[62MM]

[Cokin Z]

Farpoint Bahtinov masks are one of the best tools for manual focusing of your telescope available to astrophotographers.

In 2005, Pavel Bahtinov, a Russian amateur telescope manufacturer and astronomer, depicted a new way to focus your DSLR, CMOS or CCD camera on astrophotography by adding a mask that matches the diameter of your telescope.

Bahtinov mask is a more cost-effective way to focus on objects in the night sky compared to a standard motor focuser.

With the right mask and setup, its easy to get crystal clear focus on a star in less than 90 seconds.

How it works:

This mask works equally well at the end of a scope or at the end of a dew guard. The mask itself does not need to be perfected centered on the scope, this is due to the angle of the slots themselves. Choose a bright star as a guiding object. Place the Bahtinov focusing mask on the lens of your telescope and secure it in place with the rubber tabs. The slots in the mask design create a series of diffraction spikes on the star that help with the accuracy of your focus. It appears on your screen or computer as "X" with a line through the center (when in focus).

The diffraction spike pattern of a bright star with a Bahtinov mask. When you adjust your telescopes focuser, the central spit moves in and out of the X pattern. When using recording software, be sure to compensate for the delay time between exposures on the screen, usually 4-5 seconds. The same procedure applies to the live view display of your DSLR camera.

At Farpoint Astro we are a California-based manufacturer of astrophotography filters, scopes and tools. Our Bahtinov masks are of the highest quality in astronomy space