Raspberry Pi NoIR Camera

[Gina]

I seem to remember mention of using the RPi NoIR camera for astro imaging but rather than try to find an old and maybe out-of-date thread I thought I'd start a new one.  So what I'd like to know is whether anyone has experience of this use and whether it was any good.  How sensitive is it compared with "proper" astro cameras?  I find it hard to believe anything as cheap as this is could be that good but who knows!

[Gina]

Ah I see - nobody then   OK I'll ask another question - has anyone tried it and found it inadequate?

[SilverAstro]

On 09/08/2016 at 23:38, Gina said:

Ah I see - nobody then

Ah I see, still nobody then !

I guess by now that you may have seen this :- https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/astrophotography-with-the-camera-board/

I wonder if the Live EAA guys could adapt their software to live-stack images from the NoIR ?

[ You can guess why I stopped by here - looking for ClearSky/IR devices   it is very peculiar, I am still uncertain if NoIR means totally no IR or if it means no IR filter so it will have IR ! Bit of a Boolean problem ]

[Gina]

Thank you I haven't seen that thread - at least not lately - so I'll take a look.   The RPi blurb say NoIR means "No IR Filter" so it will do IR imaging.  Strangely, I couldn't find anything to say whether it was mono or colour but I'm sure that will become clear in due course.

[SilverAstro]

3 minutes ago, Gina said:

 whether it was mono or colour but I'm sure that will become clear in due course.

Good point ! no me neither yet, now you mention it, I will pay attention as I browse , onward&upwards , ,

(pssst "become clear", clear is henceforth a banned subs word after last night )

[Gina]

Yes, last night was frustration in the extreme!!   I guess I should be used to it by now!  HUH!!!

[Gina]

I'll probably do some research/reading first but I think I'll have to get one of those cameras - to add to my vast collection

[Gina]

This seems to be the cheapest and next day delivery :- Raspberry Pi NoIR v2.1 8 MP 1080p Camera Module  Whether this would be any better than a bog-standard webcam I'm not sure.  May depend on the number of USB ports wanted.

[SilverAstro]

10 minutes ago, Gina said:

I think I'll have to get one of those cameras - to add to my vast collection

For your amusement and delectation, some cloudy day reading :-

3D Printing + Raspberry Pi Camera = PiKon Telescope https://pikonic.com/

http://makezine.com/projects/gaze-across-the-solar-system-with-a-3d-printed-raspberry-pi-telescope/

or, since you have scopes already ! :-PiPiece http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:181310

Not read it all yet, so not sure if any of it is going to be relevant

7 minutes ago, Gina said:

This seems to be the cheapest and next day delivery :- Raspberry Pi NoIR v2.1 8 MP 1080p Camera Module  Whether this would be any better than a bog-standard webcam I'm not sure.  May depend on the number of USB ports wanted.

Thanks, looking now >>

 

[Gina]

That's interesting - looks like another possibility for a planetary camera   I seem to be amassing a collection

I have ordered a camera from Amazon together with keyboard and trackball (can't stand mice) the latter two will save me "borrowing" from my main desktop.  All due to arrive tomorrow.  I have also read a bit of "RPi for Dummies".

[wimvb]

Sorry Gina, didn't see your thread until now.

I tested the NoIR earlier this year on Jupiter and had to keep the gain way down to keep it from over exposing.

I think that with the small sensor and the ridiculously small pixels, you will have a hard time getting good result on anything other than the brightest targets.

On the other hand, the new version with the sony sensor will probably be better than mine.

The maximum exposure time for this camera is approx 10 seconds. But maybe lucky imaging is a way to go.

Other challenges are:

Raw format is non standard

Colour deficiencies of the cheap standard lens seem to be corrected in the firmware, according to some article I read somewhere. This is supposed to give odd colours when the lens is changed for another (better) one.

Also see this thread

http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=10003.0

Hope this helps

Btw the camera is osc. It's just that the ir filter is removed. Therefore picks up ir on all bayer pixels. This means that pure ir images are mono.

[wimvb]

Btw here is my original post

 

[Gina]

Thank you Wim

[wimvb]

Some more links:

http://www.truetex.com/raspberrypi

(scroll down for adapter to M12-lens mount)

http://petapixel.com/2015/09/14/using-a-mobile-phone-camera-sensor-with-a-nikon-f-lens/

This last link and the second link in SilverAstros post, shows the colour issue I mentioned earlier. But this can be removed in postprocessing I would guess.

When I tested the RPi camera, I found that the cable that comes with it is the limiting factor (and the fact that on my quick fix for a nosepiece, the chip came loose from the board )