I use one of these phone to eyepiece mounts: it's lasted me for about an entire year and a half but the padding started to slip a bit, but a little bit if gerry-rigging solved that and now it's back to being as perfect as it was before :)
Often used scopes are the best, only thing I see on CL for about $100 which I think is good: https://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/for/d/meadeequatorial-reflecting/6655396764.html (Some pretty good ones in the $200-$400 range, and that one shouldn't be bad. Certainly, better than anything new in that price range.)
It has an EQ mount, which some people dislike, but I think is great, because even manually, and with coarse alignment, you should only have to adjust one slow motion cable most of the time to keep an object in the eyepiece, which really cuts down on vibrations.
Yes, you can take pictures through an eyepiece. Often for doing that people will use something like this: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K7M0JEM/ to enable it to be centered.
In addition to manual control, You should be able to get a small motor that will enable that to track where it moves it to match the star motion. (Might be outside the budget, unfortunately. Looks like $31 on Amazon. Usable without it for planetary AP, but a lot easier for that, and enabling DSO pictures if you get to a dark site.)
As far as expectations, don't expect great views, but cloud bands and the red spot on Jupiter, Saturn's rings, are all possible with the scope I linked. (Oh, and [Insert Samuel L Jackson's cursing here] dust storms on Mars, but everyone has those right now. ;) ) Note that planetary observing, due to the brightness of the planets compared to stars, means that light pollution isn't much of an issue.
This, has some images to give you an idea of what to expect: https://imgur.com/a/nWYszOV (Usually videos are taken of planets, and processed, but I was doing a quick comparison.) The 127EQ is more what you will be like ((4500) 910 vs (127EQ) 1000mm focal length, a bit less light gathering, but not by much, plus a better mirror design in the 4500.
I highly suspect that the 4500 had a MA9 and MA25 eyepiece (9mm and 25mm respectively) with it, and it mentions 2 lenses. They aren't perfect or the best, but I often use mine. That album, I think used an MA25 and a Celestron Omni 4mm. (Which means that the 4mm ones would be a bit more than twice the size as they'd appear in the 9mm.) Most of it was freehand, due to the annoyance of swapping eyepieces with the bracket. (Jupiter looked better in both visually.)
Anyway, you might also check other sites. Also, examine the mirror if it's looked like someone cleaned it recently ask about it. Cleaning of a mirror even if dusty isn't something you should regularly do at all, as it tends to destroy them. A lot of people wanting things to look good for sale, will do that, and screw it up. (If they mention using distilled water, single strokes with cotton balls, they are probably on the right path, but inquire and ask here.) Dust just makes a tiny bit of light not get to you, Hell there's even a mirror with multiple gunshots in active use, that lost like 1% of it's light gathering ability. (A picture: https://astroanecdotes.com/2015/03/26/the-mcdonald-gun-shooting-incident/ )
Yes. Basically, these adapters have 2 clamps, the phone clamp and the eyepiece clamp.
The Gosky phone clamp has an adjustable width that accommodates mobile phones from 54-90mm wide.
The iPhone 7 is 67mm wide, and the 7plus is 78mm wide. The Gosky adapter accommodates mobile phones from 54-90mm wide, so you're good-to-go on that.
The eyepieces for your scope range from 33 to 41mm in diameter depending on the particular eyepiece according to this spec sheet.
The Gosky's eyepiece clamp accommodates eyepieces from 32mm to 62mm. Your scope has 1.25 inch eyepiece (32mm), but the back barrel (dimension D) ranges from 1.3 to 1.6 inches (33 to 41mm) so it should work ok, but it will be near the end of the thread of the eyepiece clamp.
Browsing Amazon I ran across another phone adapter by SBVONY with the same design but it's a little smaller. The SBVONY eyepiece clamp accommodates 25mm-48mm eyepieces. Your 1.25 telescope eyepieces are right in the middle of that range. I think this one would be a better fit.
Any other differences between the Gosky adapter and the SVBONY? About $7. hehe I'm happy with my Gosky adapter. The build quality is good. I got it to use with this monocular which has a large eyepiece.
If you go with the SVBONY, and I don't see why not, it actually suits your scope better, you could add a Bluetooth remote for $7. A remote lets you snap pictures without touching the equipment. This helps reduce vibrations, which is good.
The design of the Gosky and the SVBONY adapters is basically the same. You loosen both of he clamps, get the phone's camera in position over the eyepiece, and then tighten them up. This can be a bit tricky at first as you angle the phone to get its camera in position, but you get the hang of it. I took a look at the video of the Orion SteadyPix EZ Smartphone Telescope Photo Adapter and it has a better design that makes the setup easier. It has an auto-centering feature and longer fingers on the part that clamps down on the eyepiece. The only downside is it costs $90. If you're thrifty like me, go with the SVBONY unit.
Hello my good sir. How was the hunt last night?
I think that something like this product should do nicely to mount your S9 phone on your night vision binoculars?
I use two of them to record my linked telescopes in real time. There are many different models for less than 20$. I'm sure one could fit on your night vision? You also get to see the view on your phone while you record, and honestly our phones often see better than our eyes.
What is the model of your night vision?
There are also free camera apps that give you more freedom than the basic Samsung camera app. I use "Open Camera" because it flips the view of my telescope upright in real time, and it gives me more control all around.
Something like this should let you attach your phone to the eyepiece.
https://www.amazon.com/SVBONY-Universal-Binocular-Monocular-Telescope/dp/B01K7M0JEM
I have this one and, all though it doesn’t advertise up to 2”, it fits my 2” super view https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K7M0JEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_7H8G09GCSYS26DEVCC7X
A bit of beginner advice copypasta (am beginner myself)
You should be able to change ISO and Shuttertime settings in some kind of Professional mode. Otherwise it's probably not gonna show up. Look up professional camera mode for your phone model. Then, to not have to struggle with the phone holding, I recommend this.
It's a phone-eyepiece adapter (You might need to measure your device to see if it fits, but otherwise it's pretty good and variable). Be sure to first align your phone inside it to your eyepiece's FOV in a lit room, and then do the aligning with the eyepiece in the scope. If FOV in the scope is too small, try changing the distance between phone camera and eyepiece via clamming the adapter onto a different spot on the eyepiece. Try using a headphones chord button to capture images without shaking the setup (if it was shaken recently, wait untill it's stabilized and shoot). With a professional mode you'll probably be able to do manual focusing. Use it to do a bit more precise focusing using the moons, for example. I use ISO 100 and S 1/8s.
Be sure to check starmap apps for events like moon transits (they're pretty often).
Be sure to not look right above rooftops and other heat radiators.
Lead the planet (acount for Earth rotation) when waiting for the setup to stabilize. That'll make the planet enter your frame already stable.
MAKE SURE TO TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS POSSIBLE. That's lucky imaging that allows for stacking to work, so shoot a lot, especially when everything looks clear (on special cameras it's even better to take videos). If you have the ability to take series of photos, use it (unless it compresses or doesn't use your settings properly). I recommend to use full digital Zoom on phone because I think it might compress unzoomed pictures, and when zoomed it only needs to process a little area of the sensor, so it might not compress it. It would be nice if everything would be accessible on phone cameras.
Edit: PIPP to align, Autostakkert to stack, RegiStax to sharpen, do black magic with wavelets, and colour processing.
Edit: I use 175X (this), so something between 70X and 200X will be alright. Try to avoid low quality Barlow lenses, use 2 × aperture in mm magnification to not overpower your scope too much.
I guess that's all I know. I need to learn colour alignment though...
You should be able to change ISO and Shuttertime settings in some kind of Professional mode. Otherwise it's probably not gonna show up. Look up professional camera mode for your phone model. Then, to not have to struggle with the phone holding, I recommend this.
It's a phone-eyepiece adapter (You might need to measure your device to see if it fits, but otherwise it's pretty good and variable). Be sure to first align your phone inside it to your eyepiece's FOV in a lit room, and then do the aligning with the eyepiece in the scope. If FOV in the scope is too small, try changing the distance between phone camera and eyepiece via clamming the adapter onto a different spot on the eyepiece. Try using a headphones chord button to capture images without shaking the setup (if it was shaken recently, wait untill it's stabilized and shoot). With a professional mode you'll probably be able to do manual focusing. Use it to do a bit more precise focusing using the moons, for example. I use ISO 100 and S 1/8s.
Be sure to check a starmap apps for events like moon transits (they're pretty often).
Be sure to not look right above rooftops and other heat radiators.
Lead the planet (acount for Earth rotation) when waiting for tge setup to stabilize. That'll make the planet enter your frame already stable.
MAKE SURE TO TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS POSSIBLE. That's lucky imaging that allows for stacking to work, so shoot a lot, especially when everything looks clear (on special cameras it's even better to take videos). If you have the ability to take series of photos, use it (unless it compresses or doesn't use your settings properly). I recommend to use full digital Zoom on phone because I think it might compress unzoomed pictures, and when zoomed it only needs to process a little area of the sensor, so it might not compress it. It would be nice if everything would be accessible on phone cameras.
I guess that's all I know...
I use this phone mount:
SVBONY Universal Cell Phone Adapter Mount Telescope Phone Mount for Binocular Monocular Spotting Scope Telescope Support Eyepiece Diameter 25 to 48mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K7M0JEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_t23nFbY53ZKGT
SVBONY Universal Cell Phone Adapter Mount for Binocular Monocular Spotting Scope Telescope Support Eyepiece Diameter 25 to 48mm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K7M0JEM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_eLP2Db6KQYYXH
Forget about using a DSLR when just starting out, just get one of these and use your cellphone camera;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K7M0JEM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Trust me, if you are a newbie you are going to pull your hairout trying to get a DSLR setup. Been there, done that and wasted $30 on the mounting equipment(at least for now....). Using the above adapter you can still capture some great pictures so long as you adjust the camera settings. Heres what ive captured as a complete newb;
https://i.imgur.com/yhuEMUg.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/JBaGfq7.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/SfIGt9J.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LIYkynv.jpg
Those where taken Celeston 114EQ + Note 4.
I would try out the NexStar, for AP. You'd want to use the built in wedge, to effectively make it an equatorial mount telescope.
The thing with DSO AP is not the size of the telescope, it's the tracking. My 6" often lets you see things you simply can't see in 12" Dobs. So a 4" if using a camera will likely be far better than a 6". Though, it is an f/13, which is the one hangup on it I have. To simplify it, you are looking at a much smaller patch of sky per mirror/lens area. Which means a darker image. If you are familiar with camera lenses and stopping down the lens (Great in daylight, or artificial light), it's the same thing.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K7M0JEM This is the one I have, it's fiddly, but works. For about $40, Celestron has a nice one much more easily adjustable. (I might get it for outreach things.)
While you will gain visual with the 4>6. You'll lose any possibility of DSO AP.
With the focal length of your scope, Planetary AP should be great, the only worry is dimness of the DSO AP.
Most of the /r/telescopes people are visual only observers, or planetary AP at most, thus the Dobsonian preference. Dobsonians are essentially the cheapest attempt to deal with the lack of ability of the Human eyeball. Short integration time, and limited pupil/sensor size. So you need as much aperture as possible, and tracking isn't important at all. Cameras can avoid many of those limitations. (Cell phone cameras might not, as they often try to be "smart".) Even with camera phone limitations, like 30 seconds, Stacking can also help with that.
Advantages XT6:
Advantages NexStar:
Disadvantages XT6:
One thing to point out with the goto/lack thereof is that you do have to find the faint smudges which you will be able to see ideally. I'll tell you with a 6" with a faster focal ratio (aka more light), that's all you'll see. So I think between the two, with goto able to put it in the field of view, that's a huge advantage for the Nexstar.
As far as /u/HenryV1598 said about power: I power mine off of this: https://smile.amazon.com/Belkin-BATTERY-BACKUP-REVISION-BU3DC001-12V/dp/B004RRFY5I (They show up at thrift shops, for $10, and if the battery fails, that's another $10, Plus it can probably start your car in an emergency. I have yet to have it run out if charged before going out for a few hours.)