Which smartphone adapter is it?

The Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter, item 81055: a black cradle with gold X, Y and Z knobs and a spring clamp that grips the eyepiece.

Will it fit my eyepiece and my phone?

Celestron gives 35 to 60 mm for the eyepiece clamp (25 mm with the included adapters) and 65 to 90 mm for the phone clamp.

Why not just hold the phone to the eyepiece?

It is hard to hold a phone steady, and the bigger problem is lining a camera up with the eyepiece: the margin for error is slim, and a phone with several cameras can switch lens as you zoom.

Why does the Amazon link show the NexYZ DX?

The Amazon link opens Celestron's NexYZ listing with the DX kit selected, which adds a Bluetooth shutter remote; the plain NexYZ 3-Axis is an option on the same page.

What have I not tested on the NexYZ?

I have not tried the NexYZ on binoculars, spotting scopes or microscopes.

Smartphone eyepiece mount review: Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 46 accessories on my board, against price
Rank	Accessory	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	GEMINI EAF	100 out of 100	£42
2	Generic Dew Heater	93 out of 100	£9
4	Telescope Cover	90 out of 100	£25
18	Smartphone eyepiece mount	77 out of 100	£55
20	ToupTek EAF	75 out of 100	£170
30	Celestron 0.63x Reducer	62 out of 100	£165
38	Celestron 3x Barlow	45 out of 100	£145
45	SKY ROVER 2x54 Binoculars	28 out of 100	£139
46	365 Solar Telescope Cover	5 out of 100	£73

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 In use
04 In my words
05 Watch it in my video
06 Should you buy it?
07 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 77/100

Reviewed 13 Dec 2023 Updated 25 Sep 2026

Rank: #18 of 46 accessories
Verdict: Damon recommends

Written by Damon Scotting 2 min read

Buy it if

You want to photograph the Moon or planets through the eyepiece with the phone you already own.
You find it hard to hold a phone steady and lined up over an eyepiece.

Skip it if

You already image with a dedicated astronomy camera.
Your phone is narrower than 65 mm or wider than 90 mm.

“The simple premise of it is you clamp it around your eyepiece, and then you have fine-tuning settings that allow you to adjust the position of your phone to be perfectly situated above where the eyepiece is.”

Specifications and features

Smartphone eyepiece mount reviewed #18 of 46
Recorded UK price	£55
Model	Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter (81055)
Eyepiece clamp	35 to 60 mm; 25 mm with the included adapters
Phone clamp	65 to 90 mm
Adjustment	X, Y and Z knobs, rack and pinion
Weight	283 g
Size, closed	165 x 140 x 108 mm
Materials	Cast metal and fibre-reinforced plastic
In the box	The adapter and two microscope eyepiece adapters

In use

The Celestron NexYZ

In my hand

On the eyepiece

Zooming in on the Moon

Mine, on camera

In my words

“For many of us getting started into astrophotography, we don't have advanced cameras.”

From my nine-accessories video

“The main issue is the fact that the margin for error for you to find an actual view for the eyepiece is so slim.”

From my nine-accessories video

“The second I zoom in beyond three times zoom, it switches to a different camera completely.”

From my nine-accessories video

Watch it in my video

The 9 COOLEST Accessories for ASTRONOMY! · published 13 December 2023 · 17:00 · Watch on YouTube · 19,597 views, 974 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

7:31 The smartphone eyepiece mount
7:46 A phone instead of an astronomy camera
8:24 Why hand-holding fails
8:35 Phones with several cameras
8:53 It keeps it steady
8:59 The mount close up

Transcript of the video 333 words · 5 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

7:31 The smartphone eyepiece mount

7:31 This bizarre-looking contraption is actually a phone holder mount, and the simple premise of it is you clamp it around your eyepiece, and then you have fine-tuning settings that allow you to adjust the position of your phone to be perfectly situated above where the eyepiece is.

7:46 A phone instead of an astronomy camera

7:46 For many of us getting started into astrophotography, we don't have advanced cameras. 7:50 This is a DSLR camera, which is used for a wide variety of photography, but if you're going into the more specialised department in terms of astrophotography, you're going to be looking at CCDs, which are basically fancy webcams, so you're looking at more advanced types of cameras. 8:04 We don't all have access to that, let alone money to purchase such items. 8:08 But what we do all have, and I'm going to assume you have it, which is one of the ways in which you're watching this video right now, is a phone, and it's very convenient because it's often in our pockets. 8:17 So when we see something that we like, perhaps it's a planet, perhaps it's a nice star, we can just pull our phone out, put it towards the eyepiece and take a picture.

8:24 Why hand-holding fails

8:24 But it's very hard to keep your hand steady enough to take a picture, and that's not even the main problem. 8:29 The main issue is the fact that the margin for error for you to find an actual view for the eyepiece is so slim.

8:35 Phones with several cameras

8:35 And nowadays with phones, they actually have multiple cameras, so it's also a puzzle trying to figure out which of your cameras needs to be correctly aligned. 8:42 And I keep making a mistake of actually zooming in once I finally get it aligned, and then the second I zoom in beyond three times zoom, it switches to a different camera completely and I've lost all view of the planet altogether.

8:53 It keeps it steady

8:53 But this makes that so much more easier. 8:53 It just keeps it steady. 8:53 Yeah, it stops you losing your marbles as well.

Should you buy it?

77/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

Holds the phone steady and lined up over the eyepiece.
X, Y and Z knobs move the phone's camera onto the eyepiece precisely.
Fits eyepieces from 35 to 60 mm across, and down to 25 mm with the included adapters.
Lets the phone you already own photograph the Moon through the eyepiece.

Cons

A phone with several cameras can still switch lens as you zoom past about 3x and lose the view.
No shutter remote in the box; Celestron's NexYZ DX kit adds one.
At 283 g it adds weight at the eyepiece of a small telescope.

It just keeps it steady. It stops you losing your marbles as well.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Five questions, answered

Questions about the Smartphone eyepiece mount

Reviewed 13 December 2023 ·Updated 25 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

Which smartphone adapter is it? The Celestron NexYZ 3-Axis Universal Smartphone Adapter, item 81055: a black cradle with gold X, Y and Z knobs and a spring clamp that grips the eyepiece. In use ↓
Will it fit my eyepiece and my phone? Celestron gives 35 to 60 mm for the eyepiece clamp (25 mm with the included adapters) and 65 to 90 mm for the phone clamp. The specifications ↓
Why not just hold the phone to the eyepiece? It is hard to hold a phone steady, and the bigger problem is lining a camera up with the eyepiece: the margin for error is slim, and a phone with several cameras can switch lens as you zoom. Watch it in my video ↓
Why does the Amazon link show the NexYZ DX? The Amazon link opens Celestron's NexYZ listing with the DX kit selected, which adds a Bluetooth shutter remote; the plain NexYZ 3-Axis is an option on the same page. The verdict, the readers and the sellers ↓
What have I not tested on the NexYZ? I have not tried the NexYZ on binoculars, spotting scopes or microscopes.