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Old 12-04-2009, 11:17 AM
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Talking Gstar-exc Ccd Cam

Hi guys
I have been saving my pennies starting to shop around to get some ideas on taking a pic or 2 of our lovely heavens above any way this sounds like a handy way to go a GSTAR-EXC what do you guys think would i still get nice images even though i dont have a goto or tracking devices on my scope or do i have to have those things to take images with this camera?
Is $825 a good buy is it worth every penny?
What software do i need?

Has anyone here taken pics with this cam using the same sort of scope as mine i would like to see what sort of images i will expect to get from this
http://www.myastroshop.com.au/guides/gstar/index.htm
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Old 12-04-2009, 11:29 AM
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jjjnettie (Jeanette)
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Jen,
Being totally unbiased on the subject.
I'd highly recommend the Gstar.
I've been using mine through a little 80mm F5 scope and the results have been terrific.
But some form of tracking is highly desirable. For under a $100 you could fit a ra drive to your mount.
Gotta get off to work Jen.
I'll get back to you tonight about it.
cs
nettie
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Old 12-04-2009, 11:39 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jjjnettie View Post
Jen,
Being totally unbiased on the subject.
I'd highly recommend the Gstar.
I've been using mine through a little 80mm F5 scope and the results have been terrific.
But some form of tracking is highly desirable. For under a $100 you could fit a ra drive to your mount.
Gotta get off to work Jen.
I'll get back to you tonight about it.
cs
nettie
lol jjj Nah you wouldn't be biase at all would you
it wouldnt have anything to do with the fact that you have one would it
Are they easy to use?
Oh no work on a Sunday arhhhh im still in my jarmies catch ya later
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:06 PM
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JD2439975 (Justin)
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I'd say the biggest problem is with tracking, Jen.

I tried a tripod mount at 45mm FL (Crux/Carina size) & the frames were so far out that registax couldn't align them...not till I aligned them by hand first, very tedious work.
( Note: This could just be my inability to use Registax )

At the FL of your poor, alcohol abused scope...things could get nasty.

As jjj says,any form of tracking would be a good investment...no offence to Dob pushers intended
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JD2439975 View Post
I'd say the biggest problem is with tracking, Jen.

I tried a tripod mount at 45mm FL (Crux/Carina size) & the frames were so far out that registax couldn't align them...not till I aligned them by hand first, very tedious work.
( Note: This could just be my inability to use Registax )

At the FL of your poor, alcohol abused scope...things could get nasty.

As jjj says,any form of tracking would be a good investment...no offence to Dob pushers intended

dam so there goes my shopping spree then
To get tracking set up for my scope dont i need to get a new mount to do that
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:31 PM
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JD2439975 (Justin)
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CALL OFF THE SHOPPING SPREE!!!!
Are you mad? Just make it bigger shopping spree.
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:33 PM
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Go on, do it for the country, the economy...hubby doesn't need to eat.
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jen View Post

dam so there goes my shopping spree then
To get tracking set up for my scope dont i need to get a new mount to do that
I expect you have an EQ3 mount, Jen. You want this RA drive:-

http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...asp?id=MAS-105

Bintel - $119. Andrews might be a little cheaper?

Throw up a Wanted post to se if you can get one second hand from someone here?
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:34 PM
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Originally Posted by JD2439975 View Post
CALL OFF THE SHOPPING SPREE!!!!
Are you mad? Just make it bigger shopping spree.

yeah well i dont wanna go buy all this stuff then get told you cant do anything with it unless you have this or that and this and i run out of play money now that would really suck
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by erick View Post
I expect you have an EQ3 mount, Jen. You want this RA drive:-

http://www.myastroshop.com.au/produc...asp?id=MAS-105

Bintel - $119. Andrews might be a little cheaper?

Throw up a Wanted post to se if you can get one second hand from someone here?
oh thanks Erick cool that looks like a handy little piece of device yes i have a EQ3 mount
Ok if i get that and the cam what else would i need to start contributing to the imaging threads
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Old 12-04-2009, 12:47 PM
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Errrr..... patience?




Jeanette will explain all later, I expect. I think you are almost there.
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Old 12-04-2009, 01:26 PM
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Errrr..... patience?




Jeanette will explain all later, I expect. I think you are almost there.
Well i have plenty of patience thats the easy part
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Old 12-04-2009, 01:51 PM
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Hello Jen,
The remote box you mention isn't necessary if you have a laptop and are OK with using it. The Gstar can use a RS232 (serial) cable instead of the remote box - costs AUD65 instead of AUD100.

As far as tracking, well I went to a lecture by Brother Mike Salway last week at the Sydney City Skywatchers, and he did some amazing pix with a 10" dob (i.e. no tracking at all). Just a Philips 840 TouCam equivalent.

So I think for planetary at least, you will do very well with the 6" Newt and the Gstar. Your big hassle will be finding faint DSOs, this can be overcome to some extent if you have the laptop and Stellarium, you can use Stell to locate the approx position of the DSO of interest with respect to nearby stars, then scan around with the Gstar at high gains and you will see DSOs better than through the eyepiece.

Regards,
Tony Barry
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Old 12-04-2009, 01:59 PM
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Thanks Tony but dont you need a laptop for one of those things anyway
I dont have a laptop yet that is also on my shopping list

Last edited by Jen; 12-04-2009 at 02:10 PM. Reason: oops
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Old 12-04-2009, 04:18 PM
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Hi Jen,

I have done some looking at my options for pics i have a different angle on things as my needs are different.

The Gstar is different to to 90% of the cams that are used for pics because of the lux used for the cam in other words it can see things at night others can't, the way a normal DSLR and web cam works is to expose the CCD or film to the object for a longer time, now i am no expert in astrophotography i have never even done it but i am a good learner and read a lot before i commit to a purchase.

With normal cameras you need to open the shutter for an extended amount of time up to 5 min and they wll take maybe 20 shots or more, one of the astro guys could give you exact examples this is why tracking is needed otherwise you get star trails because the object is moving and you have to move with it.

The Gstar is like a video camera and updates it's pictures every 2.56sec so when taking pictures you might have a few hundred frames you would know what i mean if you have done any type of video editing that the video contains frames, now i am not saying that you don't need tracking but it would be a good options.

The camera needs to connect to a pc or laptop to record the image then you would use a program like registax to add all these frames to make one frame for a picture, there is a bit more involved but that is the basics.

The best thing about Gstar is it can put a live picture of what you would normaly see in the eyepiece on a tv or pc screen.

From what i have seen the pack you are looking at is good,BUT the filters are used to create colour photos and the best option for these is to place them in a filter selector these cost about $200 the hand controller is a good idea but if you are intending to connect it to a pc the the hand controller is not needed as the pc can control the camera the cable to do this is $65 then depending on what pc you have you may need another adapter at around $30

What i plan to do is buy the Gstar-ex for $615 then get the cable, at a later date i will buy the filters and filter selector for colour photos.

Sorry i kinda went on about but hope it all makes sense.
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Old 12-04-2009, 04:44 PM
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Jen,

You'll also need a video capture card for the G-star to connect it to your laptop as it outputs video. Belkin make a reasonable one that works well.

Another option is to get a USB camera and you can avoid all the interface devices. A Meade LPI might be a good place to start, colour, simple and a lot cheaper although limited for deep sky work. A DSI II is a good starter camera for deep sky although you need to get your mount tracking if you are going to take advantage of long exposures or the Gstar's accumulation functionality.

Peter
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Old 12-04-2009, 05:13 PM
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when picking a camera make sure you look at the photos that people on the forums are taking and not the glossy super processed ones in the magazines they are not realistic for a beginner.
if the photography bug has got you then buy a decent mount first otherwise as soon as you want to do any deep sky pics, and you will, you will be deeply dissapointed.
the mount is the most important piece of gear you will ever buy, save, save, save and make it a good one.
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Old 12-04-2009, 05:26 PM
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I seem to remember an article that was published recently in one of the US mags. Astronomy Technology Today I think it was.
It was mainly about the Gstar Ex camera.
Have you read it Jen?

You'll need either a laptop computer to capture the .avi's to or a
DVD recorder, transfering the files over to the Desk top puter to work on them.
So a laptop isn't really necessary. But, you add a couple of steps to go through in the processing. (boring)

But you don't just use the Gstar for imaging. You will find that you won't be using your eyepieces much any more once you have one.
The view I get on the puter screen, using my tiny little 80mm was comparable to what I could see through my 10" Dob using an eyepiece.
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Old 12-04-2009, 09:52 PM
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Thanks guys and JJJ now im really confused

Do i go out and get the
GSTAR
A laptop
A EQ3 motor drive
and would i be happy as Larry or should i just save some more and get a new mount mmmm maybe i just plot along a little longer grrrrrrrrrrrr
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Old 12-04-2009, 10:01 PM
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It all depends on how far you want to go with this Jen.
If you're intending to get serious and put the time and effort into the learning curve, save up for the good mount, scope and camera.
If you think you'll be happy to just play around and grab a few pics on the way, (like I do) then the Gstar and EQ3 will keep you happy. For a while at least.
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