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Saturn (again - sorry!) 12-04-09 NexImage RAW mod

MeerkatinBKK

By MeerkatinBKK
in Imaging - Planetary

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MeerkatinBKK

MeerkatinBKK

Posted
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Hi all,

Was perusing the Celestron knowledge base the other day and came across instructions to mod the firmware for the NexImage (which is basically just a ToUCam Pro) here.

The mod allows the cam to shoot in uncompressed RAW mode and is totally reversible (takes just a few seconds and can be turned on/off in the field) so thought I'd give it a go.

There seem to be only 2 downsides to the mod; you can only shoot at 5 fps, and you need an extra process to deBayer the avi file. Registax v5 will happily do the latter on the fly and there are other free programs like AviRaw if you don't use Registax. 5fps seems to be fine as far as Saturn went for me!

Anyway here's my third effort at Saturn. Don't think I nailed focus but very happy all the same - I'm getting a kick from seeing small improvements each time! Grateful if anybody has any suggestions.

post-15182-133877366053_thumb.jpg

About 400 used from 500 frames. 1/25s @ 5fps. NexImage with 2xBarlow (the one included in the Celestron e/p & filter kit). Registax and PS to tweak...

Cheers,

Nick

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ashenlight

ashenlight

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Great image Nick, you've picked up some lovely banding on the surface there. I'm no imager myself, but I would agree with you that the focus could be sharper. This doesn't detract from the image though, it is wonderful. Natural looking colour :) Maybe one of the imagers could help you with the focus :)

Amanda

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Cloudwatcher

Cloudwatcher

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A very fine image indeed....... far superior to anything I achieved using the NexImage. :)

I don't know if you have examined the background in any detail but I think that there is a moon visible at 5 o'clock ............ Also,possibly a fibre of some kind on the Barlow lens. :)

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MeerkatinBKK

MeerkatinBKK

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Thanks for the kind words folks! The RAW mod is certainly worth a go – just remember to back-up your existing factory firmware first (and if you're paranoid like me, copy it to various other hard drives too.)

Re focus: hmm still not convinced it's nailed. I might just be expecting too much given that with the Barlow I'm shooting with the equivalent of a 2.5mm e/p = x800 or 100 per inch aperture! It's the first time I've successfully managed to use it with the cam (and credit there goes to hanging my powertank from the tripod with my belt – much more steady even if my trousers weren't!)

CW: Eek! You've just had me scurrying down in a panic to check my gear out for unwelcome fibres. Everything seems clean so hopefully whatever it was has gone; could have been spider filament - I've caught one trying to spin across the dew shield in the past. I'll take some more frames tonight to make sure. Great catch on the moon too – thank you! Titan I think, with the image flipped horizontally.

Thanks again all,

Nick

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