all sky cameras

[Somnium]

i am thinking that an all sky camera would be a nice addition to my observatory, mainly because i would love to see what the cloud cover is like but i would also like to do some timelapse photography. there are a few options out there from SBIG which is over $2K USD to Mallin cam which is about $300 USD. in the middle are the starlight express and Orion options. if i can get away with a $300 - $400 purchase and still be happy with the results then i am all for that. would love to get some feedback from those with some experience with these, and any i am completely missing

p.s. i know that ZWO offers their camera with a wide angle lens but i dont believe they have the necessary protection to make it a permanent set up

[Atmos]

I've got an ASI120MM to which I am planning on trying that 150º lens to see how it performs. You are correct in thinking that it doesn't offer any protection... None at all!

[Somnium]

i did have a fleeting thought of taking one of them and putting it in a dummy security camera dome that Jaycar sell ...

[Atmos]

I don't see why that wouldn't work, as long as you can keep it away from the elements I don't see why it couldn't be a good little performer. I've taken some shots in my lounge room and it seems to do okay :)

[AstroJunk]

That is exactly how to do it :)

I mount mine on a length of pvc pipe attached to a star picket and the camera sits inside with some foam holding it in place. The plastic domes do discolour with age, so the cheap Jaycar ones are perfect for replacing every year or so.

[AstroJunk]

The view does get obscured occasionally though...

[ZeroID]

Now that's a birds eye view :lol:

[Somnium]

I might give that a go

[AstroJunk]

Here's mine, using a colour video camera and a 180 fisheye from myastroshop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG1wASJ-P60

The dome could do with replacing again, it's quite yellowed now...

[Somnium]

cool, what camera are you using?

[AstroJunk]

That one was a low light colour cctv camera from ozspy that I bought a few years back. Not very sophisticated, but has a Sony EX 1/4" chip which does the job ok.

It seem like it's getting harder and harder to get CCTV stuff in the old format - everything is a good deal better for it's intended purpose, but less so for astronomy!

[Somnium]

yeah i know, every security camera you buy these days have IR lights rather than long exposure settings. unfortunately those lights ruin astro shots !!

[Somnium]

does anyone know if you can set up a ZWO camera to;
1) take a series of photos , i.e. set exposure and delay times
2) have a live view without saving, i.e. set exposure and delay times without saving files

[Atmos]

You can do both of those things in MaxIM DL, without testing I am unsure whether you can do both without reconnecting it though. One would be having it connect as a video or as a camera. Cannot remember if having it connected as a video camera allows for taking a series, I can test tomorrow if you'd like?