Webcam hair pulling

[Marcus daniel]

I have been interested in astronomy since a young boy, had my first Tasco telescope at the age of 7. Things moved on and later got married etc. I now have more time to spend, so I have bought a Celestron 114LCM. I am attaching an old webcam direct, bought have tried using it through a barlow lens. I just cant seem to get the focus correct, im sure you have heard all this before. I have spent ages trolling through various sites to find an inexspensive replacement webcam that i will be able to get some clearer images from. Can anyone suggest a good replacement please, as astrophotography is something i would like to start, i have looked at the Neximager but read so many mixed reviews about this cam. The microsoft lifecam appears to be recommended but as i said i am still new to this and would like to spend money wisely at this early stage. Please help.

Kind regards

Marcus

[brantuk]

The Phillips SPC880 flashed up to an SPC900 will work and very popular here. Get it from Morgans (and the adaptor too if you don't have one).

http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/shop/detail.asp?ProductID=6313&Category

[Stephen]

Probably worth adding Morgans might be low on stock as some members cameras have been either heavily delayed or not dispatched - however yes, another +1 for the 880

[Marcus daniel]

Thank you for your sharp replies, what is the best capture software at the moment, i have varied and have been using debut, astrosnap and handyav.

[brantuk]

I use wxAstroCapture with no probs and it's free to download. There are other options that someone will mention soon

[michaelmorris]

IMHO K3CCDtools v3 (paid for) is still the best, but Sharpcap (free) is coming up fast. Wxastrocapture (free) is also pretty good. Astrosnap Pro 2.1 (paid for) is very feature-packed and is also worth a look.

[nemesis]

Craterlet has been mentioned on other threads

Craterlet

[vulcan]

Search for "Philips SPC900NC webcam" in ebay. There is a guy (Michael Morris) who sells them already flashed for £29.99 and will provide software if you need it for free. I got mine from him and it works a treat.

[Stephen]

Search for "Philips SPC900NC webcam" in ebay. There is a guy (Michael Morris) who sells them already flashed for £29.99 and will provide software if you need it for free. I got mine from him and it works a treat.

That's a little pricey isn't it?

[themos]

Also, you will need a decent Barlow, not the one that came with your scope which should probably be binned (or recycled into an extender piece).

[Marcus daniel]

which sort of barlow would be best suited for the job, also a friend has offered me the neximager for a good price is it worth going down that route do you think. I have been reading other blogs on this forum, its a mine field really as to what is the best options. How is my current telescope (celestron 114lcm) rated for this job as well, sorry..... so many questions. Thanks all so far !!

[themos]

An Imagemate or a TAL Barlow or a TeleVue Powermate are all good choices. The TAL is cheapest but hard to find and maybe not as good. I have an old TeleVue Barlow.

Look in my albums here on SGL to see what you can do with the 114: plenty!

The NexImage has the same CCD chip as the Philips SPC900NC, I think.

[themos]

You can buy the Morgan "special" SPC880NC here

Cheap Philips SPC880 webcam - 49269 - discounts & offers

Look at the "related products" as well : you'll need the adapter, the UV/IR filter and the flashing of the firmware.

[Stephen]

Tal - Tal 2x and 3x Barlows

There ya go The Televue is three times the price and top end, but the Tal gets recommended a lot on here (have a search)

[Dave S]

Just a thought marcus. Is your webcam one that has been modified for astro use? What I mean is has the original lens been removed. If you have put a normal web cam in where the eyepiece would go it wont focus. It may not be the case but you don't mention what the webcam is or how you've attached it.

Dave...

[Marcus daniel]

Its a logitech c120 i think, have unscrewed the front of the webcam and taken out the focus lens etc, and attached a 35ml film case. Picked this up from various blogs.