First step

[Misaki]

I was disappointed to only observe 2012 DA14 for a short time and having my camera since longer than summer 2012 I finally took advice from freinds here and took it to pieces today .. and .. it still works

So here I present to you my stargazing freinds my very first image.

Craters Catharina, Cyrillus and Theophilus sat to the west of Mare Nectaris.

Corrected for EW as seen by naked eye.

SkyWatcher . Startravel 102 w Lifecam cinema at prime focus . Sharpcap.

[Microsoft LifeCam Cinema]

Frame Divisor=1

Resolution=1280x720

Frame Rate (fps)=10.00

Colour Space / Compression=RGB24

Pan=0

Tilt=0

Zoom=0

Exposure=-6(Auto)

Focus=11(Auto)

Brightness=132

Contrast=5

Saturation=63

Sharpness=25

WhiteBalance=4500(Auto)

BacklightCompensation=0

Life is good

Missy.

[emadmoussa]

Good job, Miissy. It seems like a common struggle to get a sharp focus through a webcam , but that is said, yours got it very well indeed without any sign of chromatic aberration usually associated with short tube refractors.

[Misaki]

Thanks Emadmoussa . I know it sucks when compared to some imaging shown here but I am more than pleased because it is my work.

While still at school I am limited in equipment to be able to purchase but the learning still goes on.

The focus and abberation you mention are from luck not designed .

The weather is predicted good here tonight with low humidity . as soon as sol goes below my horizons I will set my scope to chill down and try somemore later.

Thanks again . clear sky to you.

Missy.

[emadmoussa]

Well, Missy. It's expensive equipment even for working people...the ones who can't make a set-up for clear sky on Sunday night while another manic Monday is few hours away Good luck with your experiments. It gets better the more you do it. Keep us posted.

IM

[JamesF]

I don't think you should have any complaints about that for a first attempt. Focus looks pretty good. I wonder if perhaps a bit less brightness or shorter exposure might help control the halo around the limb. Sharpcap has a histogram tool that might help you on the transform drop-down menu (between the object name and reticle options). I'd suggest experimenting with exposure time and brightness to try to get the histogram no more than three quarters full ("full" is when the graph reaches all the way to the right).

Is that image a single frame or a stack?

James

[Misaki]

Thanks IM yes it can certainly be expensive but we got to have something, right!

James . I did not know of that feature but will try it tomorrow . the trouble I have is to having a nice overall balance .

I imaged this last evening . only using 2x Barlow ..

Capture 17_02_2013 19_59_24 by MissMisaki1995, on Flickr

The feature may help this phenomena?.

Thanks again ..Clear skies.

Missy.

[Misaki]

Sorry I overlooked and cannot edit ..

It is a single frame off a manual GEM (EQ1) but not driven as I cannot see Polaris from the garden to align.

Missy.

[JamesF]

A lot of imaging is about getting the experience to have a feel for how things will turn out when you're looking at your captures on the screen, Missy, so lots of practice is good. That second image looks very nice. Focus looks good and if you can get the camera brightness under control I think you'll have done a very good job there. Experiment with a few different brightness settings and see how it goes. It's not the end of the world if the image is a bit too dark as you can stretch the histogram in processing to lighten it up a bit.

It's quite tough to get decent alignment with an EQ1 if you can't see Polaris. I think a few people manage it by putting a camera on the mount and using plate-solving on the images they take, but that's a lot to get your head around I think you should be able to get a few hundred images fairly quickly though, without the Moon drifting too much across the field of view. It should be possible to stack those and then crop the ragged edges off the image. It's worth capturing some data anyhow, to play with on those cloudy nights

James

[emadmoussa]

From my experience with the Xbox webcam, it's almost impossible to get a prime focus. It's a low quality camera after all.

And yes, EQ1 will be an issue with alignment. But lunar imaging shouldn't be biggy with it.

[JamesF]

From my experience with the Xbox webcam, it's almost impossible to get a prime focus. It's a low quality camera after all.

This isn't the Xbox camera though, according to SharpCap's output.

James

[Tiago]

Misaki, try using Registax for stacking the videos from your captures - it will bring out detail you didn't even notice it was there - see this for an example, if slightly overprocessed.

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/176237-really-low-budget-imaging-what-you-can-do-with-50-of-equipment/#entry1812343

[SnakeyJ]

Also worth using filters to reduce the brightness glare - longer wavelengths (red) are less affected by poor seeing, so you get more detail and its easier to achieve focus - you can always convert the red image back to black and white later on post stacking.

[JamesF]

Ah, there's a good point there. Are you using any kind of IR filtering on your camera, Missy? If not that may be part of the problem with the overexposure.

James

[Misaki]

Hi James . I'm sorry the weather has closed in and I havnot be able to experiment more since.

I understand in removing the autofocus unit from the cam also came with it filters . I am now in need of IR and possibly UV filter.

A good catch there . Thankyou . It is trial and error.

Wish me luck . I take my 2E0 examination this weekend . I love visual observation I am also love the radio observation.

Missy.

[JamesF]

UV shouldn't be a major problem with the camera, but IR will. Sometimes the IR and UV filters are combined though, so it doesn't matter if you get just an IR filter or an IR and UV filter.

2E0 is a radio exam, isn't it? Not something I know much about, I have to admit. Good luck with it.

James