The Celestron #93609 Piggyback Bracket fits their 5-8" diameter NexStar SE telescopes, and is a popular and easy way to get started in astrophotography.
Stunning, remarkably detailed wide field photos can be taken by attaching your SLR camera atop the NexStar telescope, guiding the camera through motion of the telescope itself. But you can, in fact, use any camera with a 1/4"-20 socket; it certainly helps to have a "bulb" setting for the shutter and manual control over the aperture, though.
For shorter exposures of 5-7 minutes, it is acceptable to use the NexStar SE in its normal altazimuth mode. For longer exposures beyond 7 minutes, such as any wide field pictures with nebula or other deep space objects in the image, you'll need to add Celestron's #93655 Wedge to put the NexStar SE in an equatorial mode so that there is no star trails or drifting of the elements in the image.
It certainly helps to have a fast aperture lens for the camera, such as the f/1.2 50mm, 55mm and 85mm lenses available to fit various manufacturer's systems, as this helps drastically shorten the exposure times.
The slotted mounting holes in the base of this piggyback bracket allow it to be installed in predrilled threaded holes on the NexStar SE scopes, and the bracket's unique design allows you to fit your Star Pointer finderscope on top of the piggyback so that you can accurately navigate your telescope and conduct astrophotography simultaneously.
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Comments about Celestron Piggyback Bracket for the NexStar 5 SE, 6 SE, & 8 SE Telescopes:
I have installed this bracket on my Celestron Nexstar 8 SE telescope. Installation was a breeze with a screwdriver and the screws provided. Had to check and readjust the alignment of the telescope, finderscope and camera afterwards. It took me five minutes, during the day, with a distant telephone pole as a target. With this gadget I can make my camera benefit from the GoTo and Tracking capabilities of my telescope. It's been cloudy ever since I got the bracket, so I haven't had a chance to try it yet with real astronomical objects...
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Comments about Celestron Piggyback Bracket for the NexStar 5 SE, 6 SE, & 8 SE Telescopes:
astrophotography piggyback for camera...had to customize a little with file to get exact alignment on scope...no real problem though
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Comments about Celestron Piggyback Bracket for the NexStar 5 SE, 6 SE, & 8 SE Telescopes:
ideal for dslr photography
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Comments about Celestron Piggyback Bracket for the NexStar 5 SE, 6 SE, & 8 SE Telescopes:
Nice bracket, fitting my C5 securely. Attaching a Canon 350 DSLR and 300mm lens was no problem for the SE8 mount. No balance issues. If you are going to use this on your C5 with an EQ mount, you might have to move the bracket so the camera fits on top of the C5. You can do this as there are enough screws on the base of the C5, as I found I had real balance/flexure issues when using my autoguider. The mount itslef held the camera quite well, however, even in that off-axis position.
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