Wish i could

[tom.yates]

HI GUYS, Wish i could take some images of the planets but don't have a clue i have a digi camera 4 m pix but it may as well be a box camera so i am looking for some help as i have the scope for the job a f7 apo very flat field

TOM.

[OXO]

Hello Tom,

Which camera do you have? Digicams are not the best choice for Planetry imaging really, a Toucam Pro is about the best and it's cheap compared to digicams/Astro Camera's.. Saying this it's not impossiable to image the planets with a Digicam just depends which one really but does require a lot more work.

James

[tom.yates]

James its the olympus c 765 ultra zoom digi compact 10x optical zoom it also got ed lenses perhaps i could just hold it up to the eyepiece and see what happens

Tom.

[OXO]

Hi ya Tom,

Yeah you could try that use as high a ISO speed as you can this will give you more chance of not getting a blurred image and the use of a faster shutter speed.

James

[russ]

Hi Tom,

The C765 can certainly take good planetary images but be warned it's harder work than using the Toucam. I say this from experience but I was very pleased with the results. However this was back in 2001/2 and I was using the predecessor to your camera, the Olympus C700uz.

I bought the Scopetronix DigiT connection kit and the Olympus remote control. You will also need a suitable eyepiece, one with a large chunk of glass. I used one of the Skywatcher 15mm Ultra Wide eypieces.

The DigiT kit is pretty pricey @ £80 but Teleskope Service in Germany do a similiar kit for £30. The remote is £15. And the eyepiece can be picked up on Ebay for £15.

You'll need the camera set to a lower resolution so that it can maintain a high rate of continuous shooting. You'll need to capture 300-400 images to make a good image.

Thinking about it, an easier option would be to take advantage of the C765's knockout movie mode. It's capable of 640x480 @ 30fps (a Toucam could only dream of that performance). There's a good chance you'll get a decent image using the movie mode. I was restricted to 320x240 @ 15fps on the C700, so never really bothered.

I'll see if i can find one of my old images for you.

Regards

Russ

[Rob]

WOW Russ... they are good mate. On balance and by looking at your digi camera shots. I've had poor results with the toucam (poss me! )

[Grant]

Wow! I had no idea such amzing shots of jupiter were possible!!!! Nice work Russ!

[OXO]

Cracking images those Russ brings back memorys of when i first seen them along with some of Ant's inspired me to try my hand at imaging

James

[tom.yates]

SUPERB IMAGES RUSS I THINK IWILL HAVE TO GIVE IT AGO PERHAPS SOMEONE COULD HELP ME AT THE STAR PARTY?

TOM.

[OXO]

Yep! no probs Tom

James

[OXO]

Excellent image that Russ was that scope the same as Gaz's?

James

[russ]

Not sure James. I think Gaz has the Intes MK67, which is a 6" f12. Quality of optics there's nothing in it and not wanting to heap any pressure on Gaz with his Toucam but his scope will easily match the M603.

Russ