Which Webcam to use?

[dazzst]

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend a webcam for use with software like Registax and a Celestron 127SLT scope?

Thanks

Daz

[dabiscuit]

This won't be the answer you're looking for, but I'm in the same boat.

I'm brand spanking new to viewing the night sky and already I want to take photos, but I don't want to shell out £500 for a camera to find I'm rubbish at it.

I have seen the Celestron NexImage, which seems to fit into just about every 1.25" telescope and comes up with some nice images. Think you can get it for about £120 if you get the adaptor too.

[ItIsOnlyMe]

Many people, including me :-) are using these....

Buy Philips Pre flashed SPC880 CCD webcam bundle at Morgan Computers

[182570]

morgans have sold out and don't know when or if they will be able to get any more

[Flyingpig]

I second the Philips webcams I think you can use any of them particularly either the old To-u-cam or the SPC range.

Some people are having excellent results with an. Xbox live cam! If your interested or have one lying around then search for the threads about them here on SGL.

Important factor with webcams is that they need to be the ccd type. The others are useless for Astrophotography.

[Rustmonkey]

Not sure why ppl keep big upping the SPC's as the webcam to get as they are now rarer than hen's teeth unless you want to pay silly money. I believe the MS Lifecam HD is good for converting and you can even buy a purpose built adaptor for it to fit your focusser.

Look on you tube for "astronomyshed". He has some great tutorials and a piece about the Lifecam adaptor.

[kenmyers]

just get any webcam that is less than £10, (one that looks like the lense end will fit in your scope focuser a bit) then screw out the lense and any filters, pop it in your focuser, hook up to laptop, focus in on the moon or bright star. done.

[dabiscuit]

Thanks for the Astronomy Shed tip, that was a really helpful video!

[Rustmonkey]

Your welcome

[Anweniel]

Not sure why ppl keep big upping the SPC's as the webcam to get

You are right that they seem to be harder to get hold of, but they do appear second hand and maybe they seem expensive for a webcam but it shouldn't really be a surprise people recommend them as they are:

a) Suitable for the task

Lots of other astronomers use them hance lots of support / knowledge /hints

c) Compared to dedicated ccd astro webcams still very cheap!

d) Fairly simple to modify (if I can do it it won't be beyond many!)

Personal recommendation counts for a lot and with many users doing so it provides reassurance. Ofc other suitable cameras are out there and perhaps cheaper, I can only second the recommendation for the SPC as its my only experience and I found a few easily enough and I've only been in the hobby since July really

[Cornelius Varley]

The SPC900NC /880 and the earlier versions of the Toucam Pro were always the best one to get simply because they used the best sensor for astroimaging.

Peter

[Bigeye]

If you can find a Philips spc880 or spc900 GET IT as they are amazing. There is so much information online on them as they are so tried and tested.

I spent weeks looking and checking and every time I came back to the philips.

[Rustmonkey]

Well.. As rare as they are I just bought one already modded from Michael Morris off EBay. Hope it works and that I can get my head around it. I was wary about buying off eBay but this guy does seem to know what he's talking about and I suspect he may be on here somewhere.

Fingers crossed.

[tharil]

I too have purchased one today from EBay pre flashed etc with scope attachment already on. Some very good videos on Astronomy shed step by step guide to using the web cam to get the best etc.

Was quite expensive for Webcam but compared to CCD cameras designed for scopes it was cheap!

[Gomtuu]

I was wondering exactly the same thing. It looks like the Philips webcams are no longer available from Morgans.

Can anybody recommend a good CCD alternative?

[Bigeye]

£85 for a camera that was selling for £7 back in September is a bit greedy in my opion but he is the only guy left with them. I bought one from him last week for £80 which was steep but I have to say the results are worth it. He sells about 8 a day so people are still not put off.

[Rols]

you can get good results with the microsoft studio and cinema range but you pay more for them and find contrast limitations when using sharpcap.

i see a couple of the older phillips the other day while searching a well known auction site.

[UnderTheRain]

As I understand it there are no more spc900's. The philips spc900's are selling for about £90 on ebay. I've just ordered a Microsoft lifecam Cinema £30 (the 720p version), a chasis for it Billet Parts / Vintage & Classic Spares £15 and the mod instructions are here Instructions for Converting Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD Webcam for Telescope Use -by Gary Honis.

Looking at Garys pictures the lifecam stands up against the spc. I did look into the 1080p version of the lifecam but you need a quad core and extra software to capture at that res.

Over the last few weeks I have emailed as many webcam makers as I can find a handful of them do webcams with manual focus and all are cmos none of them make ccd webcams anymore. Any that are out there are very old stock. I was soooo close to buying one of those £90 900's on ebay but thats £90 I'd rather put towards a better camera and as I said check out Garys lifecam pictures they're pretty good.

Having researched cmos/ccd over the last few months there has been much more investment in the development of cmos consumer level sensors and as such they have become domminant in most consumer devices. As for amatuer astronomy cmos sensors in modern webcams should be comparable to the old low res ccd sensors for lunar/planetary work. If you want to take it further and buy a specialist astro ccd camera for dso's then this will obviously be better in terms of its dynamic range but one at a decent resolution will set you back upwards of £2-10,000.

For dso's amatuers are producing spectacular results with dslrs.

[Flyingpig]

If you search hard enough you can find the Philips ones, whatever you pay its going to be cheaper than a dedicated planetary webcam; eBay is a good place go keep trying. The old Xbox live cam as I mentioned earlier seems to be okay - the thread on SGL about them suggests you can pick them up for a £5... If I didn't already have the Philips SPC900NC Pro, and my Imaging Source DBK proper planetary imaging camera then I might have tried one at that price!

[UnderTheRain]

Those guys selling on ebay are both running out so the spc900 will become very rare shortly they can't get them anymore. I've just been buying any old random webcams with a manual focus off ebay to try them all out.

[Rustmonkey]

To be fair, I know that it's a bit expensive but I get the cam that everyone recommends, it's already modded (bonus) and it comes with the software already flashed.

Not being electrically minded, I wasn't happy about ripping a brand new webcam apart in the hope that I got it right. All in all atleast I get what I wanted. Fair play to mike for seeing a niche in the market.

[Cubemaster]

I put a wanted ad on Astro Buy and Sell and got quite a few responses. I got a bargain and a few offers.. I've asked the two I turned down if I can pass on their details. They all have the nose piece adapter and one also has the IR filter and the price was half those being asked on ebay. PM me and I'll pass on their email addresses. One was also modded for LX by Astronomy Shed I'm told.

[dazzst]

No need for a PM. Please post on the forum for everyone to enjoy.

[Bigeye]

Just for the record the mod done on the Michael Morris spc900's is a flash that takes 30 seconds via the USB cable and un-screwing the lens...These are not modded for LX.

The cameras were being sold for between £6 to £25 up until 7 weeks ago. If you check his 'as a buyer' tab on feedback you can actually see where he bought them and for how much. He's sold 9 so far today so thats a sweet £400 plus profit a day for him.

Then again, who can blame him as he has no other sellers to worry about.

[Cubemaster]

dazzst I'm not sure if it's against the rules but then again I don't want to be responsible for the chaps who contacted me to be bombarded with emails for as long as this thread exists:)