First time.

[ianB]

I have a cheap $5 web cam that i attached to my telescope to take a pic of the moon and it worked.
The photo is very basic, just pointed and took the snaps, it looks out of focus as the camera did not allow me to adjust the focus plus the moon was shimmering from the day time heat, anyway it was my very first astro photo so i am as happy as can be.

Dont ask me to post the pic as compared to yours mine is 1/10, but really i just wanted to do a test run as i intend to get a philips toucam, wanted to get it earlier but medical costs etc, you know how it is, but i am now excited at the possibilities ahead, seeing the amazing photos that many here take really is an inspiration.

[Camelopardalis]

Congratulations and welcome to the slippery slope :D

Why did the camera not allow you to focus? Did it reach out and slap your wrist? :confused2:

Oh, and it doesn't matter how it looks...it's neat to look at it and say "I did that with my scope!" :)

[jjjnettie]

:) It's really good fun isn't it.
Hey, post the picture, you know it can only get better from here. :)

[ianB]

It was a web cam and the features while saying focus etc would not function, guess thats why it was 5 bucks, all i did was attatch it to the end of my ep, look at the image as shown via my laptop and press capture.
A i said i knew the pic would be bad but i just wanted to do a quick test run to see if it would work via my laptop.

Sorry but i dont know how to add the pics, it says add a URL of the image? If i work it out i will post it.

[doppler]

Here is my first $5 woolies web cam snap, auto exposure (no control of anything but focus). The quality might be cr.p but its always great to capture something isn't it and like jjjnettie said, it can only get better.

[Camelopardalis]

Did you try your scope focuser?

[ianB]

Yes but i could not get a sharp image, probally due to the weather conditions, i.e strong upper winds.

[doppler]

I took the lens of the web cam and taped a 35mm film canister on the web cam housing (with the end cut out), then slipped that into the focuser and video captured it with this cam software. http://arnholm.org/astro/software/wxAstroCapture/

[jjjnettie]

To add a photo, first make sure your piccie is under 200kb, then, below the text box, click on Go Advanced.
Scroll down past the new text box, and click on Manage Attachments. Choose your file, click on upload, and you're done. :)

[ianB]

Thank you J.

[ianB]

The smaller you view the image thee better, it was out of focus.

[jjjnettie]

:) :) the pics came out well. :)

[ianB]

Thank you

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah that's a good start! When you said it was out of focus I feared the worst ;) but there's plenty of detail there, ignoring the slight focus issue.

[ZeroID]

Hey, well done Ian, now the fun begins. Always the temptation to get a better result. :thumbsup:

[Draco]

great work Ian.

I too have a cheap webcam ($5 from Kmart) sitting in my drawer. Might take it out and give it a go.

Anyone knows where I can get a 35mm film canister?

Regards
Niv

[ianB]

Thanks for the encouragement.

[ianB]

Hi Draco, i have four 30mm film canisters if thats any help? If u want them pm me your address and i will post them thurs or friday to you.

Or you can ask at your local camera shop, thats what i did and three weeks later they called me in and had some for me, but i am more than happy to post these four should you want them.

[ianB]

P.S
What i did was remove a sleeve ( if thats what you call it ? ) from an old ep and unscrew the cover of the web camera and place the sleeve on top and place Bluetak neatly around it to hold it in place, it worked a treat.

[OzStarGazer]

Can you record a short movie with your webcam? You could try and then stack the frames in RegiStax... They say it is better to do this rather than taking single shots. But your images are still nice. :)

[ianB]

Yes i would like to do that but i dont have the internet on my laptop ( i am writing this on my Galaxy tab 2 10.1 device with internet )
I will get the net on my laptop soonish so that i can download Registax or similar.