the most sophisticated way to image planets with your LXD55/75 is to use a webcam. Webcam results can be fantastic; however, great results take a bit of work - we’d recommend you try your hand at a few basic astro-photography projects first. Learn how to find and follow targets closely with the Autostar handset, as this will pay dividends when you move up to the rather more challenging task of webcam imaging. However, if you are ready to advance, we have everything you need to connect
popular webcams to your Meade LXD55/75 telescope.
 
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Left: A transit of Mercury across the solar disc. One a in sequence shot with a Philips ToUcam Pro Webcam + AC378. Image by N Szymanek. Click Picture for full sequence view
Right: The planet Mars - Philips ToUcam Pro Webcam image - 10” LX200 SCT Image by D Peach and J Mills.
Click Picture for larger view |
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See the full catalogue of accessories for the LXD55/75 |