What do i need in the way of a laptop to run a camera?

[bluesilver]

I recently have just picked up a ZWO AS1224MC Camera that i plan to use for planetary work

I have kind of gone about this a bit backward as i have yet to get a laptop,

So, with this camera, i plan to run the program FireCapture and i was just interested to know what sort of laptop would run this ok?
Might also possibly be looking at something like Polemaster, but not just yet.

I was looking at this laptop:
Asus 14-inch Celeron-N4020/4GB/64GB eMMC Laptop

https://www.harveyno...acock-blue.html

It basically tells me it has 1 x USB 2.0 (Type-A), 1x USB 3.2 (Type A, Gen1), 1x USB 3.2 (Type C, Gen1), HDMI 1.4

Although i can only see two USB ports

Primary storage 64GB
Ram DDR4
Installed Ram 4GB

I am just guessing that when you record the image of a planet, you might need a bit of storage, as most are using laptops to drive these cameras, i am hoping i might be able to get a bit of advice if my choice is right or way off.

Would this work ok?

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks.
Peter.

[sunslayr]

That laptop should work, but as you have noticed it only has 64gb of storage, and with windows installed that leaves you with around 20gb of storage left for video. So you would need to get an external hard drive as well. A better choice might be getting a used laptop with something like an Intel i5 from gumtree for a similar price. Anything with at least a 3.0 port should be fine for planetary.

[xa-coupe]

A celeron would do it... but I would try to spring for a bit more of everything ... perhaps an i3 cpu (or AMD equiv), as much storage as you can afford (could be external) and a minimum of 8gb RAM.

USB ports tend to be miserly on laptops .. but as David says, a USB 3 port is what you want/need for planetary.

[Pepper]

If buying secondhand isn’t an issue take a look at some refurbished laptops on feebay. Some good deals out there. I got a intel I5 8gb ram multiple usb3 ports etc etc for 250 bucks. It’s still going strong. Might be good for thought.

[bluesilver]

Thanks for the replies,
Do i really need to go up to 8GB of Ram or will the 4GB work?
I found another laptop for not much more,
Would this be a better setup?

Acer Aspire 1 14-inch Celeron-N4020/4GB/128GB eMMC Laptop

I did find this on ebay though:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-Probook-470-G2-i5-4210u-1-70-8Gb-Ram-128Gb-SSD-17-3-inch-Windows-10/193643004011?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item2d1605c06b:g:oTsAAOSw9YdfT Ixl&enc=AQAFAAACYBaobrjLl8XobRIiIML1V4I mu%2Fn%2BzU5L90Z278x5ickkfKe2vUidqH Rg3XM2X2xOVPRq8RIwpuh7bXYMgQ2DgAF2S G8ELoU4jw3QKJohCfDsaI0gV%2F7NGPZqnx YAxmO1tWfZfK6ntUoSY5%2BqhOUryEVDbe9 utbSurVYTxOFXtNJCP9cADfZydYvMoYNup1 UlYs5t0nGwoxN%2FEujBxdJhQcQ53nynTng nDeGrK8W5x2UgI2Ms62b9HNckkV0EVLI%2F UZOiiIfMNBeYtyNvW35f%2BWS%2F%2F%2F% 2BK1GyPu0r1pa7nnDESlF6D52j98ldgp%2F 38Vhrn%2BcnJf2i81hsDdQNIy72YYMlxzxK 2IvWoqtqoNWvHNBDmV09c95qJ3UiuptRsdr EiCLiH6qqiY8n4BIr9DhNfQfmrtx7z%2BsR AsPTmGJu752mk7q%2BF%2BVgAetgzn%2B1t wULsDlUi16%2FUZuFc%2B7iB%2BhYswI5tm x1%2Bu49dDc%2BBtyHXMNzAM%2F9tuFuzN0 8bZk%2F%2BuEo1g2cKk6NSWJTcGD5jsJ2r2 %2F6xfChFx15x0aBA2HAem5wqVlYlRyeG0d rHylkcwPBgXp8eCUPtvyZSlnP2tEbe9EuHo DdeEolJS8HWgwpLyL9apUVlZHlrxcfZoTgG 3fuQ4QFD9TBA1G%2BwZdItsOObRn99fLrr4 %2F8vWwHt1Ls7YwSkPrSItkAk77zVtgV29c 4iaz9hKprw3%2BzDJdrGoF4WH8hklLFOqxO pRySuYmSiGPWy73DTx93fm50R41HU8OupFD XKq4Wpk1HTuikgltEy2rcVCJjfymfS54h5D EHg0Z1f&checksum=193643004011d3d380f8119547 aa897977774f83d9d4&frcectupt=true

Storage Type: SSD (Solid State Drive)
Operating System: Windows 10
RAM Size: 8 GB Type:
Notebook/Laptop
Brand: HP
Processor Speed: 1.70 GHz
Processor: Intel Core i5 4th Gen 4210u
Features: Built-in Microphone, Built-in Webcam
SSD Capacity: 128 GB
Hard Drive Capacity: 128 GB
Screen Size: 17.3 in
UPC: 888793414354

To be is reads like it is a good setup,
Would this be a good choice?
Sorry for the basic questions.

Thanks again.
Peter.

[jahnpahwa]

That ebay laptop has similar specs to the dells that i have. A bloke up here seems to access old models from his work, cleans them up and sells them for about that price. 8gb ram and decent SSD mean you also have a shot at running processing software on it if you like. i run pixinsight on mine, and while it can be slow to do some things, it gets it done and is reliable. Good to keep electro gadgetry going as long as possible, too... e-waste is pretty bad. Bought my daughter a $500 new laptop for school and my gosh its slow... soooo slow with windows 10. She is going to linux, just so its useable.

[Camelopardalis]

The key components for planetary imaging are USB 3 and fast storage, as you want to be able to capture the planets at high frame rates to find those moments of good seeing.

I use an Intel NUC with an i3 cpu and multiple USB 3.0 ports. I fitted it with a SSD so that it doesn’t become the bottleneck. It’s not impossible to capture 100GB+ in an hour if you get serious.

So it doesn’t need to be seriously powerful, just needs a few components carefully chosen.

[bluesilver]

Hi, i appreciate all the replies,
Sorry foe keep asking the same questions over and over, just not 100% up to speed on what laptop i need for the astro photography work.

I think i am getting closer with my choices, the last ebay one just needs more memory if i am correct.

I did go back and find this one,
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HP-Probook-470-G2-i5-5200Uu-2-2-8Gb-Ram-750GB-HDD-17-3-inch-Windows-10/193643022297?hash=item2d160607d9:g: SdwAAOSw~uVfTJPg
Seller is selling refurbished ones.
Am i on the right track with this option? or will this work fine?

Once again, sorry for asking the same questions over and over again.
Thanks.
Peter.

[Tulloch]

If you are only buying the laptop for capturing the videos in the field and processing them on a desktop computer, then a Celeron should be fine, but you will need a larger hard drive and a separate 3 or 4 TB external drive to store your captures. The typical size of my Jupiter videos is around 3-4 GB each, Saturn usually a little smaller but if you want to capture the moons also, then count on between 10 and 20 GB for each file!

Processing your videos takes a while - my laptop has an 8th generation i5 with 16GB RAM and 1TB HDD, and it still takes me a good amount of time to process my videos, especially if I'm using WinJupos to process them.

Personally, I would not spend less than $1000 on a laptop, and don't buy old technology 2nd hand, IMHO you are only buying yourself problems.

If I was buying a new laptop, here's a couple I would look very closely at.
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/hp-15-6-inch-i7-1065g7-8gb-256gb-ssd-laptop.html
https://www.harveynorman.com.au/hp-15-6-inch-i5-1035g1-8gb-256gb-ssd-laptop.html

Andrew

[bluesilver]

Thanks for the reply,
Sorry, i did forget to mention that i will be doing all the processing work on a desktop pc, not the laptop
Sorry for the confusion there.
So, only want the laptop to drive the camera and the programme FireCapture.
All processing work will be done on the desktop pc

[bluesilver]

Might also use it to run pole master if i decide to get that latter also.
So don't really need an over the top laptop i am thinking.
Would that last one on ebay be a good choice though?
Always up for options.
Thanks.
Peter.

[Tulloch]

Yep, that one on eBay should be fine. It's not essential to have a SSD for planetary imaging, I use my 1TB HDD and can capture Jupiter at up to 250fps on it (but normally capture at 150fps to reduce noise levels). It's big, so you will probably need to run it on mains power all the time, but should be ok.

[Outcast]

I'm gonna throw a little grenade in here... :eyepop:

I hate the idea of lugging a laptop outside... I really, really do...

So... if I'm gonna do planetary with my ZWO ASI224MC, I hook it up to my android tablet via USB OTG cable & use the ASICAP (called something else now) app & capture just fine...

If I'm doing Deep Sky stuff with my DSLR, I use Stellarmate on RPi 4 together with either Stellarmate app on my android tablet or via virtual window on my android tablet...

Can I capture video at mega feet per second.. ummm, no but, the results are just fine IMHO & I don't have to lug a laptop outside or worry about how to power it all coz, for planetary I just make sure my tablet's fully charged & for DSO work, I'm connected wirelessly to Stellarmate so can just plug in my tablet to USB output on my power distribution box...

My 2.15 cents worth...

Cheers