Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

web cam

gary1968

By gary1968
in The Astro Lounge

Recommended Posts

gary1968

gary1968

Posted
Posted

Howdy,

I have been using an Orion Starshoot Sloar System Imager II, and not too impressed to say the least........... :D

I am considering buying a web cam and an adaptor tube, but which web cam and where do I get an adaptor tube?

Your comments / advice will be most welcomed................. :lol:

Regards,

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

Posted
Posted

Have a look at Modern Astronomy, Bern's the man for these things, or Astronomiser if you want a ready modified long exposure one. Both these guys will sort you out one way or another. If you are going the E-Bay route, you want to try to get a Toucam Pro webcam as they are the "weapon of choice" for lunar and planetary imaging.

The adapter is a common piece of kit and should be available from FLO, Scopes and Skies and others.

Captain Chaos

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ant

Ant

Posted
Posted

The toucam is the webcam of choice.

But the toucam comes in several different disguises. It's the PRO you want.

Bern at modernastronomy.com is certainly the place to start looking.

Ant

Link to comment
Share on other sites
psychobabbler

psychobabbler

Posted
Posted

Hi Gary

I got a philips SP900NC from pixmania.co.uk, a 1.25" adaptor made specifically for that webcam from telescope house, then a 1.25 IR filter from first light optics. About £90 all told. All easy enough to construct and very dinky and easy to use.

Cheers

PB

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the info guys. I have decided to get the one of the philips web cams. While browsing I've founs that there seems to be 2 0f the '900' series, so, do you know if the philips spc900 the same as the spc900nc ? I have found the spc900 at currys for £64.95, would that be a good camera?

Thanks again

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Cheers for that guys, thing is though, got £50 in PC World / Currys vouchers as a bonus from work. So think I'll buy the spc900nc from there as it'll only cost me £15 or so. :)

Been out again tonight though with the Orion camera I have. If I fit the camera to the scope with a 2x antares barlow, and fit no filters, the image is only just visible on the pooter screen in the real time video window. Is that what you'd expect to see or does that image seem a bit dull?

Being new to this I'm not really sure what I should be seeing................................. :?

Clear skies,

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

Posted
Posted

It depends what the 'scope is pointed at, really.

If you are aimed at the moon, I'd expect to see an image of sorts, but deep sky, with a Barlow, in real time? All that's pushing it a bit, if its a real time preview camera.

I'm not familiar with the Orion camera, but if you are getting live images of M42 or another DSO, then its quite sensitive, very sensitive if it works with a Barlow lens.

If yo get a chance to point it at some stuff that you recognize and record the results, I'll have a better idea of the problem. Otherwise somebody will know the camera and point you in the right direction.

Captain Chaos

Link to comment
Share on other sites
blinky

blinky

Posted
Posted

Remember if you are wanting to see DSO's you need to get the camera modded for long exposure. Out the box the slowest exposure is 25th of a second. By modding is with the basic mod you should be able to get to around the 30-45 second mark.

Modifying the camera is not for the faint of heart though. I have done it and so has CC I think? The components are very small surface mount components and unless you have a bit (a lot?) of experience in soldering I would not recommend it. Astronomiser (Andy Ellis) can do it for you, for what is quite a reasonable price considering.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi,

Thanks for the replys. I actually realised at work today that I didn't tell you what the object was I was refering to.............. :)

Well, it was Saturn.

In real time, without the barlow I can see a reasonably bright whiteish / yellow image. With the 2x barlow all I can see is a greyish image on screen. I think that the image is big enough to do something with but I can't bring out any detail. If anyone could check any of these out I would really appriciate it...... :)

Cheers,

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh, and 1 more thing, during totality of the eclipse on Saturday the camera would not show the moon at all in real time. I imaged it anyway as I was pointing at it filming th evarious stages but after processing................nothing..... :)

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi Geppetto,

The camera was running at 15fps, I had the exposure at maximum. Brightness and contrast, I also played around witht hem to get the best image on screen. But alas the results were disappointing.

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hi CC,

Just looked at the avi file size.......1.3GB........... :shock:

So dont think it'll mail too well. But I have been looking through the docs that came with the camera, it seems as though I have been a bit hastey in thinking the camera was to blame. I now belive that there are more than 2 ways to control image brightness, previously I thought the only ways to control that was fps and gain(exposure).

If I am reading the book correctly I also have to use the 'Screen Stretch' control as well. I did think that was only used during image processing. So, I'll have to wait until the next clear night to give it another go.

Does that make sense or am I barking up the wrong tree?

I'll keep you informed of any progress I make.

Thanks to all who offered advice.................... :)

Cheers,

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kaptain Klevtsov

Kaptain Klevtsov

Posted
Posted

Screen stretch might only apply to the preview and not affect what gets recorded, but again I'm guessing here. Usually webcams have a control for the exposure time as well as the gain, you might find an adjustment for that somewhere.

If you can park it on a website some of us might download it and have a play, especially as its cloudy quite a bit these days.

Captain Chaos

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gary1968

gary1968

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the offer, but I really dont think its good enough for all that effort. I think I'll have another go, and make sure the image is as good as I can get. I'd like then to 'park' it somewhere on the web for some of you guys to tear it appart.

I'll post the info when I can, its gone all cloudy here again....... :)

Cheers,

Gary

Link to comment
Share on other sites
blinky

blinky

Posted
Posted

I am talking about the ToUCam here but am thinking that they will be similar.

When I leave the camera on auto and am trying to image something dim the camera sets exposure/gain both to maximum. This totally washes out any image and you see nowt. I stick mine on manual when taking Saturn and set the gain/exposure so that the screen is black with just enought gain to see a bit of noise on screen. This usually lets me find Saturn without too much trouble.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.