Moon This Evening

[bluescope]

I wanted to make sure my 350D with Baader MPCC attached would reach focus after a modification to the focuser tube on my 200mm Newt, i.e. the addition of an extra holding screw. As we have had rain I noticed the moon in a clear patch of sky just before sunset and quickly grabbed my scope and camera to check things. The MPCC gives a sharp field right across the frame so the moon looks excellent with the coma corrector attached. In past shots the centre of the image has been sharp whilst details have become progressively deformed towards the sides of images, as you would expect with a fast newtonian.
Happy to report that with the extra screw in the side of the focuser ring fitted with a self tapping stainless steel screw ( tip filed smooth ) I now have a rock solid camera attachment. No more flying camera !

:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Very nice image Steve! Detailed, sharp and smooth!

[Rob_K]

Great shot - crisp, with magic contrast and texture!

[DobDobDob]

Absolutely magnificent :thumbsup:

[ving]

sharp as a tack! :)
good stuff.

[Ric]

Very nice image Steve.
Luna is very crisp and detailed.

Cheers

[Ingo]

Great shot!

Certainly proves whoever was trying to tell me about ccd cameras doing a better job than SLR's at moon photos...wrong. :thumbsup:

[bluescope]

They are probably trying to justify " to themselves " the money they spent on their dedicated CCD's. A DSLR is perfectly capable of high detail shots of the Moon.

:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Webcam CCD's are better than DSLR's on planets and the moon, in certain circumstances. I agree that a DSLR is great for full moon/half moon shots etc.

But try using a DSLR for a highly magnified view of the moon and compare it to what you can do with a webcam, and you'll find a webcam better in those circumstances.

[bluescope]

Quite possibly Mike ! The advantage that a webcam may have is stacking frames to compensate for atmospheric fluctuations ! I'm not sure if Ingo was particularly talking about webcams as such though ... he did say " ccd cameras " which could imply dedicated astro ccd cameras.

When I get my webcam up and running I will be able to compare my own images. I'm certanly looking forward to imaging Jupiter and Saturn with it.

:thumbsup:

[Ingo]

I mean, your average tiny webcam giving out a 640x480 (I think that's that the Toucam does, not sure, maybe its 1280x1024), is going to have A LOT more noise than say a Canon 5D at ISO800 or 1600. Take 3fps and stack maybe 50-100 of those, nice image. You also get 12.8mp, so you'll be able to just resize, and get a lot less noticeable noise, with more detail.

[iceman]

I look forward to your comparisons. I've done them, I know which one is better.

[Ingo]

When I get my 1D3 and a nice scope, i'll do some stuff foryou.

[bluescope]

Deifnitely the image scale is a lot different between the two cameras Ingo. I guess it depends on what you intend to do with them in the end. For internet posting 640x480 is fine for most people.

Most of my images are posted at 800x533 or 900x600, also compressed, which is a big reduction from original size of 3456x2304 uncompressed but as I say to each his own.

Webcam images of Jupiter and Saturn and also some of the moon posted on IIS are superb from what I've seen so congratulations to the members posting them.

Anyway the whole idea is to enjoy what you're doing .... so happy imaging !

:thumbsup:

[bojan]

There is no need to go for too many pixels in an image.. because then you just have too detailed image of your scope limitations.....
Toucam (640x480) format is optimal for prime focal and barlowed imaging of planets. And stacking the big number of captured frames reduces the camera noise and atmospheric turbulence. bringing out the capability of the mirror to its limits.