9
My cheap phone mount gave me the best Jupiter shot I've ever taken
I was trying to get a clear picture of Jupiter last month with my basic telescope, but every time I touched my phone to snap a photo, the whole thing shook. I was about to give up when I saw my kid's old bendy phone mount for the car, the kind with the long metal arms. On a whim, I wrapped one arm around the telescope's eyepiece and stuck my phone to the other end. It looked ridiculous, like some kind of metal octopus, but it worked. It held the phone perfectly still over the lens. I finally got a shot where you can clearly see three of the moons. I've since learned this is a janky version of something called 'afocal photography'. Has anyone else used a weird household item to get a decent astro photo?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
jackson.jenny2mo ago
Calling that "janky" is harsh, it's a legit hack. I've seen way worse setups that actually worked.
4
nathan5451mo ago
That's awesome it worked so well! My own version of that was using a heavy duty rubber band and a stack of old coasters to get the right angle for my phone. It was a total mess but it held everything steady enough to finally get a shot of the Orion Nebula. Sometimes the best tool is just whatever you can find in the junk drawer. Your metal octopus sounds way more solid than my wobbly coaster tower.
2