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Video Camera Imaging

jturner9

By jturner9
in Imaging - Discussion

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jturner9

jturner9

Posted
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I haven't found anything about video observing and imaging on SGL.

Kind of surprised about that. I'm new to the site and I maybe missing it some where on the site. I posted a few screen captures from my video camera yesterday and started looking around for others. If SGL has a forum or blog section that covers video imaging and observing I sure would like to be pointed in that direction. If there is not one is it possible one could be started?

I have found video observing and imaging to be the best way to beat light pollution and is a fantastic tool for outreach programs. No lines needed to look at a monitor and no eyepiece gets dirty or scope touched to be refocused. People are amazed at the live color images. Not to mention the web sharing that can be done broadcasting the images live on the web.

This maybe asking to much for a newbie to SGL and the odds are I have just missed finding the information. DUH I'm not the brightest

star out there. LOL

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Doc

Doc

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What camera do you use Jim. Tell us a bit about your set up.

I was/am thinking about a Celestron CPC 925 and a Watec 120N, this way I can relax in my conservatory and watch the images on my 46" TV via the laptop.

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admin

admin

Posted
Posted
I haven't found anything about video observing and imaging on SGL.

Kind of surprised about that. I'm new to the site and I maybe missing it some where on the site. I posted a few screen captures from my video camera yesterday and started looking around for others. If SGL has a forum or blog section that covers video imaging and observing I sure would like to be pointed in that direction. If there is not one is it possible one could be started?

I have found video observing and imaging to be the best way to beat light pollution and is a fantastic tool for outreach programs. No lines needed to look at a monitor and no eyepiece gets dirty or scope touched to be refocused. People are amazed at the live color images. Not to mention the web sharing that can be done broadcasting the images live on the web.

This maybe asking to much for a newbie to SGL and the odds are I have just missed finding the information. DUH I'm not the brightest

star out there. LOL

Hi Jim,

The link in your signature leads to a website sponsored by Mallincam, with a review of a Mallincam camera written by 'Jim'. Apologies if it is all simply a coincidence but we do regularly see members who join the forum to promote and steer conversation towards a company or product they are associated with.

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jturner9

jturner9

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Hi Jim,

The link in your signature leads to a website sponsored by Mallincam, with a review of a Mallincam camera written by 'Jim'. Apologies if it is all simply a coincidence but we do regularly see members who join the forum to promote and steer conversation towards a company or product they are associated with.

I have never written a review of anything. So that is another Jim.

Yes Mallincam does sponsor my site. Not what I would call an over bearing add on the page though. He helps pay for my server. A streaming server with that much bandwidth is not cheap trust me.

I did it on my own at first and he offered to pay so I thought it was the least I could do and give him that spot. I wanted no adds or promotions and could have done so by asking people to donate or pay. What I didn't want was a UStream type site with adds popping up all over the place.I did however take him up on his offer. There are other cameras being used on the site even though he may not like it. The site as I told him is for everyone to use not just those who have bought his camera. He understands that.

I hope you can see that I'm not promoting anything but video astronomy. I think it has a great future especially for outreach programs. I don't have a forum nor a blog of any kind on my site for two reasons. So that sites like this will see I'm not any way competition for them. I did add a chat room because some of them asked for it. Funny thing is they never use it. LOL They prefer sites much like SGL. The other reason I have no forums or blogs is it takes moderators to control what is being posted. I don't have to worry about that one either. The broadcaster controls his own channel and they know the rules.

To make sure and not break any rules I will remove the link to my site in my signature.

I just hope you do understand ,I promote video astronomy because I think it is a great way to go. I don't care if it is with a web cam or a high dollar video camera. Just show us and the world the images live and lets all enjoy them. For me that is what it is all about. SGL is another way to share this concept. I would be happy to help get you guys set up for people to broadcast here on SGL's site. You have a wealth of talented people for building a section for that I'm sure.

Any who I hope you get where I'm coming from now.

I wont post any more until you have given me the all clear to do so.

I'll just read and learn from others.

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Starblazer

Starblazer

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I think live streaming astro is an awesome concept. I've yet to see it in action but I will take a nose at your site...if i can find it in my history file >..<

I was wondering about the possibilities of such as some nites my son, daughter and partner don't want to stand out in the freezing valley weather....and summer is awash with clouds. So Being able to stream or check out others streams is a cracking idea. I would be happy if i could just stream and get a decent live image on my pc so i can show the rest of the family whilst i brave the weather :p

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Chris Stacey

Chris Stacey

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I would love to know a bit more about this, so I could get some decent real time images beamed to my front room - my wife loves the night sky but medical reasons keep her house bound much of the time.....anything that enabled me to beam some live images to her whilst I'm outside would be great for me...

I shall watch this thread with interest....

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Polar Bear

Polar Bear

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I have never written a review of anything. So that is another Jim.

Yes Mallincam does sponsor my site. Not what I would call an over bearing add on the page though. He helps pay for my server. A streaming server with that much bandwidth is not cheap trust me.

I did it on my own at first and he offered to pay so I thought it was the least I could do and give him that spot. I wanted no adds or promotions and could have done so by asking people to donate or pay. What I didn't want was a UStream type site with adds popping up all over the place.I did however take him up on his offer. There are other cameras being used on the site even though he may not like it. The site as I told him is for everyone to use not just those who have bought his camera. He understands that.

I hope you can see that I'm not promoting anything but video astronomy. I think it has a great future especially for outreach programs. I don't have a forum nor a blog of any kind on my site for two reasons. So that sites like this will see I'm not any way competition for them. I did add a chat room because some of them asked for it. Funny thing is they never use it. LOL They prefer sites much like SGL. The other reason I have no forums or blogs is it takes moderators to control what is being posted. I don't have to worry about that one either. The broadcaster controls his own channel and they know the rules.

To make sure and not break any rules I will remove the link to my site in my signature.

I just hope you do understand ,I promote video astronomy because I think it is a great way to go. I don't care if it is with a web cam or a high dollar video camera. Just show us and the world the images live and lets all enjoy them. For me that is what it is all about. SGL is another way to share this concept. I would be happy to help get you guys set up for people to broadcast here on SGL's site. You have a wealth of talented people for building a section for that I'm sure.

Any who I hope you get where I'm coming from now.

I wont post any more until you have given me the all clear to do so.

I'll just read and learn from others.

Can't say fairer than that...:p

Hi Jim, and welcome, interesting looking site and concept. I would be interested in any shooting you have done with pro-sumer cameras and if you could pass on knowledge of that, ie optimum settings , drawbacks , results etc.

I am experimenting over the weekend with a borrowed Panasonic SDC HD10

Paul

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jturner9

jturner9

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WOW let me see here. HMMM OK

The site link is NightSkiesNetwork

I was wondering about the possibilities of such as some nites my son, daughter and partner don't want to stand out in the freezing valley weather....and summer is awash with clouds. So Being able to stream or check out others streams is a cracking idea. I would be happy if i could just stream and get a decent live image on my pc so i can show the rest of the family whilst i brave the weather

We have family’s watching at times. Along with a few teenagers and one stubborn young 12 years old who’s parents make him go to bed. Oh how he hates that. LOL

You can get an image up and streaming then go back in and warm up while you tell them about the object. You could do this without NSN or any web site.

Just set up a remote desk top connection from the outside PC to the one inside.

I was/am thinking about a Celestron CPC 925 and a Watec 120N, this way I can relax in my conservatory and watch the images on my 46" TV via the laptop

One of the very best and most knowledgeable astrocasters on NSN has a 9.25 . He produces wonderful images with his camera.

I have a minton camera that i am going to try.

I think video astronomy could be a very useful tool to recruit new members

If you need information on that or you’re looking for help on setting things up Yahoo has a user group called video astronomy.

2000 strong and I’m sure for your camera you can get all kinds of suggestions for set up and imaging with the minitron. That is the one camera

I have not seen in action yet.

I would love to know a bit more about this, so I could get some decent real time images beamed to my front room - my wife loves the night sky but medical reasons keep her house bound much of the time.....anything that enabled me to beam some live images to her whilst I'm outside would be great for me...

Just look for when someone is live and tune in for the living room beam in.

One of the best stories I have been given about using NSN was from a group in Greenbay. It made all my efforts for the site worth it.

The story as I was given is this.

Hi Jim

Wanted to tell you what NSN has done for one of our club members.

Bob is a avid member of our club here in Greenbay. He is 89 years old and comes to all or as many of or observing sessions as he can.

We worry about him because of his age and the fact that he is walking around in the dark with poor eyesight to do so. We also worry about him getting home safe. It is hard for us to tell him no because he loves astronomy so much. He has a wife that is in poor health and it makes it even harder for him to get out now. Thanks to NSN he is able to watch and observe from home. He follows along with his star maps and has a great time chatting with others as he does.

It has kept the hobby alive for him. He loves every minute of it.

That is how the story was told to me. That one story alone has made NSN worth all my efforts. I have since seen Bob chatting along with others at times.

So yes a beam in to the front room is another great thing for those who may not be able to get around so well.

I can't answer all questions here , but the site is free to watch and learn from and enjoy so please do so. You can ask all the questions you want as you watch

And learn how it is done. Also the yahoo group is another good place to check out and learn more. As more people here become involved ,SGL will also

become a great source for video astronomy. That’s my hope anyway.

What camera do you use Jim. Tell us a bit about your set up.

My set up is as follows.

CGE PRO mount

SCT 14

Mallincam VSS camera

I use a MFR5 focal reducer to get the f/11 scope down to around f/4.5 best I can do without big bucks for a Hyperstar.

I use a Pinnacle Movie Box as my capture device to get the image up to the PC for broadcasting. There are many other brands of capture devices out there.

A webcam due to its USB connection doesn’t need one. Most CCTV cameras and such types do.

A good up load speed internet connection is also a must. Dial up wont work. About 450 or better KBps will work.

Adobe flash player 10.1 on the PC which most will have and don’t know it is already on the PC.

My skies are about mag 6 to 6.5

And Venus my observing Saint Bernard.

Two guard dogs Jeannie my gold and Chance my other Saint. He’s a little fella guarding the outside of the observatory. All 175 lbs of him. LOL

Yep that’s about my set up.

WOW!! I got really long winded here. Sorry about that.

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Peter Drew

Peter Drew

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I'm a big fan of video imaging, specially for outreach work and archiving for cloudy nights. Over the years I have graduated from home brewed board cameras to an Astrovid 2000, Mintron and Watec 120n based Stellacam II and III (the peltier cooled version). Although not strictly real time as the integration on the III is around 10 seconds, the decay time is so slow that it refreshes pretty much seamlessly provided the drive is OK, the III also has an "infinite" exposure feature which certainly taxes the mount stability. Overall, the results compared to the amount of effort necessary are hard to beat and an enormous gain over the visual image, I can't think of a better upgrade to the telescope than this.

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tarqs101

tarqs101

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Hi Jim

Myself and two other SGL members are in the process of setting up and running CCD video cameras we purchased.

Love the idea of capturing images with it but as I'm a school teacher ideally I would like to set up an after school club through the winter and project images onto the interactive whiteboard.

Gavin

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Chris Stacey

Chris Stacey

Posted
Posted

Just look for when someone is live and tune in for the living room beam in.

One of the best stories I have been given about using NSN was from a group in Greenbay. It made all my efforts for the site worth it.

The story as I was given is this.

Hi Jim

Wanted to tell you what NSN has done for one of our club members.

Bob is a avid member of our club here in Greenbay. He is 89 years old and comes to all or as many of or observing sessions as he can.

We worry about him because of his age and the fact that he is walking around in the dark with poor eyesight to do so. We also worry about him getting home safe. It is hard for us to tell him no because he loves astronomy so much. He has a wife that is in poor health and it makes it even harder for him to get out now. Thanks to NSN he is able to watch and observe from home. He follows along with his star maps and has a great time chatting with others as he does.

It has kept the hobby alive for him. He loves every minute of it.

That is how the story was told to me. That one story alone has made NSN worth all my efforts. I have since seen Bob chatting along with others at times.

So yes a beam in to the front room is another great thing for those who may not be able to get around so well.

Cheers Jim,

Certainly got me intrigued - had a look around your link, given me a few ideas, and not as expensive as I originally assumed......will have to read up more on it and follow someone when they are 'live'. :p

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jturner9

jturner9

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I'm a big fan of video imaging, specially for outreach work and archiving for cloudy nights. Over the years I have graduated from home brewed board cameras to an Astrovid 2000, Mintron and Watec 120n based Stellacam II and III (the peltier cooled version). Although not strictly real time as the integration on the III is around 10 seconds, the decay time is so slow that it refreshes pretty much seamlessly provided the drive is OK, the III also has an "infinite" exposure feature which certainly taxes the mount stability. Overall, the results compared to the amount of effort necessary are hard to beat and an enormous gain over the visual image, I can't think of a better upgrade to the telescope than this.

Peter

Once your hooked it's over. You are hard pressed to find a better way of viewing. IMHO

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polydoros

polydoros

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Hi jim...

welcome..

I came across your site a few day ago...it BLEW me away...could not believe i

was seeing real time(almost) colour images of messier & ngc objects.

For me this is the best step up for visual astronomy.

I will be buying one of the cameras.

thanks

polydoros

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jturner9

jturner9

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Hi jim...

welcome..

I came across your site a few day ago...it BLEW me away...could not believe i

was seeing real time(almost) colour images of messier & ngc objects.

For me this is the best step up for visual astronomy.

I will be buying one of the cameras.

thanks

polydoros

Polydoros

That's great news. Can't wait for you to start up. Your going to love it, and the best part is now you can get the family involved more. Not only will they see more than just a faint fuzzy , but they will love helping out and using the camera and scope. It becomes a whole family event and fun for all. Friends are impressed also.

Welcome to the fold.

JohnC

I see your on the right track already. The yahoo groups are good for specific information about video cameras and set ups. Join in on the chats of NSN to ask questions is another good way.

All that said we need clear skies over this way. While a video camera can cut through clouds to some extent we are still in need of that yet to be invented anti cloud filter. If any one here on SGL has figured that one out please share. LOL :)

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