M6RDP

Dave, Astromuni et al... Having checked YouTube videos of people using the same webcam with a nice useful image capture screen I decided it might have something to do with the software. So I switched from sharpcap to a really nice simple program called wxAstroCapture and to my astonishment the image capture screen is huge and really useful now. Attached is a photo of the MOD ship Hurst Point about 12 miles out in poor seeing conditions, so this webcam and software combination will be extremely effective I think for astrophotography now. Really glad I persevered now as this will make astronomy and astrophotography much more enjoyable now. Thank you for helping. Looking forward to trying some night-time targets now! Adam

Hi Astromuni, Wow, that's a great shot. No nasty "green edges" too! Yes my first attempts at astrophotography have been with a smartphone and I will certainly be going back to that method after my disappointing results with the webcam. I've always fancied the idea of imaging on a larger screen because of eye strain issues, but I think a higher resolution ZWO camera would be a better choice. I even managed a short video of Saturn last month using my Huawei. After stacking the image was pretty good. Even before stacking the video showed the rings. And this is with a child telescope really, the Celestron Travelscope 70. I think my expectations of the webcam were too high.

Thanks Dave, it's enthusiasm from folks like you that keep beginners like me interested. I was tempted to give up with amateur radio not being able to put up technical equipment, but have had years of fun with just simple wire aerials and low power, so thank you for the (much needed!) morale boost. Without other people it's easy to lose interest. I'll be back......!

Dave, no not my knowledge. I was hoping to use it for imaging in place of my smartphone which is so fiddly. But at least I I was able to capture some beautiful videos of Saturn and the moon that way. The ZWO ASI120MC-S might have been a better choice but I really didn't want to spend that kind of money on what is a new hobby for me. Two days of rather futile fiddling around with it has rather dampened my enthusiasm but I will try and capture a lunar image and post my results, so the idea was to use it for planetary imaging (and also wildlife photography). But with so small a capture screen it is a non-starter really! Thanks again. Actually the C270 was very nearly my choice, but who knows the ZWO might end up on my Christmas list after all!

Thanks Dave, I will not give up hope yet then until I have tried imaging the moon on the next clear night. The target I am trying this afternoon during daylight is is an island about 8 miles away and it is quite small, maybe 1/10 the length of the total view. I had read so many glowing reviews of the SPC 900 but now I am starting to ask myself why would you even use a webcam if the image is so small on a laptop. Anyway I will report back when I next see the moon, which looks like it may be towards the end of the week when the high-pressure sets in again. Cheers for now. Adam

Hello, I was just coming online to update my question. Thank you for answering and you are right, the problem was I had sharpcap set to 400% volume and I was getting an extremely pixelated image. And you are also right about the fact that I needed to use my diagonal. Huge learning curve for me so thank you for assisting. So now I have the image zoom back at 100% and it is crisp and focused. But it is miniscule! I'd need a magnifying glass to see the moon in there as it's more like a thumbnail! Is there anything I can do to increase the viewing window without pixelating the image? I'm using sharpcap by the way. Thanks. Adam

Hello, I am trying to get my Philips SPC900NC webcam to focus on my Celestron 400mm Travelscope but although I can focus on a nearby wall, I can't do so on a far off ship on the horizon. I turn the focus in to it's furthest point, but it needs to go further in. I gather this can be a problem on cheaper and especially shorter scopes. My question is: does anyone know a way I can attach the webcam (presumably with it's own lens back on) to the eyepiece? The main reason I wanted to use a webcam in the first place was to stop having to do my stargazing through it, as it gives me eyestrain and makes me a little dizzy after a while at high magnifications. Looking at the terrestrial images yesterday on my laptop was a joy in comparison. Thanks in advance. New to both astronomy and astrophotography as help appreciated! Adam Dawlish