Celestron NexImage CCD Color Imager

[paulbeer]

hi are these any good ?

[riklaunim]

They are basicaly a webcams with a nosepiece - for cheap entry-level planetary, lunary imaging. Not as good as dedicated planetary cameras.

[paulbeer]

i was just after something cheap for lunar imaging, i don't want to spend a fortune if its something i don't take to .

[bigal1]

The neximage will be fine for what you want but a cheaper option would be to look for a suitable webcam ie . phillips toucam pro2 , phillips spc900nc they can be picked up for around £50 which is half the price of a new neximage and will work just as well ( some say slightly better ? ) hope this helps .

[TheThing]

Or consider the Meade LPi, which is cheaper than the Celestron and comes with all the necessary software for image capture and processing bundled with it.

[riklaunim]

Or consider the Meade LPi, which is cheaper than the Celestron and comes with all the necessary software for image capture and processing bundled with it.

Big pixel, small scale, CMOS sensor, old design worse than webcams and neximage.

[TheThing]

To quote Thumper's father from the film Bambi: -

'If you aint got nuthin' good to say, then don't say say nuthin' at all.'

[Glider]

I have direct experience of the Neximage and the SPC900 and if all you want to do is try planetary and moon imaging on a budget then either would do this. After trying it and if you like it and you get bitten by the imaging bug then at least you know you are not wasting your money.

[dark knight]

The Neximage can be picked up at a reasonable price 2nd hand, for the SPC 900 expect to pay through the nose for it, I have seen these go for£60 to £80 and then another£10 to £15 for the 1.25" nose piece.

[BlueAstra]

I recently sold a NexImage here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/completed/100880-neximage-camera.html

It was a great starter camera for the moon and planets. I moved on to a DMK, but I would not hesitate to recommend it for getting into video processing. You can do a software mod for raw imaging, and a hardware mod for long(ish) single shot exposures. I did start with a very cheap home modified webcam, but it wasn't very successful. I had the Neximage working with XP and Vista, but the software options are less with Vista.