Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD

[Armsoft]

Has anyone had any experience of modding this camera?

Is it in the same league as th SPC900 (can the firmware be modded?)

I know where I can get a number of these at a good price (sub £20 each) so was thinking of picking a couple up if it's worth it?

Do they have a CCD Chip or are they CMOS?

Any help/advice appreciated

Mark

[JamesF]

I've modded one and fitted it into a Skywatcher 25mm kit eyepiece for astro use. The firmware cannot be modded to the best of my knowledge. As far as I'm aware it is CMOS.

My current opinion is that with a smaller scope (eg. my 127 Mak) they are not a patch on the SPC900. Equally I've seen perfectly acceptable images from larger scopes using the same camera. I think my Mak just can't get enough light on the sensor with some targets (eg. Saturn at the moment) and as a result the image very grey and washed out whereas my SPC900 gives plenty of colour. It also struggles to pick out the Cassini Division which my SPC does without trouble.

If anyone *is* getting decent colour on Saturn from a 5" scope with SharpCap I'd love to see the settings used, otherwise I'm giving up on the camera at least until I have the C9.25 back in use.

James

[Armsoft]

I've modded one and fitted it into a Skywatcher 25mm kit eyepiece for astro use. The firmware cannot be modded to the best of my knowledge. As far as I'm aware it is CMOS.

My current opinion is that with a smaller scope (eg. my 127 Mak) they are not a patch on the SPC900. Equally I've seen perfectly acceptable images from larger scopes using the same camera. I think my Mak just can't get enough light on the sensor with some targets (eg. Saturn at the moment) and as a result the image very grey and washed out whereas my SPC900 gives plenty of colour. It also struggles to pick out the Cassini Division which my SPC does without trouble.

If anyone *is* getting decent colour on Saturn from a 5" scope with SharpCap I'd love to see the settings used, otherwise I'm giving up on the camera at least until I have the C9.25 back in use.

James

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated and, having done a bit more reading up on it, I think I'll give it a miss.

Some of the images being posted up from the Xbox cams seem to be promising, I'd just like some clear skies to try mine out:(

Mark

James

James

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated and, having done a bit more reading up on it, I think I'll give it a miss.

Some of the images being posted up from the Xbox cams seem to be promising, I'd just like some clear skies to try mine out:(

Mark

[Gina]

I tried the LifeCam Cinema with my old Celestron 130 Newt and didn't do very well with it. Not much luck with my ED80 plus Barlow either but I haven't tried much. I've been concentrating on DSOs with DSLR. I decided a while back that planetary AP was asking too much with the ED80 and f7.5 (a 2x Barlow would make it f15 - too slow with just 80mm object lens). So I'm waiting until I get a suitable planetary scope such as a Mak. I was interested to read that the 127 isn't really enough for planets like Saturn, so I will be saving up for longer.

Meanwhile, I have plenty to image with DSOs and have seen for myself what many more expert people have said, that you need a different scope for planetary than for DSO, and a different camera. I can't afford to cover both DSO and planetary ATM so planetary has taken a back seat.