What equipment should I get for imaging

[Apple15pie]

Hi guys

I have a Heritage 130p and love it to bits, the only problem is when i tell people what i have seen they demand pictures!! I have tried th "phone to eyepiece" method and got some OK pics of the moon, but that is it really. I can't seam to get anything decent on my digital camera (Samsung WB150f if you are interested), and was wondering how to get better images.

I was thinking a webcam but do not know anything about astro imaging and all the software needed and stuff so your guidance on what to get that would best suit my needs would be great

Is imaging even a viable option with my Heritage 130p?

Enlighten me please

Daniel

[Langy]

It really depends on what you want to image. Normally for planetary and lunar images people use a webcam, everything else is with a DSLR.

The webcam is used to record video and then stacked in software to get the final image which is ideal as the object is very bright. DSO require longer exposures and therefore require a different method.

I don't think that you will get the images you may be thinking of with your kit, now those more wise that me may put me right. What you can try and do first is widefield images, as in pointing the camera to the sky on a tripod.

Shooting in the dark requires long exposure times, the more you magnify the image the less time you can expose unless you are able to track the sky with the earths movement.

Just try taking some pictures with your camera on a tripod, you will soon see at the different zoom levels how long you need to expose the image for to get some detail. It is possible to take a lot of shorter exposure images and then stack them, but for starters they ideally need to be in RAW format so that there is detail to bring out when they have been stacked.

[C7tsj]

Go down the webcam route as a starter. I just bought a Lifecam from Asda, £15, very quick mod to remove lens.

Software required is Registrax and I also use Sharpcap. Both free.

You could be imaging within an hour for the price of the webcam. At the very least you will get good moon pics, then you can decide if you want to upgrade to capture planets and DSOs.

Good luck.

[Apple15pie]

I doubt i would do any DSO imaging, probably stick to lunar and planetary, to a fairly decent level (to what i can see in the eyepiece - is that expectable) so it looks like a webcam is the way to go! Is there a specific type of webcam to get for telescopes? How would I attach the webcam to the telescope? What are the mods you mentioned? I am fairly clueless about this so if anyone knows any guides or something to simple webcam astrophotography that would be a great help.

Just try taking some pictures with your camera on a tripod, you will soon see at the different zoom levels how long you need to expose the image for to get some detail. It is possible to take a lot of shorter exposure images and then stack them, but for starters they ideally need to be in RAW format so that there is detail to bring out when they have been stacked.

I have tried this, playing with the shutter speed and aperture to get images of some constellations (I am going to Australia in the summer and although i can't take my scope, i am planning to do this to get some milky way shots   ) and got some fairly good results, but no success with an actual object, any tips?

[C7tsj]

Search for Xbox webcam mods on this forum or for something similar. There is a tiny lens in the webcam that need to be removed.

Then you need to attach a fitment to the front of the webcam so it sits in the focusser tube (the bit you normally put your EP in). That is it.

I used superglue to attach a 1.25inch tube to my webcam then straight into the scope. No need for an EP, the webcam becomes the EP.

Like I said, search for the xbox cam mods you will get the picture.

Cheers,

Mark

[Langy]

I bought a new xBox webcam for under £5 delivered from eBay. The mod was remove the lens, the filter on top of the chip and crush the 4 LEDs. Took me about 10 minutes. Then as I couldn't get any 1.25" tube to fit my focuser tube I bought an adapter off eBay for webcams, think it is either 8 or 10mm thread pretty standard.

You remove the EP from the scope and insert the webcam. If you want to test it, as long as you remove the lens from the webcam you can hold the webcam in place with some masking tape. That's OK for the first couple of times but the adapter makes life far easier.

If you want to take images of individual objects then they need more overall exposure time. Without any tracking it becomes harder but not impossible for the brighter objects. Take a look at the video below, that is what got me started,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0JSTF8SGi4&list=WLpWIx6AVA0qogAX0syRenFPf3pGFWEB6K

[Apple15pie]

Ok so i have read up on this a bit now, a bit more knowledgeable... 

... BUT why do you remove the filter? Some people have no filter and some get an adapter with a filter built in, why is this?

[Langy]

The filter in the webcam is i guess a similar type to what you find on a digital camera, they are there for daylight images.

On the xbox webcam it is a small piece of plastic behind the lens mount. Two screws to take the mount off, push filter out and then screw it back together again.

I still have the filter in case i ever want to put it back.

I think when a DSLR is nodded the filter is removed and may even have a different type fitted.

Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Tapatalk

[Apple15pie]

Ok, 2 more questions - If i was to get an adapter, instead of making one with the plastic tube, should i get one like this :http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Webcam-Adaptor-to-Fit-1-25-Eyepiece-Tube-Holder-without-IR-Filter-BNC-50P-/201047889122?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item2ecf6354e2 without the filter

or one like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Webcam-Adaptor-to-Fit-1-25-Eyepiece-Tube-Holder-with-Built-in-Filter-BNC-50P-/141214448614?pt=UK_Photography_Telescopes&hash=item20e1097be6 with the filter

2) Are some webcams better than others? What makes a webcam suited to astronomy? I looked in a local shop today and saw several types with different features and was quite confines as to whats best for astronomy

Thanks for all the help