Smartphone Cell Phone Telescope Holder

Smartphone Cell Phone Telescope Holder
Cheap or Expensive Smartphone Holder? The choice is yours.

You may want to shop around and hold off purchasing that cell phone holder for the telescope when the price is listed around $30 to $85. 

China is selling the same exact holder for $2. Of course not everyone lives near China to take advantage of these bargains. Now you know the percent markup for this product. Does that seem right? Up to forty times markup more expensive? Plus it's named XZT. Does that sound a lot like the Celestron NexYZ? There are several versions, all slightly different but they are rock solid and rigid when holding the iPhone, and very easy to use. The lightweight and strong construction is ideal for telescope OTAs that have a weight load limit. A choice of metal or plastic is offered. Including the EP connector which can adjust up and down, the unit is fully adjustable in directions X, Y and Z. I bought two of these and may do a review later. At only a few pennies per mount, buy several and have each already mounted on your favorite EP for the night.

Remote Shutter

Remote Shutter Stops Camera Image Motion

This accessory is needed when shooting images through the Celestron Nexstar 6SE using a smartphone.  A small slide switch on the side of the keychain sized unit turns the unit on and off. A blue LED power light monitors the on/off status. When turned on, the iPhone in settings and bluetooth will show the pairing which is nearly instantaneous. Then go to the camera application and use the "remote" shutter to take the photo by pressing its button. The camera will automatically take a photo and keep it. The unit will connect as AB Shutter3. The device will also activate other camera settings like video.

Touching the cell phone to take a photo introduces massive vibrations that blur the image. A remote shutter for iPhone operates on bluetooth, pairs with the phone, and a touch of the remote takes the photo.

This accessory is mandatory for shooting with smartphones. It was purchased at the Night Market for about $3, however the CR2032 battery was not included. A button battery was removed from other electronic equipment to get the remote shutter to work with the iPhone 10 Max XS.

The remote shutter will be an important accessory when shooting images with all observatory smartphones, inclusive of lunar and planetary, solar, and mountain conservation. This newer shutter did not work on the old iPhone 5. For that phone, an older remote shutter is operable. It's also unknown if the wireless remote shutter will work on the Mini iPad which was upgraded to a mini computer. More testing will occur.