Message posted by lone wolf on March 09, 2005 at 13:40:22 PST:
The scope/camera setup is on desertsecrets.com. You need a camcorder capable of accepting an external composite video signal. Cameras can be purchased at supercircuits.com An alternative would be to use your camcorder and a fitting between the 1.25 inch visual back on the telescope and the lens of your camcorder. Scopetronix.com sell them. Also William Optics. I'd suggest a refractor over a reflector since the refractor telescope will have more contrast. This was already discussed in the forum. On the low end, there Orion ED80. Fluorite APO telescopes will be sharper. The biggest problem with using a CCD and a telescope is focusing. The viewfinder in a camcorder isn't all that good because it is intended to frame the shot, with autofocus doing the rest. The camcorder generally won't autofocus once attaced to the telescope due to the larger focal ratio. Obviously, you need to practice with all this gear at home before doing the hike, and preferably at a target 26 miles away. When I was contacted by some documentary maker and I told her about this, I was told that practice wasn't in the schedule. You can see on this documentary where they panned a photograph of the base from Tikaboo rather than shooting video of the base. Totally lame, but I don't expect much from the folks that do these Area 51 documentaries. They are not researchers, but rather entertainers. In fact, some of their goofs are quite entertaining.
In Reply to: Looking for a link about Celestron telescope and surv cam set up posted by Curious Boogs on March 09, 2005 at 12:07:43 PST:
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