Quote:
Originally Posted by jbloggz
I've seen the Phillips webcam mentioned in various places, however it seems quite hard to find. Does anyone know of any other sub $100 options, or is that unrealistic?
Is there a good reason why some auto guiding cameras cost over $500? Whats so good about these cameras? I guess I just assumed that an autoguiding camera wouldn't need to be very fancy.
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I started with a the Phillips webcam. They do work, but they're not designed for imaging stars, they're webcams. Images are noisy and can be difficult for the guiding software to find suitable guide stars with suitable signal/noise ratio.
I then thought I'd get a better cam that can do planetary imaging and double as a guide cam - the Imaging Source DBK21. Again, it worked for guiding, but it's not specifically designed for that. It's meant for fast frame rates on brighter targets like planets, so again S/N on guide stars wasn't always perfect.
The slightly more expensive guide cams like the QHY5 are specifically designed for guiding, and have cleaner images, better signal/noise ratio for guide stars.
If you're serious about getting into astrophotography, I'd recommend pony up for the slightly better guide cam. You'll end up going that way sooner or later anyway, and save yourself some heartache and $100 in the long run (ie it's an investment, even if costs a little more now).
