Advice sought re: webcams for Nebula imaging

TudorL · #1 03-11-2012, 10:28 PM

Hi,
I'm a complete beginner when it comes to astrophotography and I'm after some advice regarding suitable webcams for astrophotography of Nebula. In particular I'd like to get some reasonable images of the Orion Nebula since with my telescope (NexStar 130 SLT) I can usually see it very well. But I need to do it on a budget of around $100. Also since the 130 SLT is an alt-azimuth mount does this limit the length of exposures I can take or will software such as Registax eliminate any image rotation?

Thanks,

Cheers
Larry

cometcatcher (Kevin) · #2 04-11-2012, 07:41 PM

G'day. Tight budget you have there! However it's doable with the Samsung SCB-2000 frame integration camera. You can get these on ebay for about $110. It helps if they are modified by removing the IR filter for more sensitivity. You will also need a capture device like easy cap. These are pretty cheap for around $10. And a 1.25 inch nose piece to fit the C mount into the telescope. The whole lot might set you back less than $150.

Registax or Deep Sky Stacker will take care of the field rotation as the maximum exposure with this camera is only a few seconds anyway.

TudorL · #3 05-11-2012, 07:14 AM

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my budget is very tight. I blame it on the carbon tax! Ha Ha! I've noticed that Australia Telescopes have the Philips SPC900 webcam modified for long exposure for $160. Would this also be suitable for what I'm trying to achieve? . I'm not trying to achieve any stunning images as I realise with my scope and on my budget that's not possible. But I figure that since I can see M42 so well that if a webcam can collect enough images to stack and then enhance in Photoshop then I might be able to come up with something OK and that may even perhaps show some colour? There's not a great deal of light pollution where I live. I'm just really interested to see what I can do for a real low budget. Any advice is much appreciated.

Cheers
Larry

cometcatcher (Kevin) · #4 05-11-2012, 11:33 AM

I'm not familiar with the Philips SPC900 sorry but at a guess you should be able to image M42 and other bright DSO's with it at least.

Another elcheapo option if you don't mind ordering from overseas is this Ntech video integration camera. It has a following on the cloudy nights forums. It's sensitive but the menu system takes a bit of sorting out apparently. You will still need to buy a capture device and nosepiece adapter for it and remove the IR filter.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-...577569401.html