Lacerta makes a very low-profile off-axis guider with an M48 thread on one side, and a Canon EF bayonet on the other side. It is reasonably well-made, but the (used) one that I bought had some pretty serious grub screw markings on the guide camera pick-off tube due to over-tightening of the setscrews that hold the guide camera T-mount to the pick-off tube.
I can see why the previous owner did this: if the setscrews aren't tight, the guide camera can rotate, particularly if the guide camera's USB cable gets snagged on something.
I decided to 3D-print an adapter that would screw into the M4 threaded holes on the back of the ZWO ASI120 guide/planetary camera, and which in turn would hold the camera at the right distance to achieve focus, and bolt to the 1/4" 20tpi tripod socket on the Canon EOS650D DSLR.
It's a very simple design, and would need to be modified for any other guide camera and potentially DSLR, since the sizes are different and the focal points are also different. In this case, I'm using a William-Optics Flat6A flattener/reducer, with its native M48 interface at the rear.
The design is here.
An added bonus is that the 3D-printed adapter also helps to protect the guide camera and OAG from mishandling. Without the adapter/reinforcement, imaging what would happen if you dropped the DSLR: the pick-off tube on the OAG would most likely get bent out of shape.
And here are a few photos:
I can see why the previous owner did this: if the setscrews aren't tight, the guide camera can rotate, particularly if the guide camera's USB cable gets snagged on something.
I decided to 3D-print an adapter that would screw into the M4 threaded holes on the back of the ZWO ASI120 guide/planetary camera, and which in turn would hold the camera at the right distance to achieve focus, and bolt to the 1/4" 20tpi tripod socket on the Canon EOS650D DSLR.
It's a very simple design, and would need to be modified for any other guide camera and potentially DSLR, since the sizes are different and the focal points are also different. In this case, I'm using a William-Optics Flat6A flattener/reducer, with its native M48 interface at the rear.
The design is here.
An added bonus is that the 3D-printed adapter also helps to protect the guide camera and OAG from mishandling. Without the adapter/reinforcement, imaging what would happen if you dropped the DSLR: the pick-off tube on the OAG would most likely get bent out of shape.
And here are a few photos:
