astrophotography with the webcam

[aad_Dira]

i have bought a webcam to use it in the astrophotography, i dismounted its lens and then i assembled a small plastic cylinder in its place (http://www.astronomyhints.com/webcam_make.html). after that, i tried to picture the Moon by the webcam through a binocular, but i pictured just a scattered white light. is this method in the astrophotography don`t work with the binoculars? or i did a something wrong?

below there is a two images for my webcam.

[aad_Dira]

oh, i forgot to upload the images..

[Insane Climber]

Hello, Good effort there with the web cam. The problem you will have is that the web cam needs to be moved in order to get focus. The easiest way to do this is to experiment in the daytime. Start by focusing on something close, then change to something further away, and vary the distance from the eyepiece to the webcam ccd. after a few tests you should have an idea weather you can achieve infinity focus. At least you could see something, my first few attempts saw no image at all.

[aad_Dira]

thank you for answering, but, it is don`t work.

these should to be an images for a building near of my house! and it is also took with the binocular.

[michaellxv]

A webcam with its lense removed is generally used with a telescope at prime focus (i.e. with no eyepiece). The problem you have is that your binoculars will have the eyepiece in place.

If you want to use a webcam with the binoculars you would have to put the lense back on the webcam. You may be breaking new ground here, I have not heard of this being done before.

[aad_Dira]

do you mean that i don`t have to do anything to the webcam/camera to use it in the astrophotography? and can i understand from this that i can use my digital camera (without any adjustments) in the astrophotography after removing the binocular eyepiece? i bought a webcam just for this and i have already a digital camera..

[mswhin63]

Prime Focus - remove lens on both camera and bino or scope will provide the clearest picture quality in general, although there are some exceptions.

Afocal - keeps the lens on both the webcam and the bino's but can introduce distortion and focus issues to the pucture and also reduce light capture. Not a problem with moon and bright planets though.

I have not taken any photos Afocal though so the information may not be totally correct.

[Insane Climber]

Hello, here is a little experiment you can try to find out where the web cam ccd needs to be placed (it will work with an eyepeice too). stand inside . open the window, hold your binoculars so they are pointing out the window and the eyepeice is pointing to the wall, at a distance of about 1 inch from the wall. Now move the bino's closer and or further from the wall until you see the image from outside projected onto the wall. when you find what distance puts the image in focus, take note of the distance to the wall. this is the distance the ccd needs to be away from the eyepiece. you also need to make sure it is in the middle and as parallel to the bino's as possible.

Good luck
J.Green

[michaellxv]

Have a look at this diagram (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/molyned/camera_to_telescope.htm) it shows the different ways to arrange a camera and telescope, or in your case binoculars. You will need to experiment a bit to find the right combination that works for you.