Hi: There are various ways to mount a digital camera to an eyepiece in order to do afocal imagings.
I have a Nikon 4500 which is the last of the 990-995-4500 series and have used the Orion Steady-Pix for doing afocal photography.
http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=photo_accessories/~pcategory=astro-imaging/~product_id=05228
For short daytime or bright planetary exposures, I find hand holding the camera up to the lens seems to work better but for extended exposures a mount of like the Steady-Pix is necessary.
A few thoughts:
Every one has their own way of doing this stuff, this is what I have found.
Focusing is critical and for me best way to focus is by looking through the eyepiece without the camera and using my distance glasses focus the scope on the target. Then I put the camera in place, either hand holding or with the steady pix and using either infinity focus on the camera or autofocus, frame and position the image, zoom in and snap the photo.
I generally use a 32mm Celestron Plossl unless more magnification is needed. The one I use is the older Taiwanese model from about 1996. The advantage is that one can remove the top ring, it is only cosmetic, and the camera fits nicely in place.
The best way to learn how to use your camera effectively, how to focus, which eyepieces to use, is trial and error. Setup in the backyard during the day and take pictures and experiment. I find wooden fence boards or tree trucks make good practice targets as there is a great deal of detail and some very sharp boundries.
Here is a photo of the moon taken by hand with my 10 inch DOB:
Here is a photo of the recent transit of Mercury taken by hand and a Celestron C-5
And of course, birds are objects that are part of the solar system so they are appropriate for this forum:
Good luck with your camera and have some fun with it.
Jon
