Problems finding focus with a DSLR
How I used the right type of Barlow to focus a DSLR on a small Newtonian telescope.
Guides
Top 10 telescopes for 2019
Bill, Optics Central’s astrophotography specialist – and general all-round enthusiast – gives his opinion of the top 10 telescopes for 2019. See what he thinks! My boss asked me to […]
Top 10 Telescopes for Kids (2019 Picks)
It’s getting into the Christmas season, and people are starting to think about presents. We made up this list of telescopes (and a binocular) with kids of between about 5 and 10 in mind.
Astrophotography Filters part 3: Putting it all together
This is part 3 of my series on astrophotography with filters. Last time I explained how the human eye sees in colour, using three different types of cone cells. We […]
Astrophotography Filters part 2: Narrowband vs. RGB filters and how they work
This is part 2 of a series of blogs about filters and narrowband astrophotography. Bill explains how filters work, why you might use different filters and what a photo taken […]
Astrophotography Filters part 1: Getting into filters
This is part 1 of a series of blogs about narrowband photography. In this introduction part, Bill talks about how – and why – he moved from taking astrophotographs with […]
How to polar align a computerised equatorial mount in the Southern Hemisphere (without a polar scope)
This guide is suitable for all telescope owners of Synta computerised go-to EQ mounts, such as Sky-Watcher and saxon. In a previous blog, I explained how to polar align a […]
Setting up a Celestron NexStar Evolution telescope
Part two of the Celestron NexStar series. This guide is intended to help first time users and those who are experiencing difficulty with the Celestron SkyPortal (previously known as Celestron SkyQLink) […]
How to align and use a finderscope
This blog shows you two different types of finderscopes. It describes what a finderscope is, how it’s useful, how it attaches to your main scope. Not all new astronomers know […]
How to set up an equatorial mount
This is the second part of my blog on telescope mounts, and concentrates on the equatorial mount. I look specifically at how to set up an equatorial mount and align […]