My Custom Dovetail for DSLR & Lens Astrophotography

Gearing Up for Astro Holidays: My DIY Wide-Field Rig

Alright folks, I’m officially in full-on astro holiday prep mode! I’m planning to spend the entire month of August under the stars, capturing some glorious photons, and trying to anticipate everything I’ll need. Specifically, I’m aiming for some wide-field imaging with a second Canon 350D, mounted on my trusty old CG5, set up just outside the observatory.

For this, I needed a rigid support to hold both the DSLR body and the lens securely. After a bit of digging, I stumbled upon a few accessories that, when combined, create what I think is the ideal support.

Here’s the result, in pictures:

The whole setup is made up of a mini dovetail (which actually came with my CG5 mount), an ADM guide ring, a Manfrotto camera bracket, and a standard Kodak thread screw (to secure the guide ring). This new accessory feels incredibly robust! I’ve got a good feeling about these holidays ;-)