Imaging

[RosalinaandLuma]

Hi,

Getting into imaging the planets again after many years. So for context I used to use an old webcam pointed down the eyepeice and got decent pics of Mars (could make out different sides weeks apart ). I now have a Meade LX 10, 8 inch and I have a Nikon DSLR. My most recent attempt was using the Nikon via T ring to the scope (prime I believe), for the moon this gives a nice pic - way lower magnification than what I see in eyepeice, for Jupiter and Saturn I just get a white blob at best a brown smudge - rubbish compared to what i see in my eyepiece.

So wanted to up my game, emailed a shop and was recommended the ZWO 120 colour USB 3 and a Barlow (either x2 or x3). I did some research and now am a little confused and would like some clarification:

1.  The ZWO hooks up the scope thru the barrel, in this config will I not just see the same blob/smudge again since there is no more magnification compared to when I used my DSLR - how does the ZWO preform any better ?
2. By using the Barlow (a vixen x2 or Explore sci x3 ) I assume this goes between the ZWO and the scope and does increase my magnification two/three times ? Is this not a very small advantage compared to my eyepiece (26mm) ?
3. I know from reading, the ZWO will help, I guess I am just having trouble understanding how the ZWO thru the scope (prime) might be similar/better to what I can see with my eye in my 26mm eyepiece.
4. Does anything get close to what I see in the eyepiece, without going super expensive/awkward mounting.

I know I just need an optics lesson, but also looking for assurance that the above purchase while expensive I can afford it, will be worth it, compared to fiddling of buying a webcam blue tacked to the eyepiece.

[CraigT82]

An 8" SCT and a ASI120mc-s with a 2x barlow is a very capable planetary imaging set up. The key to planetary imaging is to shoot videos rather than still images. The planetary camera has a much smaller sensor with smaller pixels and most importantly is capable of very fast frames rates (100fps+) which is critical.  Do you have a laptop with a SSD drive and USB3 ports? You'll need these to get the best out of the camera. If not you may be better off persisting with the DSLR, using it in 1 to 1 video crop mode if it has it, and using a barlow too to get a bit more image scale.There are plenty of tutorials online to show how to process the video afterwards, the best thing is that all the software you need is free. 

Edited August 30, 2020 by CraigT82