Imaging witha 130 reflector

[bomberbaz]

it is just a thought. I was going to sell my little reflector but now I am thinking could I use it for very basic imaging using a webcam. I have the webcam and have converted it using cliff's guide. http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/131246-xbox-livecam-mod-cliff/ I could set it up whilst I do my viewing through my new dob!

The scope is on an EQ mount and would need motors fitting but by all accounts, this wouldnt break the banks and I could probs afford to buy in NY. I would stress I am not expecting images that even go part way to the wonderful striking ones posted by some of you guys with the big dollar stuff, just something to say,, I did that....

Oh the scope is a Astromaster 130p EQ, what does anyone reckon, would it do for some basic imaging of some planets, the moon and other larger DSO's?

Baz+

[madatter]

Hi, I have a Skywatcher 130p and it does what i want, i use a canon 40d for dso and planets, the only problem is the eq2 mount limited me to around 20s exposures, after a great deal of thought ive just bought a eq5 but for now im sticking with my scope.

[bomberbaz]

Thanks madhatter, however I think I need to read up on this a little more. I don't, as stated want to be too ambituous, but it would be nice to have a little more than just memories afte a good session. When you get to my age, you need that little extra to remind you , lol

[Stargazer Jack]

It will be a good telescope for lunar and planets but not DSO. I recommend looking at a webcam and also my website as I use the same scope you have

[bomberbaz]

It will be a good telescope for lunar and planets but not DSO. I recommend looking at a webcam and also my website as I use the same scope you have

Hiya Jack. As mentioned in opening post, I have got a webcam and I am in the process of, not done as previously atated, converting it. Just needs the 1.25 pipe glueing on. Not happy with araldite plastic glue, rather have model making stuff. I will have a nosey at your pics thiugh, willl give me some ideas if what is achievable hopefully.

Baz

[Stargazer Jack]

Sorry didn't read that correctly :/ If you need help with the correct settings once your done, just ask

[DBushell]

With my 130 I get results like this for Jupiter with an spc900.

[bomberbaz]

With my 130 I get results like this for Jupiter with an spc900.

That is ace, if I can get any where near to that i will be well chuffed, thanks for that

Baz

[DBushell]

Hi Baz,

I used an xbox livecam before that, but could only get a black and white image, however the SPC900 seems to pick up the colours better. Key to it is focusing which is very difficult on my Astromaster 130 scope as the mount moves a fair amount.

[nephilim]

Capture 12_9_2012 7_44_02 PM.bmp

I got this with my 130m a 2x Barlow & a £5 X-Box cam, im getting a 3xbarlow as soon as I can afford one so should get even better results.

[bomberbaz]

have to say that is very nice indeed nephilim, I also have got the x box web cam and a decent 2x barlow so maybe that is achievable, if so then I will be more than happy. Going to fill the tripod legs with sand after, that should aid stability.

What settings and exposure time did you use to get that please?

Baz

[Stargazer Jack]

I will the settings I used later but when doing it make sure the gain is full otherwise you may get onion rings Also, it is better to have a darker image than a brighter image.

[nephilim]

have to say that is very nice indeed nephilim, I also have got the x box web cam and a decent 2x barlow so maybe that is achievable, if so then I will be more than happy. Going to fill the tripod legs with sand after, that should aid stability.

What settings and exposure time did you use to get that please?

Baz

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=25.00

Colour Space / Compression=YUY2

Exposure=-7

Brightness=161

Contrast=72

Hue=16

Saturation=67

Sharpness=67

Gamma=187

WhiteBalance=3566

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=112

These are the settings for that image, u may have 2 tweak a little here n there depending on the seeing etc, the sand in the tripod legs is a good idea n works well 4me. Good luck.

[nephilim]

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=25.00

Colour Space / Compression=YUY2

Exposure=-7

Brightness=161

Contrast=72

Hue=16

Saturation=67

Sharpness=67

Gamma=187

WhiteBalance=3566

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=112

These are the settings for that image, u may have 2 tweak a little here n there depending on the seeing etc, the sand in the tripod legs is a good idea n works well 4me. Good luck.

Btw, the avi for this was 1000 frames ( you can set the amount when u start ur capture in Sharpcap which is the capture software i use & it's free!) apparently Jupiter doesnt image very well above that as it 'spins' to quickly & tends to blur, I used Registaxv6 (also free) to stack the images.

[stem1989]

You should be able to do enough to keep you happy for now, you will get some good enough shots but when it comes to future proofing, you may want to look into guiding as your exposure times even with drives are going to limited to 30ish seconds depending on conditions.

[bomberbaz]

You should be able to do enough to keep you happy for now, you will get some good enough shots but when it comes to future proofing, you may want to look into guiding as your exposure times even with drives are going to limited to 30ish seconds depending on conditions.

All i want to do like I said is take some very basic shots with a scope I was going to sell, so i dont want to spend a load of sheckles. For teh cost of a cheap web cam plus conversion, less than a tenner and a secondhand RA motor, £25 that will suit me fine. All the software is free so lets just see what we get from it.

Thanks to you all for the advice and watch this space for my first efforts, when we get some CS's !!!!!!!!!!!

Baz

[nephilim]

All i want to do like I said is take some very basic shots with a scope I was going to sell, so i dont want to spend a load of sheckles. For teh cost of a cheap web cam plus conversion, less than a tenner and a secondhand RA motor, £25 that will suit me fine. All the software is free so lets just see what we get from it.

Thanks to you all for the advice and watch this space for my first efforts, when we get some CS's !!!!!!!!!!!

Baz

BTW, I saw in the classifieds that u have a 3x barlow for sale, if i were u I'd hang on to it 4 a while as it wud be perfect for the webcam, pushing the magnification using a cam doesnt apparently affect the quality of the image. Just a thought.

[stem1989]

BTW, I saw in the classifieds that u have a 3x barlow for sale, if i were u I'd hang on to it 4 a while as it wud be perfect for the webcam, pushing the magnification using a cam doesnt apparently affect the quality of the image. Just a thought.

agreed

[boabsta]

Be carefull Baz, you are standing at the top of a very slippery slope.

I also only wanted to take a pic good enough to show the family what it was I can see through the ep.

That was over a grand ago and I still have the basic kit for decent imaging.

Once you get that first image you will be chuffed. Then you will tweak it using software. Then you will try and get a slightly better image as you rekon the seeing is better now than when you took the first. Oh theres saturn, will have a bash at that. The moon, maybe a mozaic for a bigger picture thats got more detail. Hmm orions looking very nice tonight, I wonder....

It just doesnt stop! And no matter what you get to image with there will always be someting else needed to get it better/right/bigger/bolder.

Its actualy scary how much it can consume you. If your not out with your scope your at home proccessing avi's or stacking images or playing with wavelets.

Save yourself a lot of time and effort and just look and go aww and ahh when you see things. If anyone asks if you can get a pic, send them to google.

Yes I do feel better for getting that off my chest.

Rab.

[bomberbaz]

Be carefull Baz, you are standing at the top of a very slippery slope.

I also only wanted to take a pic good enough to show the family what it was I can see through the ep.

That was over a grand ago and I still have the basic kit for decent imaging.

Once you get that first image you will be chuffed. Then you will tweak it using software. Then you will try and get a slightly better image as you rekon the seeing is better now than when you took the first. Oh theres saturn, will have a bash at that. The moon, maybe a mozaic for a bigger picture thats got more detail. Hmm orions looking very nice tonight, I wonder....

It just doesnt stop! And no matter what you get to image with there will always be someting else needed to get it better/right/bigger/bolder.

Its actualy scary how much it can consume you. If your not out with your scope your at home proccessing avi's or stacking images or playing with wavelets.

Save yourself a lot of time and effort and just look and go aww and ahh when you see things. If anyone asks if you can get a pic, send them to google.

Yes I do feel better for getting that off my chest.

Rab.

hahaha, i know exactly where you are coming from Rab but I am not going to get drawn in. My main draw is observing but like I said, the scope I have for imaging is a spare scope that isn't going to fetch a massive amount on second market, so for literally a few extra quid, i can have it set up in garden and do a little bit of imaging.

Also I am getting wed in 18 months and if I start spending loads on astrophotography, her indoors is gonna have something to say and she as you know must be obeyed

[boabsta]

Good luck dude

I'll remind you of this post in a year and see where you are lol

Good luck with the wedding

Rab.

[nephilim]

Be carefull Baz, you are standing at the top of a very slippery slope.

I also only wanted to take a pic good enough to show the family what it was I can see through the ep.

That was over a grand ago and I still have the basic kit for decent imaging.

Once you get that first image you will be chuffed. Then you will tweak it using software. Then you will try and get a slightly better image as you rekon the seeing is better now than when you took the first. Oh theres saturn, will have a bash at that. The moon, maybe a mozaic for a bigger picture thats got more detail. Hmm orions looking very nice tonight, I wonder....

It just doesnt stop! And no matter what you get to image with there will always be someting else needed to get it better/right/bigger/bolder.

Its actualy scary how much it can consume you. If your not out with your scope your at home proccessing avi's or stacking images or playing with wavelets.

Save yourself a lot of time and effort and just look and go aww and ahh when you see things. If anyone asks if you can get a pic, send them to google.

Yes I do feel better for getting that off my chest.

Rab.

Haha, that rings a bell, i'm very shortly going to be a couple of grand out of pocket and it all started with taking a quick snap of the moon through my scope with mobile phone, it's certainly very addictive!

[bomberbaz]

Good luck dude

I'll remind you of this post in a year and see where you are lol

Good luck with the wedding

Rab.

I aim to have my bits intact so I wont have spent a couple of grand like nephilim, lol