What Webcam To Get ?

[scottphillips]

hey guys want to buy a nice but cheap webcam that i can modify so that i can use for video and capturing objects ?

if anyone could provide me with links also would be much appreciated

[scottphillips]

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing-accessories/accessories-and-bags/webcams/advent-awc113-hd-webcam-20759734-pdt.html i found this but wasn't sure if i could remove the lens and attach a socket to it to fit into telescope

[nightfisher]

Have a look on ebay for a Philips SPC210, i know that you can remove the lens and fit a 1.25 nosepiece, as i have done one myself, it should capture luna stuff

[Gadget]

Something like this for £45 is a good buy with the nosepiece and filter http://www.astrobuysell.com/uk/propview.php?view=88564     they usually pop up around the 50 quid mark with nosepiece + filter

Kev

[JamesF]

In my opinion, you will not beat the SPC900 if you can find one for sale at around £50 to £60.  There are cheaper cameras, but I've not seen one that gets close to the performance of the SPC.  If you want filthy cheap there is the Xbox camera which is less than £5, but it's nowhere near as sensitive.

If you're willing to pay more than £60 then you're into largely uncharted waters really until you get well into three figures and the dedicated planetary imaging cameras.

To give you some idea, this is an image from my Xbox cam and 127 Mak:

These are from a modded Microsoft Lifecam Cinema, which is a fairly complex mod and probably costs much the same as an SPC900 by the time it's done.  I think these could be better, to be honest.  Same OTA.

And these are from the SPC900 (same scope again):

This next one is with my C9.25 and an ASI120MC (dedicated colour planetary imaging camera, at several hundred pounds):

And finally, my first foray into RGB imaging with an ASI120MM (must the same price as the ASI120MC, but requires a filter wheel and set of filters as well):

So you can see really that it's a question of balancing the results you might be happy with against how much you're prepared to spend.

James

[scottphillips]

Amazing pictures by the way !! I heard you can make a suitable webcam for under £10 I mean I'm not looking for miracles just want to be able to take images then do my own editing and stacking

[JamesF]

The Xbox camera is about £5.  All that's actually needed is to remove the lens and bodge on a bit of plastic pipe to fit in the focuser, but if you want a proper nosepiece you're probably looking at £10 to £15 for that from ebay.

Many other cheap webcams can be similarly bodged to work.  They're never going to give stunning results though because they're just not sensitive enough.  Often they're end-of-life products that supermarkets and suchlike bang out for a few quid until stocks run out because they're buying them for pence.  If you just want to try it and see how it works out then the Xbox cam is as good a place to start as any.  Just don't expect miracles

James

[scottphillips]

Those you took above on your Xbox cam are the kinda results I'm looking for on my low budget !!

[Vox45]

I was fortunate enough to find an old Philips 750k webcam in an old box. I totally forgot I had it until I read a thread here about cheap astrophotography

Got my nosepiece today (15€)

Installed in 3 easy steps.

[Vox45]

For some reasons the pics did not show in the previous post