My First Jupiter

[Josh Wilson]

I had clear skies tonight so I set up my scope and by about 8:45, Jupiter was clear up in the sky.

Here are the settings:

Frame Divisor=1

Resolution=640x480

Frame Rate (fps)=15.00

Colour Space / Compression=MJPG

Exposure=-7

Brightness=128

Contrast=32

Hue=4

Saturation=93

Sharpness=0

Gamma=180

WhiteBalance=4200(Auto)

BacklightCompensation=0

Gain=0

And finally the picture:

[Josh Wilson]

Any tips? I wasn't sure what Color Space to use so I just went with the default. Is MJPG OK? Or should I switch to YUY2?

[Mzungu]

i like that - nicely done

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I think it could handle a bit more magnification (Barlow or PowerMate), otherwise it looks good.

[cgarry]

Any tips? I wasn't sure what Color Space to use so I just went with the default. Is MJPG OK? Or should I switch to YUY2?

You want YUY2. MJPG uses lossy compression.

Good first image though, looks like you got the focus spot on.

Cheers,

Chris

[JamesF]

That's a very good first attempt. Definitely use YUY2, as Chris says.

James

[Stargazer33]

Hi Josh! Very nice image for your first attempt. One to be proud of.

I'm glad you asked the question about the compression setting. I have always wondered which one to use and if there is a difference. YUY2 for me from now on!

[Josh Wilson]

I think it could handle a bit more magnification (Barlow or PowerMate), otherwise it looks good.

I agree. This is at 200x with a 6mm EP. I'm hoping to get a barlow for christmass so until then this'll just have to do.

Thanks all for the comments, I'll try to use YUY2 given there are clear skies tonight. Anything else?

[Josh Wilson]

christmas

[JamesF]

I agree. This is at 200x with a 6mm EP.

You're doing this afocally rather than at prime focus? What camera are you using?

James

[Stephen Green]

A very nice image Josh I use a 2.5 powermate which gives me a nice size image

Stephen

[Josh Wilson]

I

You're doing this afocally rather than at prime focus? What camera are you using?

James

I am using an Xbox Camera afocally because I can't get focus with no eyepiece. A barlow will fix that but I don't have one at the moment.

[JamesF]

Ahh, lack of inwards focus?

James

[Olorin]

Hi Josh,

That's a very nice first attempt. here are some additional comments:

1. gamma should be 0

2. gain should be at around 80% thus the exposure should change as well to fit it

3. YUY2 is the preferred option

4. go for a barlow that will give you ~f/25 (if you have one)

5. use an IR/UV cutoff filter (if you have one)

6. I usually use fps 10 (I guess you have an SPC900)

That's will give you a good start before you get addicted and start using 6 different post-processing tools to get to the ultimate result :-)

Nice job again on your first

Dror

[JamesF]

The Xbox camera Josh is using doesn't behave as nicely as the SPC900, Dror. The gamma can't be lowered to 0 and if the gain is too high then there's too much noise in the image. I wouldn't go over 10fps with the SPC900 and I couldn't get a decent image from my Xbox camera at any higher frame rate using my 127 Mak, but 15fps is probably a better choice if the scope is fast enough (which in this case I think it probably is).

James

[Olorin]

I wrote it assuming that Josh is using the SPC... (haven't seen his post when I wrote the answer ;-) )

[theo]

Nice first image Josh. One to look back on in time to come as you improve with experience and get more captures under your belt.

Pete

[Josh Wilson]

Ahh, lack of inwards focus?

James

Yes. With my Canon and Nikon cameras, I can get focus if I take off the 2"-1.25" and 2" adapter on the focuser. But with that, vignetting is a hassle. If only I had a Barlow...