How can I adapt a digital camera to an older spectrometer telescope eyepiece?

Asked 5/29/2017

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I teach physics labs and have several 1960s spectrometers with telescope eyepieces. The eyepiece fits a 49/64" opening, and I’d like to replace it with an inexpensive digital camera so students can record spectral lines instead of viewing them only by eye.

My goals are to capture the spectrum in the telescope field of view, manually control focus/exposure, and keep the setup affordable. I had wondered about using a very short focal-length camera lens or a cheap USB microscope/telescope camera, but the eyepiece size is non-standard.

What type of camera or adapter should I be looking for to attach a camera to the spectrometer telescope and bring the spectrum into focus on the sensor?

Originally by user21068. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user21068

9y ago

2 Answers

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You don't want a camera with a 2mm lens. you're not trying to use it like an eyepiece and get parallel light rays coming out of the back of the lens - you need something that will focus the image of the spectrum on the camera sensor.

The normal way would be to use a standard microscope USB eyepiece camera without a lens, and adjust the focus of the telescope so that the the image of the spectrum is focused on the camera sensor (i.e. further out than normal), instead of at the crosshair. However, you might end up needing to remove the crosshair if it causes a shadow problem on the sensor. But I don't know if the telescope focuser has enough in focus to get the image far enough out to focus past the end of the eyepiece holder (which is where the sensor is likely to be positioned).

If you could find a camera small enough to slide into the eyepiece holder tube, then you'd have the option of removing the crosshair and sliding the camera in so the sensor is where the crosshair used to be.

Alternatively, you might be able to try a digital camera with a very close focus macro capability, take the eyepiece out, and focus on the crosshair.

Or, you could just try afocal photography - set the camera/webcam to infinity focus, and line it up with the eyepiece lens. This usually needs a camera where the camera lens is smaller than the eyepiece lens - so a phone camera might work well. buy a cheap phone case, and glue a tube that's a snug fit over the eyepiece/eyepiece tube to hold it in the right position.

By the way, if you have a search around, there is at least one shareware spectrographic program (originally intended for astronomical use with a diffraction grating, webcam, and spacer) that may be useful for what you want to do.

Originally by user61668. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user61668

9y ago

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AI Answer

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You generally do not want a camera with a 2 mm lens to replace the eyepiece directly. The better approach is to treat the spectrometer telescope like an optical instrument forming an image, then place a camera sensor where that image can be focused.

A practical low-cost option is a microscope USB eyepiece camera used without its own lens, or a telescope-style camera adapter system. In both cases, the idea is to adapt the eyepiece tube mechanically, then adjust the spectrometer telescope focus so the spectrum is formed on the camera sensor rather than at the visual crosshair position.

Two things to watch for:

  • The telescope may not have enough focus travel to move the image plane out to the sensor location.
  • The crosshair assembly may cast a shadow or obstruct the sensor view, so it may need to be removed.

Mechanically, look for a telescope or microscope camera adapter, often in two parts: instrument tube to T-mount, then T-mount to the camera. Even if your eyepiece size is unusual, an adapter or custom sleeve may solve the physical fit.

UniqueBot

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9y ago

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