STI wide-field adapters allow you to economically interface normal 35mm camera lenses with your CCD camera to do piggyback wide-field astrophotography work.
We have models for just about every lens/camera combination, including the newer 4/3 standard cameras!
Main Features
* Standard Bayonet Mounts allow you to attach your existing lenses normally to your CCD camera. No modification of either your lenses or your CCD are necessary. Standard mounts are available to accommodate lenses manufactured by Nikon, Olympus, Minolta, Canon, Pentax, EOS. Maxxum,and the newer 4/3 mount cameras.. All mounts guarantee your lenses will reach infinity focus; however, the infinity focus position will fall before the infinity mark on the lenses.
* How They Work Wide-field adapters must be specially designed to guarantee that infinity focus will be reached on the camera chip. This requires that the backfocus distance of the lenses and the backfocus distance of the particular camera be taken into consideration in the design of the adapter. As a general rule, the width of the adapter can be no wider than the backfocus distance of the lens, less the backfocus distance of the camera itself. For example, EOS lenses expect a backfocus distance of 44.00 mm to reach infinity focus. A typical SBIG camera has a backfocus distance of around 23mm. Thus, the width of the adapter to be fully functional must not exceed 44.00mm - 23mm = 21mm. For this reason, it is not always possible to interface typical color filter wheels with a wide-field adapter. The width of the SBIG CFW8, for example, is 25.5mm. To configure this with the above camera and lens, the width of the adapter would need to be 44.00m - 23mm - 25.5mm = - 4.5mm to reach infinity focus. This is a physical and mechanical impossibility. Read below for more details.
* Standard CCD Interfaces guarantee that the STI Wide-Field Adapter will attach normally to the female thread of your CCD camera just like your nosepiece. Each has standard M42 x .75mm male threads which fit S.B.I.G., Meade, Starlight Xpress, Apogee, SAC, Orion,and FingerLakes cameras. Most models also accomodate the use of 1.25" filters.
* Technical Support you can count on through our website, email, and product instructions. We want you to take successful photos with the Series IV WFA. Proof always has to be in the pudding! :)
* Satisfaction Guaranteed with a one-year parts warranty and a 30-day money-back Clear-Sky guarantee.
* What about Color Filter Wheels? First of all, you don't really need a CFW ! It makes much more sense, both practically and economically, to use regular photographic filters on the camera lens itself. Aside from a huge variety to choose from and to experiment with, they usually are far cheaper than their 1.25" and 2" counterparts. Second, and more important, use of any color filter wheel physically prohibits you from reaching infinity focus at the infinity focus mark on your lens. The fact is that the backfocus distances of all CCD cameras are shorter than the width of the color filter wheels available. To achieve focus at the infinity position of your lens then, the bayonet of any wide field adapter would need to be placed inside of the CFW itself ! If you are fortunate enough to have a CFW already integrated into your CCD, then you will have no problem at all. When using a wide-field adapter, however, you should strongly consider using an IR blocking filter due to the sensitivity of all of these devices to IR. If you use dichroic color filters, these block IR already so you'll be all set.
