Celestron NexImage 5 Solar System Imager Vs

[lee g]

So I’m still looking at a camera to get into planetary imaging when I came across Celestron NexImage 5 Solar System Imager so I was wondering how this compares to something like the ZWO ASI 224MC USB 3.0 Colour Camera.

Also would either of these be suitable for my 8” sct

Edited August 20, 2020 by lee g
Unfinished

[ebdons]

The 224c is better in my opinion, the same sensor as the neximage 5 is on ebay as a medical cam for £30 so I think the neximage 5 is overpriced for an "old" sensor I have both sensors and the 224c is just better usb3 v usb2 does mean something? . other folks may differ tho.  zwo120mc/mm usb3 cam is also pretty good as well. tony

Edited August 20, 2020 by ebdons

[happy-kat]

My neximage 5 can not do any exposure longer than a fraction of a second needed for planets without terrible noise. It has a nice size sensor but can be noisey, so great on the Moon but that's about the limit of it's use in my experience so far. I need to try again for longer exposure length tests and whether the noise is an issue or my inexperience.

Edited October 2, 2020 by happy-kat

[bus_ter]

I took this with the Neximage 5 over 7 years ago. I've been out the hobby a long time and just searching for the camera to see if it was still relevant. Found your recent post. When I bought the camera it was new out and very impressive. Amazingly Celestron still sell it today, and at a higher price! Camera sensors have evolved significantly in recent years (I'm trying to remember the camera phone model I had back in 2013!) so I'm surprised to see this camera is still being sold. However what I can say is that the lens (your telescope) has always been the main limiting factor, but I'm looking forward to see the improvements in software and tech that has taken place over the last 7 years..

[happy-kat]

In my searching this week I had found your post and Jupiter image, it's super and much better than I had expected. I also found your comment that the camera is essentially also a DFK72 on this SGL blog Link, I'm already using the imaging source driver and sharpcap as I don't have the original install CD with mine as I picked it up used. I was going to use it as an all sky camera as the sensor is a great size and that's where the pattern noise with longer exposure then needed for planets comes to play unfortunately. For their price bracket the ASI224 looks more versatile as it can manage longer exposure and be useable plus the sensor is sensitive to infrared which looked interesting and there are a couple threads using it for intro EAA.

Edit - some of the noise was bayer pattern I had the wrong setting it should have been RGBG. 

Edited October 2, 2020 by happy-kat

[happy-kat]

this post sparked me to get out the camera and try it again, the driver has been updated and things are looking better 

[bus_ter]

29 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

this post sparked me to get out the camera and try it again, the driver has been updated and things are looking better 

I've just updated all my drivers and software from the Imaging Source site (https://www.theimagingsource.com/products/industrial-cameras/usb-2.0-color/dfk72auc02/)

Interesting to see the last driver update is only a couple weeks old! (generic driver for all their products?)

The IC Cap software is also much newer than what I was using back in early 2013.

SharpCap I see has evolved substantially in the last 7 years. There's now a Pro version I see! Also looks promising that it seems to directly support the Imaging Source/Neximage 5, however I can't find a BINNING option? I remember vaguely getting better results enabling binning  in the IC Cap software.

Registax seems to have stalled at some point in the past. Is this still the stacking software of choice or have things moved on?

Finally I found the Hot Pixel took on the Imaging Source site, but it detected thousands of hot pixels and I thought better of enabling that setting (I think it turns off those pixels?), so left that alone.

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by bus_ter

[happy-kat]

Sharcap 3.2 doesn't work for me but 3.1 does on the neximage 5, the native celestron firmware is giving me long exposure to 30 seconds though I am currently trying to test it and look for binning as you mentioned it

EDIT: I am now finding SharpCap 3.2 is working fine.

Edited October 2, 2020 by happy-kat
3.2

[happy-kat]

I am using this driver

https://www.theimagingsource.com/support/downloads-for-windows/device-drivers/icwdmuvccamtis/

[JamesF]

22 minutes ago, bus_ter said:

I've just updated all my drivers and software from the Imaging Source site (https://www.theimagingsource.com/products/industrial-cameras/usb-2.0-color/dfk72auc02/)

Interesting to see the last driver update is only a couple weeks old! (generic driver for all their products?)

TIS seem to have a setup which appears quite odd to me, where some of their cameras implement the UVC specification, but don't claim to be UVC, some genuinely are UVC, and some, which I think includes the DFK72, use a bespoke protocol which is actually very similar to UVC, but possibly extends the spec (I've never found any documentation covering what the additional features are, if any).  It may well be that they're sufficiently similar that it's efficient to implement everything in a single driver.

I think they use the same core hardware for other markets as well however, such as "machine vision" cameras and microscopy cameras, so it's quite possible the camera hardware is supported for those fields for quite some time after the astro-imaging crowd have "moved on".

31 minutes ago, bus_ter said:

Registax seems to have stalled at some point in the past. Is this still the stacking software of choice or have things moved on?

AutoStakkert is certainly worth giving a spin, though it is stacking only, rather than stacking and post-processing.

James

[happy-kat]

I do not see a binning option on sharpcap under the capture format and area menu. Edit- found it, it can bin.

An long exposure whilst can select to 30 seconds is not actually keeping the senor open it is a 30 second duration of the initial image then the next frame is taken

If I can get this working and it is usable to say 10 seconds my all sky camera project is back on

Edited October 2, 2020 by happy-kat

[Merlin66]

I use Firecapture/ AS3!/ Imppg/ PIPP for solar imaging with the ASI 174 and ASI 1600.

The only program I've found that does CMOS software binning is PIPP.

Run the initial SER video through PIPP with the binning settings required (2x2, 3x3, 4x4) and save the output as a SER file.

This can then be imported to AS3! etc for subsequent processing.

 

[happy-kat]

i have just downloaded firecapture to see if i get proper long exposure length

[happy-kat]

Neximage 5

SharpCap, Firecapture and iCappture are not doing long exposure.

If I set 2 second and a frame every 8, the image seen at the pass of 8 seconds duration is the frame taken at a fast exposure regardless of what I set. Edit - Ah ha this appears to be just that the sensor is not live viewing to the monitor.

Firecapture will bin x2

iCappture will bin at x2 or x4

SharpCap does offer binning

I think I will revert to the driver I had first installed some time ago and try again.

Edited October 2, 2020 by happy-kat
I corrected comment on binning

[Merlin66]

H-K,

Thanks for the correction!

I found FireCapture V2.6 has a setting for x2, x3, x4 binning.

I just tried the Time lapse with both the ASI 1600 and the ASI 174 - worked for me.

 

[happy-kat]

I tried a driver for thrle neximage 5 from Celestron (a 2014 image source genetic usb camera driver) but no difference, still not getting actually long exposure to work even though camera can do up to 30 seconds.

I'll try the XP box next.

[happy-kat]

Looks like the issue was user knowledge 🙂 looks like the sensor does not live view on the longer exposure length.to the monitor. More practice required.