[Astrogirl]

Hi all,

Have question for you.....I'm looking to upgrade my webcam soon but a bit stuck on what to get.
My 2 choices are Celestron NexImage or Phillips spc900 nc webcam. My main interest is the planets but i can't make up my mind!! With the webcam i know i can get it modified to take long exposures if i decide to try imaging DSO's but can the NexImage be modified or is it purely a solar imager?
Have asked this elsewhere before but never really got a straight answer. A friend of mine has said which he would go for but still can't make my mind up.....HEELLPPP!!!!

[sgcullen]

Not to confuse the issue any further...but depending on your budget you might want to also consider the Astrovid II or one of the cameras in the line up from Lumenera. I have used the Lumenera cameras for a long time and have found them to be excellent.

[seeker372011]

Karah



You can modify a NexImage, see

Neximage SC1 Mod

for instructions on how to do so.

However if it is planets you are after then a webcam is your best bet and once you become an expert upgrade to a DMK -but that should lie some while in the future

read this article for an excellent how to on planetary imaging

IceInSpace - Australian Amateur Astronomy, News and Forums | How-To's | Planetary Imaging and Image Processing

[Astrogirl]

Thanks Steve/Seeker,

Firstly, Welcome Seeker372011<G>

I'm going to stay with a webcam for now. A phillips SPC900 as i know alot of people use these and it's not too dear, can get one for £45 via the internet rather than £80 pcworld are asking. Will have a nose at the ones you have mentioned for some time in the future.
Decided that i also want an Celestron Nexstar 102SLT as a grab n go scope so the budget has dropped a little to spend on imaging

Thanks for the links, will be having a read up.

Karah

[haul0348]

Hello mrs/ms astrogirl i was wondering if you could tell me if i can somehow take simple pictures of the moon with a plain webcam. I have a veo stingray but i dont know what i would need to line it up with the optics or how would this be done?

[Astrogirl]

I'll try and help as much as i can.
Is your webcam cmos? Have had a quick search and all i can tell is out put is avi which is good and it's jpeg, bmp which also good.
You'll need to take the lens out of the webcam , sometimes requires you to take the housing off to do. Where the lens was is where an adapter would go. Not sure which type but i would think the basic one would fit. Either this one Astro Engineering AC378 1.25" nosepiece to webcam lens thread (ToUcam 840K) or Astro Engineering AC414n 1.25" nosepiece to webcam lens thread (ToUcam Pro SPC900NC)

Also software to stack the avi files you get. Registax4 is one and it's free http://www.astronomie.be/registax/.

Once you have this, let us know and i'll try and help you through the capturing part.

[haul0348]

Thanks a bunch i will asap.

[simoncmp]

I assume you can try the samsung HD camera which is sub £150 and get a much better digital photo