Chameleon First Light

[PhotoGav]

Well, following a fabulous weekend at the SGL Star Party, I have joined team Point Grey... and the nice postman delivered a small package to me from nice Rupert at astrograph.net this morning. After a bit of fiddling and the purchase of a new laptop to run it (my MacBook didn't like the camera at all!), I managed to get it all up and running. The Sun even put in a very hazy appearance and I managed a very hazy first light:

It was too hazy to get anything of the huuuuge prom, unfortunately, but I was delighted to achieve focus and get something. I have to say that I have instantly fallen in love with this little camera and can't wait for a decent clear sky. However, it looks like that may be some time...

[steppenwolf]

1 hour ago, PhotoGav said:

(my MacBook didn't like the camera at all!)

"That'll learn ya!'' No, let's leave controversy out of this or I'll have to ban myself .... Lovely crisp image, Gav - Point Grey are renowned for their excellent products so I hope this camera continues to perform for you.

[PhotoGav]

Just now, steppenwolf said:

"That'll learn ya!'' No, let's leave controversy out of this or I'll have to ban myself .... Lovely crisp image, Gav - Point Grey are renowned for their excellent products so I hope this camera continues to perform for you.

Thanks Steve. One of the other items on my wishlist following SGL SP2017 was another Windows laptop for astro stuff, so it didn't take much to persuade me to go out and purchase. Thankfully I found a decent spec machine second hand locally.

[Ibbo!]

Nice first light.

With my chameleon i do drop the gamma a tad in capture - yes i know I said only drop it to help with focus but I do drop it a little  (and I mean a little )

 

Are you using Genika?

 

What frame rate are you getting?

 

[PhotoGav]

Thank you Steve. Yes, I'm using Genika, which seems to do the job very nicely. I dropped the resolution slightly to 1600x1200 and was obtaining about 47 fps. All in all one very happy solar imager!

[Davey-T]

No end to spending money on this hobby Gav 

Nice first image, I actually use my MBP for solar with the PG Bfly but running Bootcamp and Firecapture.

Dave

[PhotoGav]

Thanks Dave. I know, the bottomless pit is, well, bottomless! My wish list still has several items on it too... I did consider the bootcamp route, but decided that there are so many things that I need an astro dedicated Windows laptop for that I would just get on and go for it. Thankfully I found a decent spec machine second hand for a very reasonable price.

Can't wait for some clear and sunny skies.

[tich]

Cracking first light there Gav.

[Macavity]

A little confused, I thought the Chamelion was 1296 x 964? (But I might join up too)

So (!) [if I'm not wrong] this is a 3.75 micron 1/3" CCD chip that gives ~1280x960 
and (seemingly) without any Newton's Rings. To a good approximation ALL I need.

A 17% reduction of Pixel sizes and a replacement for my "slightly non-uniform" DMK41.
Recently been doing ZWO "tilting" experiments, but I remained rather unconvinced.

[GreatAttractor]

The first Chameleon was a USB 2.0 ICX445 camera, but these days there is a whole series of "Chameleon3" cameras: https://eu.ptgrey.com/chameleon3-usb3-vision-cameras

from 1.3 to 5.0 MPix (that's why I state my sensor when listing the HW used in capture).

[PhotoGav]

I have a mono Chameleon3 USB3 with the IMX265 chip: https://eu.ptgrey.com/chameleon3-32-mp-mono-usb3-vision-sony-imx265 2048x1536 with 3.45μm pixels.

No Newton’s Rings so far in my brief test yesterday. I await to introduce my Powermate into the equation, that might wake Newton up?!

So far I can highly recommend the camera. I’m hoping to catch a glimpse of Sol today, but it’s a tad breezy out there!!

[Davey-T]

Curious things those Newton rings, I only get them on the LS60DS if I use a Barlow, I've read explanations of the cause of them but don't pretend to understand it.

Could be worse, he could have invented Newtons squares 

Dave

[Pete Presland]

A fine looking image. 

[GreatAttractor]

22 hours ago, PhotoGav said:

No Newton’s Rings so far in my brief test yesterday. I await to introduce my Powermate into the equation, that might wake Newton up?!

So far I can highly recommend the camera. I’m hoping to catch a glimpse of Sol today, but it’s a tad breezy out there!!

Good to know. I'm considering moving up from my Chameleon3 ICX445 to one of those fast CMOS sensors. Keep us posted!

[johnfosteruk]

Very sharp considering the haze Gav, I hope Newton stays dormant for you

 

[PhotoGav]

Thanks John. I played a bit more this morning, including a go with the Powermate. Unfortunately that seems to have woken Mr Newton up! Pics to follow once processed.