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Webcam imaging journey...

knobby

By knobby
in Getting Started With Imaging

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knobby

knobby

Posted
Posted

I thought would post a few pics to illustrate how addictive / satisfying it is to get hooked on the budget brand of imaging.

I never really fancied it to be honest but after seeing some of the images in the forum thought I'd have a little dabble...

Bought a £4 asda webcam and the best I ever achieved was...

post-21341-136333903418_thumb.jpg

Others have had much better results with the same cam though.

Now I was semi hooked :D

Next step was a Logitech 4000 £8 on eBay ( similar sensor to SPC900)

The best I achieved was this...

post-21341-136333921936_thumb.jpg

And this with a Barlow...

Then after looking for ages found an SPC900 for £50

This is my best so far, poor seeing, high above houses with lots of thermals...

post-21341-0-09359700-1363339966_thumb.j

Think I'm hooked :D

----edit----

Just re read post and have realised that I am most definitely hooked, I'm even making excuses about poor seeing and thermals!

post-21341-136333942126_thumb.jpg

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Mattscar

Mattscar

Posted
Posted

As someone who is just starting out on a webcam imaging journey (I have an xbox cam but havn't modded it yet) this is inspiration. Especially as my dads fancy D90 wont reach focus on my scope, so webcamming it is!

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lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

Cheers James, any suggestions greatfully recieved ...

I,ve seen your pics ... bet you cant give up !

just trying the last one as a png

Hi,

Keep at it, it will get better. I am new to all this too and the one attached is from a couple of weeks ago, all the usual excuses, light polluted back garden , airport 5 miles away, houses emitting heat all over and lack of tecnique and experience of course.

Regards,

A.G

post-28808-0-39840000-1363397515_thumb.j

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water1958

water1958

Posted
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I got those images using an 8" SCT SPC900 2x barlow. The telescope is the classic orange tube from the 70s

I use sharpcap to process,and registax 5.Good seeing is the key to doing this,I observe from my back yard with a big orange street lamp not 10 feet away,so I use a dew shield to stop the light entering the scope.

As I say without good seeing conditions all my efforts seem washed out.I usually get 600 frames to get images like that Nobby,but keep going with it.

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lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

That's really nice A.G. I'm pretty sure I need to work on my focusing, also the Barlow is a cheapie 2 x celestron omni , so maybe a better Barlow is an idea.

Hi,

I used my SW Mak 127, 1500 mm focal length and the camera has a 1/3" format chip so no need for a barlow there as there is plenty of magnification. I have a couple of other captures from an SW 100 ED pro at F9 and the same camera i used a Revelation astro 2.5X ED barlow and the result was good, I have attached a thumbnail I think with barlows you need to get the best one that you can or can't afford, if I was doing it again I 'd go for an Orion 2X shorty PLUS, at nearly £90.00 it is pricy but at least is minimises image degradation.

Lots to learn yet and very little time and cloudy skies this week.

Regards,

A.G

post-28808-0-96057900-1363435160_thumb.j

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Helite

Helite

Posted
Posted

Really enjoying this post, would be really really helpful if people could post some more info alongside the images though if possible as a reference. Just what capture software, settings, type of cam/scope/barlow etc There is some great pics there though!

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lensman57

lensman57

Posted
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Hi,

I think that those two captures posted by water1958 are really good, very good signal to noise ratio. I seem to have a problem with getting a strong enough signal so the subsequent processing produces unacceptable noise. Still we carry on regardless. Three weeks ago I emailed my first ever capture of Jupiter to my daughter and her reply was quite interesting, she wrote " it is amazing what could be achieved from a back garden these days". I guess we just need to keep on improving. I hope The Op doesn't mind but I attach a thumbnail of a capture of Saturn from 3 weeks ago when I managed to defy the cold, the early hours of the morning and my old age to get this image.

Best wishes and regards to all.

A.G

post-28808-0-41062700-1363465570_thumb.j

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lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

Nice Saturn!

of course I don't mind, that's what this forum is all about, sharing :D

Thanks knobby,

I noticed that you have an Sw skyliner 250. I think that is a killer scope. Huge aperture and a long focal length. Perhaps if I ever recover from my recent atttack of overspending I ought to look into the flextube 250 with GoTo, now that would be the best of both worlds to me.

A.G

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lensman57

lensman57

Posted
Posted

Haven't tried imaging with it... Been using the 127 mak in an EQ5 pro.

the Dob is great for visual :D

I only got the Mak for a camping weekend... But it kind if stuck

I too have the MAK on the EQ5 pro, with the exception of the cooldown time it is a great little scope. Very good quality optics.

A.G

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