Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

ASDA £2.93 webcam

jordanclarke89

By jordanclarke89
in Discussions - Cameras

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 383
  • Created
  • Last Reply
nytecam

nytecam

Posted
Posted

My Windows avi video clips from last night of Mars and Saturn via the Adsacam captured in Amcap don't have a file extension and whilst they play in Window Media Player they are 'invisible' in Registax/ Window MovieMaker etc - any tips?:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted

I tried both of the ASDA's in Ipswich and I can't find any of the 2.93 ones so got one of the 1300k ones for 7.45, hopefully I can use it for basic planetary imaging and as a makeshift guidescope cam:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JimFR

JimFR

Posted
Posted

I've already got a 'Toucam' equivalent (deffo philips, but not sure what pedigree) from Sherwoods, and a 1004X(A) boardcam, so I won't bother. last time I bought a 'cheapo' webcam, it was a Logitech E1000, and it was truly pants - M10 thread, tiddly little CMOS, and it would only generate JPG frames - barely adequate for mugshots.

when my infrastructure allows, I use the 1004X for low light, and I find the gain control of the Philips good enough for saturn and jupiter - though I've not taken any frames using either for about a year... (the 1004X is good enough to show some faint nebulosity in M42/3 even at a 50Hz refresh/max exposure with a 4.5" newt - sorry, no processed piccys yet !)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SwampStar

SwampStar

Posted
Posted

I'll definitely be picking one of these up tomorrow - hopefully they've got some left at my local ASDA!

I've never tried imaging before, although it was always an intention, so this might be a good and inexpensive way to have a practice!

One question, though...(and to me it sounds like a daft one)...do you have to take your laptop out with you? And doesn't it wreck the light?

Sorry!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

Yes, you need to have some sort of computer nearby, unless you have very long leads.

And yes, it messes up your night vision. Some applications have a "night vision" mode that's supposed to help, but I've never found anything that works well enough so instead I use a red filter in front of the screen. Even that causes problems when you're trying to check focus and so on however, so often you just have to live with the fact that your night vision will be shot when you're imaging.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted

I modded my 1300k Asda webcam and attached a nose piece and now I can't get it to work with XP? it says the drivers are installed and to click on my computer then click on USB webcam, but theres no USB webcam icon?? :D I'm a bit gutted as I spent ages making a good qaulity nosepiece.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

That's not bad at all, I reckon. Focus looks very good. Personally I'd back off the wavelets a bit, but that's because my preference is for a slightly "softer" look at this sort of scale. There does seem to be a pink tinge to the image, or is that just my eyes? Do you think that's down to the camera firmware messing about with the image?

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nytecam

nytecam

Posted
Posted
That's not bad at all, I reckon. Focus looks very good. Personally I'd back off the wavelets a bit, but that's because my preference is for a slightly "softer" look at this sort of scale. There does seem to be a pink tinge to the image, or is that just my eyes? Do you think that's down to the camera firmware messing about with the image? James
The 'pink' appeared via Registax not the original but what do I know after one try:rolleyes:

I'm still impressed for expenditure of £1.46 !

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

Oh, I agree, it's impressive for such a cheap camera. You can't even buy a book of stamps for that these days. I wonder if the pink might be down to stray IR that only really became noticeable after processing. Were you using the camera with a filter?

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

I think you'd need someone to compare the two cameras side-by-side and then processing using exactly the same settings to get an idea of that. If you could find out what sensor is used on the ASDA camera then you might also be able to make a judgement. The real benefit of the SPC900 is the quality of the sensor.

I suspect it won't be as good, but that doesn't mean you can't get acceptable images out of it.

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JamesF

JamesF

Posted
Posted

Mars is starting to become a more difficult target than it was a couple of months ago. The reduced area that we can see in sunlight is definitely diminishing its brightness. However, since Gareth asked about the comparison between the two cameras here's my image of Mars taken with the SPC900 and my 127 Mak over the weekend. Looks like the polar cap is already starting to enlarge compared with the images I took a month ago.

mars-2012-04-21-1.png

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites
garethmob

garethmob

Posted
Posted

im not allowed to utter the word A**A any more, had a meeting yday bascally warning us if we do and its at all "bad" then we lose our jobs :'( but hopefully these A**A cams can be the new phillips, because the quailty of the saturn pics above are amazing :D for a smart price camera i would say it rivles the better webcams for being so simple as theres no "software middle man" like alot of new ones have

Link to comment
Share on other sites
c3po

c3po

Posted
Posted

Picked up the last two at my (not so) local ASDA today, will set to work modding the first one later.... hoping for some nicer weather to use it in would be a good idea too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nytecam

nytecam

Posted
Posted
I'm far from convinced that nytecam is doing himself justice with that Mars, to be honest. I'd not be at all surprised if he's along later with something better. James
Give us a break James - it's my first ever Mars image in initial test - I'm happy to show initial rubbish and perfection may take awhile longer :D

Actually it's a special treat for the Asda webcam to displace my Lodestar from deep DSOs :)

My clip at Cheap Asda webcam for astro imaging - YouTube with Jordan credit

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nytecam

nytecam

Posted
Posted
I'm far from convinced that nytecam is doing himself justice with that Mars, to be honest. I'd not be at all surprised if he's along later with something better. James
Give us a break James - it's my first ever Mars image in initial test - I'm happy to show initial rubbish and perfection may take awhile longer :D

Actually it's a special treat for the Asda webcam to displace my Lodestar from deep DSOs :)

My Youtube clip at Cheap Asda webcam for astro imaging - YouTube with Jordan credit

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.