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Does anyone know what device will fit on a DSLR (Canon) to enable overhead viewing? Assuming tripod and cable release.
I was recently trying to photograph an Algol minimum but it was just guesswork trying to locate its overhead position.
Thank you.Point your camera by guesswork. If your target is not in the field of view, attach a USB lead and download sighting shots to a laptop. Canon provides good software to make this possible,
Lather, rinse & repeat.
Fed up with scrabbling on the floor trying to get a view, as a long term Nikon user I have just bought a secondhand Canon DSLR with fold out viewing screen to solve this problem…..
This is precisely why I have very muddy knees after a late night / early morning drive out to a dark sky. 6D, no flip screen.
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The new Canon mirrorless bodies seem to allow one to plug in a portable HDMI monitor (perhaps USB powered) into the micro-HDMI socket, and use that as a large viewfinder. Unfortunately, I don’t think Canon’s DSLRs allow this, even in ‘Live view’ mode. At least, I’ve never got it to work, even though they some of the DSLRs do have a (seemingly rather useless) micro-HDMI socket.
There is an official Canon EOS app, which allows some newer DSLRs to be controlled from a phone or tablet. It’s a really horrible hacky app which takes over your phone’s Wifi settings, and uses Wifi to communicate with the camera. But on the few occasions when I’ve tried it, it has worked. It gives a viewfinder image on the phone screen and lets you control some of the cameras settings through the phone.
When I imaged using my Canon camera I did try using a right angled finder but it proved unsatisfactory for me. I progressed to using ASIAIR which supports some Canon and Nikon cameras.
https://i.zwoastro.com/zwo-website/manuals/ZWO_ASIAIR_PRO_User_Manual.pdf
The disadvantage for a DSLR user of the ASIAIR solution is that they need a 12v power supply.
I think NINA (Windows only?) also supports any DSLR that has an ASCOM driver available.
Due to my unfortunately very limited knowledge of English, I may not have understood what the actual problem is. However, I dare to say that I have solved to a large extent the cause of my ever-painful neck-breaks and twisting after coming to frame with my NIKON D3000, by sticking a small prism on a frame with silicone, which I attach to the camera’s viewfinder. Certainly not the best, nor is it ‘Columbus egg’. I just avoided a perhaps unnecessary expense, like so many others that amateur astronomers make.
If I have not understood what the underlying problem is, please excuse me.
Greetings to allTranslated with DeepL.com (free version)
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