Webcams

[Captain Tripps]

Hi all,

Ive been looking at people posting about using Webcams with their scopes and just been wondering how you do this. Is it a case of taking a webcam to bits and modifying it to fit? Is it something that an idiot such as myself can do .

[Merlin66]

If you can find one of the Philips webcams, it's as easy as removing the camera lens ( just unscrews) and buying a C to 1.25" adaptor, and screwing this into the webcam body.

This allows you to put the webcam into the focuser, just like an eyepiece and voila- you have images on your screen!!

http://firstlightoptics.com/products.php?cat=55&pg=2

[Captain Tripps]

Thanks for that, I already have an old webcam in my garage - can you adapt any webcam or is it only particular ones that work?

Lee

[Merlin66]

The Philips are the webcam of choice.

If you can easily remove the lens and cobble up a 1.25" adaptor to fit it to the scope - give it a go!!

[kentronix]

most cheap webcams are cmos, very hard to get a decent image because they are not very good in the dark. The philips (I use philips spc900, cheapest at amazon) they use ccd, and very good ccd for the price.

The method I use is to take a video of the object and then stack the frames using k3ccd or registax. Both programs have tutorials online and its not reallly particularly hard. I use the 1.25 adapter as shown above.

Both of these vids of mine were done using the spc900, a homemade toilet roll based fitment and a cheap tasco 114mm reflector. Total cost of setup about £60 or so. Not including the laptop of course.

The saturn one shows just how powerful frame stacking is.

[red dwalf]

philips spc900nc are very hard to get hold of, try google, no chance, if you see one new or second hand take my advice, grab it !

[Captain Tripps]

Brilliant, thanks everyone.

I didn't realize it was as simple as that! I'm going to look out for the Phillips web cam as it is one that a lot of you seem to recommend.

Thanks again

Lee

[red dwalf]

put an advert in the wanted section, these are hard to get hold of as they don`t make them anymore