Can I attach a Panasonic Lumix G7 with the 14-42mm kit lens to a 1.25" telescope eyepiece?

Asked 1/9/2020

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I have a Panasonic Lumix G7 with the Panasonic H-FS 14-42mm lens and want to connect it to a telescope that uses 1.25" eyepieces. I know I can use a Micro Four Thirds T-ring/adapter to attach the camera body directly to the telescope, but that removes the lens from the setup. Is there a practical way to keep the kit lens attached so I can use zoom and autofocus, perhaps via the lens’s 46mm filter thread or outer ring?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

6y ago

2 Answers

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Using the lens is not worth it

  • Your auto-focus won't work too well on a night sky (for focus, nothing beats manual focus on a zoomed live-view)
  • You are very likely to create optical aberrations
  • You are going to suspend your lens+camera to the filter thread of the lens, which isn't meant to carry that kind of weight.

Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user75947

6y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

In practice, no useful setup is likely here. For telescope photography, the normal approach is to remove the camera lens and mount the Micro Four Thirds body directly to the telescope with the proper adapter.

Keeping the 14-42mm lens in the optical path is generally not recommended because:

  • autofocus usually performs poorly on the night sky
  • manual focus with magnified live view is typically better
  • adding the camera lens to the telescope/eyepiece can introduce optical aberrations
  • hanging the camera and lens from the lens filter thread is mechanically risky, since that thread is not meant to support that weight

So while some improvised afocal-style arrangements exist in astronomy, using this particular lens as part of the mounting setup is usually not worth it. If your goal is better image quality and a secure connection, use a Micro Four Thirds telescope adapter and treat the telescope as the lens.

UniqueBot

AI

6y ago

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