Which webcam for planetary work?

[blusky]

Hi all, I feel my SPC900 just doesn't give me enough resolution for planetary imaging.

Which camera/webcam would you recommend for a 8" Newt under £250 mark? Colour or mono? If mono, how does it work with filters?

PS Despite being electronics rather than optics the second hand cameras don't seem to depreciate much judging by astrobuysell

Thanks.

[tingting44]

interesting, ive heard the SPC900 is the cam of choice...

*pulls up a seat*

i got my SPC900 coming next week

[scoobee]

Have you checked this site out might be a cheaper solution

http://www.astronomi...o.uk/toucam.htm

£60 for a sensor thats in the DMK 21AU04.AS

[Steve Ward]

As far as "webcams" are concerned you'll do well to top the SPC900NC . . .

As for Planetary Imaging cameras , that's a whole different thing . . .

Steve.

[atmenterprises]

This is a 640x480 resolution shot of Jupiter using a SPC900 with two 2x Barlows stacked. You may be able to go 5x but even then Jupiter is just about going to fit on the chip. What kind of resolution are you looking for?

[Cornelius Varley]

Hi all, I feel my SPC900 just doesn't give me enough resolution for planetary imaging.

Which camera/webcam would you recommend for a 8" Newt under £250 mark? Colour or mono? If mono, how does it work with filters?

PS Despite being electronics rather than optics the second hand cameras don't seem to depreciate much judging by astrobuysell

Thanks.

What focal length do you normally image at ? You may not be using the telescope / camera combination at its optimum.

[blusky]

This is a 640x480 resolution shot of Jupiter using a SPC900 with two 2x Barlows stacked. You may be able to go 5x but even then Jupiter is just about going to fit on the chip. What kind of resolution are you looking for?

This is a 640x480 resolution shot of Jupiter using a SPC900 with two 2x Barlows stacked. You may be able to go 5x but even then Jupiter is just about going to fit on the chip. What kind of resolution are you looking for?

I see Jupiter being about 100x100 pixels using a 2x Barlow. Here's a recent show. Good. but I think could be much better using a 1024x or higher resolution camera. Would a Canon do a better job?

Last year:

A few days ago:

[blusky]

What focal length do you normally image at ? You may not be using the telescope / camera combination at its optimum.

1200mm and a 2x or 3x Barlow.

I want to be able to capture images like this (which are only twice bigger than mine

[blusky]

interesting, ive heard the SPC900 is the cam of choice...

*pulls up a seat*

i got my SPC900 coming next week

Please don't be discouraged

The first time it's totally wow.

But then you simply want more

[atmenterprises]

Oh he used a mono CCD camera. I don't think they're cheap...

[Josh Wilson]

The higher the resolution is, the more fps you sacrifice. You can get high fps at a low resolution, which allows you to get more frames for stacking. Good cameras will allow high fps at a high resolution, but they are a bit pricey sometimes.

[Cozzy]

Please don't be discouraged

The first time it's totally wow.

But then you simply want more

I understand wanting more, but first try and get the very best from what you have, (money don,t buy you love). you have a good setup there simular to lots on SGL if you are not achieving what you expect to then ask the ??? because you can get a silk purse from a sows ear!!!!!!

[JamesF]

For under £250, lots of people are saying quite positive things about the ASI120MC (colour) and ASI120MM (mono) cameras at the moment. I guess you'd be looking at about £180 for those depending on where you get them. If you have a look through the planetary imaging section you should find a few examples.

If you want greater image size you either need to reduce the pixel size or increase the focal length. Reducing the pixel size commonly has the unfortunate side-effect of reducing sensitivity so it's not always a good thing, but then increasing the focal length spreads the light out over more pixels and that may not work if the camera isn't sufficiently sensitive either. Ideally you want to be imaging with a focal ratio of between f/30 and f/40. That's probably going to be tricky with a 200P, but if the camera is sensitive enough and you can track well enough you can probably put a 5x barlow (or perhaps preferably a PowerMate) in the 200P and image with that.

James

[astromerlin]

If you want a larger image scale then increase the distance between the 3x barlow and the webcam. I have a similar setup and have made an extension tube on the webcam adapter. Alternatively some remove the lenses from a spare barlow and use the housing as an extension adapter.

[JamesF]

If you want a larger image scale then increase the distance between the 3x barlow and the webcam. I have a similar setup and have made an extension tube on the webcam adapter. Alternatively some remove the lenses from a spare barlow and use the housing as an extension adapter.

Good point. I do exactly that with a kit Skywatcher 2x barlow from which I've removed the lenses. It gives about 40mm extension. I combine that with a 2.5x Revelation barlow to get about 3.3x with my 127 Mak.

James

[tich]

That's handy to know as I've stacked Barlows before but the image loses its sharpness a little I guess that's due to the light going through 2 lenses. I found a 3X Barlow works well with my set up but a 4 or 5 X I really struggle to get anything clear so I might try the extension tube method next time.

[philwright66]

hi blusky,

to be honest, the philips spc900 is really quite old tech now,and it seems the new generation of high sensitivity,high framerate,and high pixel density cameras are the way forward. i have just bought the colour and mono versions of the ASI120,and these cameras are orders of magnitude better than the old philips webcam. please check out this link:http://www.zwoptical.com/eng/Cameras/ASI120/index.asp

i ordered both cams from this chinese manufacturer,and they arrived about 3-4 days later with fed-ex (international tracking).

[philwright66]

i forgot to add that the price i paid for both the ASI120MM and the ASI120MC was less than £200 each.no import duty or VAT was charged when delivered

cheers,phil.

[JamesF]

to be honest, the philips spc900 is really quite old tech now,and it seems the new generation of high sensitivity,high framerate,and high pixel density cameras are the way forward. i have just bought the colour and mono versions of the ASI120,and these cameras are orders of magnitude better than the old philips webcam.

I don't disagree, but if you can get an SPC900 for £60 these cameras are still three times more expensive. On the positive side they're a bit cheaper than the DxK21 cameras based on the same sensor as the SPC900.

James

[meteoriot]

I have just bought an spc900nc also.

Looking forward to it, however I am now also curious about these other cameras.

How much better are the results on average with a dedicated planetary camera?

Richard

[JamesF]

How much better are the results on average with a dedicated planetary camera?

They're clearly better, but how much is hard to quantify unless someone can capture a decent set of data with both cameras using the same telescope on the same night. If someone has done that with the ASI cameras then I've not seen it.

James

[philwright66]

hi richard,the philips spc webcams are noisier,less sensitive,with lower data throughput,and have compression applied to the avi output.i have read that the compression is minimal if a low <10fps is used however.the latest cameras are using cmos sensers,which are much higher performance all-round. i will dig up an old spc900 jupiter image and my first ever asi120mc image taken thro' my 180 mak @2700mm f15 to very roughly compare the two.

[philwright66]

i'm finding that jupiter displays a much 'whiter' image than the spc ever did.maybe the colour definition is much better ,and much better auto white balance to boot. the new cam can also image at all sorts of sizes from 100x100 up to over 1200x800,so it should be very useful for small planets like mars ,as well as wider-angle moon images.frame rates with the latest firecapture software can reach more than 100 fps! truly excellent specifications.

cheers,phil

[bus_ter]

I have just bought an spc900nc also.

Looking forward to it, however I am now also curious about these other cameras.

How much better are the results on average with a dedicated planetary camera?

Richard

Not as much as you might think. Someone talked about the SPC900 being resolution limited. Well if you can out resolve 640x480 with planetary detail then you've got a hell of a scope setup. The sensitivity of the chip is also good enough (you have to back it down for bright planets). Ironically it's the age of the webcam that's the biggest problem. It was made back in the days of USB 1.0, which means you have to run very low frame rates or have a lot of compression applied to get the images thrown down that usb 1.0 interface.

I've just bought a new Imaging Source DFK72 for £120. They have been rebranded by Celestron with a nose piece adapter and built in IR filter for astro use. I've just flashed it with the latest DFK72 firmware so I know the internals are the same. Anyway still waiting for a clear night to give it a go.

[Vapouriser]

If price is a serious issue. I got 2 morgans spc900 s for £30. But they seem to be out of stock at present.