Best all sky cam?

[tooth_dr]

For under a £1000. What’s the best available. Is it still the starlight Xpress oculus ?

 

Thanks!

[AngryDonkey]

'Ready made' probably yes. To be honest there isnt really much of a choice...

If you are up for a bit of diy then I would go for something like an ASI178MC with a good Fujinon lens. You can get domes and heating elements easy enough but you would have to create a waterproof housing of some sort. There are some good designs around if you Google it. A 3d printer helps but it can also be done with piping or boxes. You would certainly get better image quality (and colour).

[tooth_dr]

19 minutes ago, AngryDonkey said:

'Ready made' probably yes. To be honest there isnt really much of a choice...

If you are up for a bit of diy then I would go for something like an ASI178MC with a good Fujinon lens. You can get domes and heating elements easy enough but you would have to create a waterproof housing of some sort. There are some good designs around if you Google it. A 3d printer helps but it can also be done with piping or boxes. You would certainly get better image quality (and colour).

Thanks ?? I’ll look into this. Software wise - allskeye?

[tooth_dr]

ASI178MC not the cooled version?

[Yawning Angel]

This might be worth a punt at the price : eBay

[tooth_dr]

13 minutes ago, Yawning Angel said:

This might be worth a punt at the price : eBay

Unfortunately it’s not much use

Specs:
Camera Type: Color NTSC
Pick Up Device: 1/3"" Sony EXviewHAD CCDII*
Pic Elements: 976(H) x 582(V)
Resolution: 700TV Lines
Min Illumination: 0.1 Lux / F1.2
White Bal: Auto/preset/indoor/outdoor/fluorescent (Requires optional OSD Cable)
Lens: 5mp CS IR/F2.0/2.8mm
Dimensions: 38x38mm
Weight: 31g (with 2.8mm lens)
Voltage: DC8.5V-DC20V
Power: DC12V 70mA +/-5mA
FOV: 156 Degrees

[AngryDonkey]

12 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Thanks ?? I’ll look into this. Software wise - allskeye?

Of course! But then I am biased ? If you go for the Oculus then AllSkEye is definitely your best bet (I originally wrote it for the Oculus although now it supports all ASCOM cameras and also natively ASI ZWO cameras).

AllSkEye is very feature rich and has lots of extras but it only runs on Windows so you would need to factor that in e.g. availability of a Windows machine, location, USB cable length limits etc. 

11 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

ASI178MC not the cooled version?

I've not tried a cooled camera for all sky images but personally I don't think the extra cost will be worth it (and you would also need to factor in having to get rid of all the heat in the housing that's being generated by the cooler). AllSkEye has a bad pixel map feature which usually manages to clean up the image of any hot pixel.

One main thing to consider is the camera / lens combination as this will determine how much of the sky you will be able to see. In terms of the camera the resolution is obviously the main consideration in terms of image quality but the sensor shape also plays a role i.e. a more square (squarer?) sensor will normally work better for all sky as the all sky image should be a circle. Most people are usually aiming for a full 180 degree image, this can for example be achieved with an ASI 178MC and a 1.4mm Fujinon lens. Personally I actually prefer not to get the full 180 degree view but am usually aiming for 150 degrees. This way a bit of the horizon is cut off but I can fill the entire rectangle of the sensor and a lot of the stray light from houses etc. it also cut down. I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

[tooth_dr]

24 minutes ago, AngryDonkey said:

Of course! But then I am biased ? If you go for the Oculus then AllSkEye is definitely your best bet (I originally wrote it for the Oculus although now it supports all ASCOM cameras and also natively ASI ZWO cameras).

AllSkEye is very feature rich and has lots of extras but it only runs on Windows so you would need to factor that in e.g. availability of a Windows machine, location, USB cable length limits etc. 

I've not tried a cooled camera for all sky images but personally I don't think the extra cost will be worth it (and you would also need to factor in having to get rid of all the heat in the housing that's being generated by the cooler). AllSkEye has a bad pixel map feature which usually manages to clean up the image of any hot pixel.

One main thing to consider is the camera / lens combination as this will determine how much of the sky you will be able to see. In terms of the camera the resolution is obviously the main consideration in terms of image quality but the sensor shape also plays a role i.e. a more square (squarer?) sensor will normally work better for all sky as the all sky image should be a circle. Most people are usually aiming for a full 180 degree image, this can for example be achieved with an ASI 178MC and a 1.4mm Fujinon lens. Personally I actually prefer not to get the full 180 degree view but am usually aiming for 150 degrees. This way a bit of the horizon is cut off but I can fill the entire rectangle of the sensor and a lot of the stray light from houses etc. it also cut down. I guess it's a matter of personal taste.

Thank you! That info has been most useful.  I read that oculus own software wasn’t great and I hadn’t realised yours works with it. 

[tooth_dr]

Does anyone have any sample images from the ZWO 178MC and Fujinon lens?

Is there an off the shelf enclosure available?

[AngryDonkey]

4 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Does anyone have any sample images from the ZWO 178MC and Fujinon lens?

You can have a look at these two live cameras:

https://www.astropage.nl/weather/

https://weather.orionranchobservatory.com/allskyimages/OROAllSkEyeLatest.jpg

4 hours ago, tooth_dr said:

Is there an off the shelf enclosure available?

I don't know of any. I'm not 100% sure but I think Alcor System do all sky cameras that might have ASI ZWO cameras in them (certainly CMOS). They are 2000 USD and upwards though.

[tooth_dr]

1 minute ago, AngryDonkey said:

You can have a look at these two live cameras:

https://www.astropage.nl/weather/

https://weather.orionranchobservatory.com/allskyimages/OROAllSkEyeLatest.jpg

I don't know of any. I'm not 100% sure but I think Alcor System do all sky cameras that might have ASI ZWO cameras in them (certainly CMOS). They are 2000 USD and upwards though.

Thank-you yet again!  I'm tempted by the Oculus model, purely on the simplicity to get it running.