Maker Uses Raspberry Pi to Create Custom DSLR Camera
Redditor LongOk913 built a Raspberry Pi camera for capturing astrophotography through a nice Orion StarMax 127mm telescope.
Most people these days have ditched their dedicated cameras in favor of the cameras built into their smartphones, which still take high-quality photos and are more convenient to use. But some people still like to have a dedicated camera. Adrenaline junkies favor their action cameras that can stand up to abuse and photographers like DSLR cameras with their high resolutions and interchangeable lenses. Redditor LongOk913 wanted a DSLR camera that he could attach to his telescope for astrophotography. But compatible cameras are expensive, which is why he used a Raspberry Pi to build this custom DSLR camera.
LongOk913 has an Orion StarMax 127mm telescope that is quite nice. He had tried taking photos through that using his smartphone and a couple of other inexpensive cameras, but the results were lackluster. In a moment of inspiration, he decided to try taking a photo with a Raspberry Pi Camera V2 connected to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ single-board computer. He attached the camera to the telescope's eyepiece using a modified bottle cap and some zip ties, with power coming from an inverter connected to his car. The results were surprisingly good and LongOk913 was able to capture a nice photo of the moon's surface. But he also knew that he could do better with some new hardware.
He ordered a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B (4GB model) with a Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera. Not only does that camera offer better photos at higher resolutions, it also has a C/CS thread adapter that works with many telescope eyepiece adapters. The additional power of the Raspberry Pi 4 let LongOk913 run more intensive processing modes in the imagine software he was using. The results with the upgraded hardware were even better and he snapped some beautiful photos of the moon. Those experiments proved that this was a worthy camera and so LongOk913 decided to continue with the upgrades.
To use this like a "real" DSLR, he needed a viewfinder. For that, he added a 5" touchscreen LCD screen with a resolution of 800x480. He then purchased C-mount adapter for Minolta MD lenses, which are affordable today since they were mostly used for film cameras. After attaching the whole setup to a tripod, he had a respectable DSLR that he could use for more than astrophotography. While the photos taken with this camera can't compare to consumer DSLR photos, they are still quite good.