ghot@ms.uky.edu (Allan Adler) (05/28/91)
I have a Minolta XG-1 which I would like to use to take astronomical photographs. I have friends who have telescopes and adapters. But I recently became aware of a new difficulty: if a shot is going to require a long explosure (e.g. 90 minutes), the battery in the camera will run out before the exposure is complete. Even with somewhat shorter exposures, it is desirable to avoid having to buy a battery for every long exposure. I know there are special cameras one can buy but I think they must be expensive. On the other hand, maybe it is not difficult to obtain or build a portable power supply that can replace the battery, maybe from a VCR portable power supply. I don't want to experiment with this myself because I am afraid of burning up the camera. Any ideas ? Allan Adler ghot@ms.uky.edu
al@qiclab.scn.rain.com (Al Peterman) (05/28/91)
In article <1991May28.040922.19112@ms.uky.edu> ghot@ms.uky.edu (Allan Adler) writes: > >I have a Minolta XG-1 which I would like to use to take astronomical >photographs. I have friends who have telescopes and adapters. But I >recently became aware of a new difficulty: if a shot is going to >require a long explosure (e.g. 90 minutes), the battery in the camera >will run out before the exposure is complete. Even with somewhat shorter >exposures, it is desirable to avoid having to buy a battery for every long >exposure. Get a mechanical camera body for astrophotography. The exposure meter does not even have to be operational, since they aren't able to measure the very long exposures. For a Minolta mount, try a used SRT-101, 201, 202 or such. These bodies are easily available at around $25-50. All you really need is a working "Bulb" setting and a locking shutter release cable. Open the shutter with the telescope covered (after aiming) to reduce vibration, uncover the scope's mirror (or lens) and let it expose. Even newer cameras such as the Pentax K-1000 are suitable for this kind of work, and cost under $120... -- Alan L. Peterman (503)-684-1984 hm al@qiclab.scn.rain.com It's odd how as I get older, the days are longer, but the years are shorter!