Old Webcam and astrophotography

[shaneaust (Mick)]

I've come across an old Philips PCS635VC webcam that someone gave m awhile ago and which I've never used, due to the fact that I've never been able to find any XP-compatible drivers for it.

I've been doing some research on using webcams for astrophotography and have found a site that explains how to disassemble various webcams for use with a telescope.

I could probably do that with this camera -but without the drivers?

Anyone have any ideas about whether or not this would work? Or how I could get it to work?

I've had experience doing this with my Logitech QuickCam and it worked fine, but this drivers issue has me wondering....

[bojan]

Is it worth the trouble... IMO that depens if camera has CCD or CMOS sensor... if it is CCD then perhaps it is worth it. Do you have any driver at all?

Have a ook at:
http://www.qcuiag.co.uk/
There you may find a lot of interesting things, maybe even the driver you need, but I am not sure...

I have a dedicated laptop with w'95 for my bw QuickCam which I modified for use for astrophotography.....

[iceman (Mike)]

If you can't get drivers for it, I wouldn't bother. Also, not every webcam is suitable for astrophotography. I mean, it may work, but the sensitivity and pixel size of the CCD (or CMOS) chip is the main concern.

If you've got some specs for the device, we may be able to say whether it could be suitable?

The ToUcam 900nc is still the best (budget) webcam for getting into astrophotography of the moon and planets. You can get it with adapter (so no need to pull it apart etc), for around $200 from telescopes-astronomy in adelaide.

There's also a lot of other people using them, so you'll get lots of (good0 advice about settings, capture parameters etc.

[shaneaust (Mick)]

excellent, excellent site, bojan! thanx a bunch for recommending it - have been looking for info re longer exposure times and the site has it all.

gracias!

[shaneaust (Mick)]

Originally Posted by iceman

If you can't get drivers for it, I wouldn't bother. Also, not every webcam is suitable for astrophotography. I mean, it may work, but the sensitivity and pixel size of the CCD (or CMOS) chip is the main concern.

If you've got some specs for the device, we may be able to say whether it could be suitable?

The ToUcam 900nc is still the best (budget) webcam for getting into astrophotography of the moon and planets. You can get it with adapter (so no need to pull it apart etc), for around $200 from telescopes-astronomy in adelaide.

There's also a lot of other people using them, so you'll get lots of (good0 advice about settings, capture parameters etc.

Hi Mike:

Re the Toucam nc - I see on another site where you mention that it's pretty much the same as the 840k, which I can get on Ebay for about $75.00.
Would I be looking, then, at a similar cam for the 840k?

Thx

[iceman (Mike)]

The 840k and 900nc are almost identical, however the 900nc has some newer drivers with a better compression codec.

Thing is though, you can update the 840k with the 900nc firmware (which is what I did). So you've basically got a 900nc at the cost of an 840k (cheaper), and also the 840k is easier to put the 1.25" adapter onto (it just screws in).

Talk to matt at telescopes-astronomy, he sells the ToUcam with the 1.25" adapter, and an IR blocking filter which is a good idea too. Just don't get the blue-cast glass IR filters. Get the baader or edmund scientific, for around $120.

[asimov (John)]

Originally Posted by iceman

The 840k is easier to put the 1.25" adapter onto (it just screws in)

The 900nc adapter screws in too mike. Both 840K & 900nc have the same thread too. Theres a difference in shape of adapters, thats about it.

[iceman (Mike)]

Thanks for the info asi, it must've been an old article I read when the adapters weren't readily available.