MagSafe Telescope Adapter Turns iPhone into Accessible Astro Camera

American company Turing has announced the world’s first digiscoping iPhone adapter with MagSafe, enabling users to line up their iPhone camera, including the main or telephoto cameras, with a telescope or spotting scope. It’s an accessible and affordable way to experience astrophotography at home.

Looking through a telescope with the naked eye is great, but what if someone wanted to capture a photo of what they saw? The Telescope Adapter for MagSafe promises to work with a wide range of telescopes, fitting “most eyepieces” ranging from 31 to 55 millimeters. It also works with many iPhone models, including iPhone 12, 13, 14, and 15 series devices, including mini, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max variants.

The new Telescope Adapter is not Turing’s first foray into MagSafe-equipped mounts for iPhone photographers. The company also released a Tripod Mount for MagSafe for $29 that is compatible with most tripods and other camera mounting equipment.

Setting up the Telescope Adapter is relatively straightforward. Users first slide it onto their telescope’s eyepiece and tighten it for the appropriate diameter. Once attached, the iPhone stays attached via MagSafe. To align the desired camera with the center of the eyepiece, users adjust two underside dials.

Once set up, which is a swift undertaking, the entire phone screen remains accessible, and photographers can snap photos with their iPhones. Depending on the quality of the telescope and the specific iPhone model, it is possible to get reasonably high-quality images.

With its price of $129 — although it is currently available with a 10% preorder discount bringing the price down to $116 — the Turing Telescope Adapter for MagSafe is significantly less expensive than a dedicated camera-equipped telescope. It also does a much better job of getting close-up shots of celestial objects than a naked iPhone camera.

For people who already own a MagSafe-compatible iPhone and a telescope, the new adapter enables a way to share the beautiful sights of the night sky without breaking the bank.

Another similar product for budding astrophotographers who don’t have a telescope already is the Vaonis Hestia, announced last year for $249. This product, much cheaper than other Vaonis smart telescope products, uses a person’s smartphone to do the heavy lifting.

Image credits: Turing