focusing webcam ?

[Charlie_132]

sorry yeah im using sharpcap, i never realised it was called that, i always read it as sharpcam

how do i find the display of it ?

[Charlie_132]

i have finally found properties ... i just now need to know what i should set them at, havent got a clue what to put them to, could someone give me a idea as to what it should be please (wxastrocapture and wcctrl settings are in this thread)

[Tiddles]

Here's the settings I used on the moon last night.

[Video Camera ]

Frame Divisor=1

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=30.00

Colour Space / Compression=YUY2

Exposure=-10

Brightness=142

Contrast=50

Hue=3

Saturation=38

Sharpness=0

Gamma=180

WhiteBalance=3146

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=8

The pic of your webcam appears to show a lens. Is the optical path clear to the CCD/CMOS sensor?

[Tiddles]

How far inside the tube is the sensor? I use an xbox cam which is fairly slim. Looks like the issue may well be the amount of inward focus that you can achieve.

[Charlie_132]

Its just short of 2 inches long

[Tiddles]

Excuse the poor illustration.

As you can see with my xbox camera, the extension tube has to be pushed in so that the camera itself sits against the focuser, the sensor sits <15mm away from the end of the tube and I can only just achieve focus with it almost all the way in.

[Charlie_132]

Oh, that's the furthest it ll screw in

I could push it in and tape it though

[Charlie_132]

Ignore that

Just tried taping it in then I heard a click ... And its clicked into place, no gap now

[Tiddles]

The important thing will be to get the sensor as close to the end of the focuser as you can. For my set up that must be <15mm. It looks like that may be hard to achieve with your camera.

[Tribal-Wolf]

There are plenty QC Pro 4000 cams out there being used with the adapter on and don't have any problems. Has it been modified for long exposure by any chance?

[Charlie_132]

15mm away from the focuser ?

can you explain a bit more, dont quite understand, i sound a bit stupid

[Charlie_132]

yes it must have been, the previous owner had no trouble taking photos of jupiter and the moon

[Tribal-Wolf]

You only need long exposure for DSOs like Nebulae, planets don't need it. Is there any flick switches on the outside anywhere?

[Tiddles]

Apologies about the poor pic. This is my setup in a Skywatcher 150 Dob. As you can see (just) the tube on the front of the camera needs to be pushed as far into the focuser as possible. You can also see that there is very little inward adjustment left. The sensor in the webcam is very close to the top of the focuser tube itself. The design of your camera looks as though the sensor may be too far inside to achieve focus.

If this is the case you may be able to remove the 1.25" mount tube and find a way to fix the camera into the adaptor plate.

[Tribal-Wolf]

nope i dont get any of those come up on the right .. i only get a few

i ll try installing it again

heres some pics of my webcam

The Logitech cams don't have as much info on the right hand side setting but Exposure should be there. You want your frame rate at 10.00, if you have it higher you will have a much darker image and a lot of dropped frames. The exposure I use is between 6 and 8.

[Tribal-Wolf]

Check this out and see if it helps

[dav1d]

Just stop a second Charlie & ignore sharpcap settings until you have the actual physical setup correct.

To start with, use your laptop's own webcam software or restore the default settings to sharpcap.

I think you have a focusing problem which is common with reflectors but easy to rectify with your particular scope.

From looking at the pics you've supplied, I'm guessing that the lens has been removed from the webcam and a 1.25" tube welded on. This is a good thing, but means that the webcam sensor can't move close enough in to achieve focus unless you remove some more of the casing at the front.

You're using the 130p flextube - same as me - which makes the solution dead simple. What you need to do is extend the tube to full length then slooooooooowly pull it inwards until you find the sweet spot & all of a sudden: BOOM! you have focus.

After that you can mess with exposure settings etc...

FYI my sweet spot was about 3/4 of an inch and it's very difficult when you start as moving the tube inwards tends to move the entire scope, but you get the hang of it eventually.

Here's a photo of my first moonshot for encouragement: MOON PHOTO (yes I've posted it on here before when I was asking about exposure) and FWIW I've since stripped the cam back so it's flush to the EP holder - less tube adjustment required.

Have patience. Best of luck & if you need anything else, just ask.

[dav1d]

ps: I've assumed you have the 130p flextube as I think I remember a post where you were talking about buying one.

If you don't & therefore don't have the option of shortening the tube, here are a couple of pics of my current webcam setup which mean that I don't have to. Pretty drastic, especially if you've only just bought the cam, but it works for me by getting the sensor that much closer without the casing ramming up against the EP holder.

http://seasidenews.org/hiddenstuff/IMG_20120406_235411.jpg

http://seasidenews.org/hiddenstuff/IMG_20120406_235427.jpg

[Charlie_132]

Dav1d, what webcam do you have ? have you managed to take any photos of saturn ?

Yes I have a skywatcher 130p.

I'm going to go outside soon and try it all again, so basically I should use the settings provided for wxastrocapture from the previous owner, move the ep holder all the way out, place the webcam in the slot, then slowly moveturn the ep holder inwards focusing on a distant object until I get focus ?

[Charlie_132]

Update - just done it from the very top of the extention of the ep to the bottom moving it very slowly

Didn't get any change atall. Still a white blank screen

[dav1d]

The advice I was giving was specifically for the Flextube version & doesn't involve moving the EP holder, but actually shortening the telescope body by nearly an inch.

I may have confused things further.

First: Do you have this scope: Sky Watcher Heritage 130P FlexTube™ 130mm (5.1") f/650 Parabolic Dobsonian Telescope

If you don't then my first batch of advice is irrelevant to you.

Second, can you provide a link to the advert where you bought the webcam, so we can see exactly what you have & tell you what you need to know.

[Charlie_132]

Yes I have that scope from that website (just waiting for the 2x barlow to be delivered .. Been waiting 3 weeks now ..)

So what do I need to do exactly because I'm getting confused/frustrated with it now

Would it hep if I cut a inch off the webcam tube so the lens has less distance to travel ? Or would that make no difference ?

Could you give me a few step by steps please

[Tiddles]

Chopping the extension down will not make a difference. I think you need to shorten the distance the light travels from the primary mirror to the sensor on the camera.

If you have a flextube you can try not fully extending the scope by an inch or so and then try to focus.

Where are you Charlie?

[Charlie_132]

I've tried not extending the ep and fully extending it, still no difference, just a white screen

How do I shorten the distance the light travels ?

I'm in hertfordshire, stevenage

[dav1d]

Give me ten minutes to take some photos. A little indisposed ATM

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