Recommendations for 'quick and dirty' imaging camera

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

Hi,

I have recently purchased a 6 inch F5 collapsible GOTO Skywatcher scope to take on a short road trip.

To compensate for the limited light gathering ability, I would like to buy an easy to use camera that I can take images with. Maybe a couple of seconds exposure and then I can see some sort of image on the screen. I don't want to image the planets.

So I would appreciate if anyone could recommend something that has easy to use software for a beginner and ideally costs no more than $500.

Thanks in advance.

[glend (Glen)]

You maybe surprised at what a modern smart phone and a telescope adaptor can produce.

Have a look here:

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/ce...phone-adapter/

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

If you don't want to image the planets, you will need to change the settings on the phone camera to allow for longer exposure times.

Androids may only allow 3 and 10 sec exposures depend on the model. On iPhones I think you can hit "unlock" and get a lot more flexibility with shutter times and aperture sizes.

But you might find the phone clip is enough to get you some good results, if the objects are fairly bright.

Suggested settings for various objects using a phone camera will probably be posted somewhere...

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

I will definately give that a go.

I would still like suggestions for a low end imaging camera though. It is something I have been wanting to try for a while on my larger (12 inch) telescope. The road trip is just an excuse to buy some thing.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by glend

You maybe surprised at what a modern smart phone and a telescope adaptor can produce.

Have a look here:

https://www.bintel.com.au/product/ce...phone-adapter/

[redbeard (Damien)]

A second hand DSLR Canon would be a great place to start as they are cheap, have a large sensor and there is a lot of software available. A google search will let you know if you need any spacers ect to achieve focus.

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

I'd second a DSLR camera, the DSLR gives you great camera and the ability to use it for AP as well.

The link below is a great way to compare cameras and explains a few of the features such as pixel pitch etc.


https://www.digicamdb.com/compare/ni...-canon_eos-7d/

[sharkbite]

Hi Josie...

I have a zwo224mc that is certainly quick - not dirty though!

I'm quite happy with the ease of use, and the ASILIVE capture software is pretty good for beginners - you might find the live stacking capability useful.

It even works on my crappy lappy.

Ease of use is a subjective thing - for me its as simple as jamming the camera in the scope, stuffing the usb cable in the PC and starting up ASILIVE....

Not to denigrate the suggestions of DLSR - they are great, and produce excellent results.
Also a cheap option if you already have one....

the big advantage i found with the zwo cameras is the light sensitivity in comparison to a DLSR - you can get a result with a much shorter exposure.

Also the weight - you dont have 1-2 kilos dragging down on the Dob motors...

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Hello,

The new mirrorless camera are very light weight compared to the older style. I think you can get a A7s full frame sensor that weighs in around 640grams.

That's not much more than a 6-7 element eyepiece. You can also try renting one, about $20-$40 a day depending on what your getting. A cheap way of trying a camera's for a weekend. Esp. considering the potential costs...


Steve

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

I use a Sony A6000 as an astro camera, really for EAA - so my requirements are similar to yours in terms of exposure length and what I want it to do for me. The results for what really is a camera that was never designed to be an astro camera are great.

Having noted that, you need a little bit of gear to connect it to a telescope and make it work properly (T2 adaptor for the camera, T2 adaptor for the scope, spacers to get the right back focus, filter drawer if you want one, coma corrector in your case if necessary).

If you're thinking of using a DSLR, you might want to check that your chosen software supports that camera. Alternatively you might want to check for the availability of an ASCOM driver for the camera. You may potentially need a solution for remotely updating the manual camera settings and releasing the shutter etc if an ASCOM driver won't do it for you.

For the A6000 there's a decent driver solution, but I'm not sure that it would be the best DSLR for the job. For me it was a great start though, and immediately opened up more targets to view that I could never spot easily from my backyard. I now observe inside, with everything remotely operated outside - much more comfortable

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Warning this is a Hi-Jack,

Dean,

I have been looking at 2nd hand dslr's, as the better half likes the idea of a good camera as well.

Can I ask what's involved in your setup and if its not rude a rough price as well.

*We have a 4k TV and I was wondering about transmitting a 4k signal instead of the 1080p format.



Thanks
Steve

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

From following the contributions I can narrow my question a bit more.

Can anyone suggest a low cost lightweight (not a DSLR - Have two of those) astrocamera with live stacking software so I can do a quick exposure and see the image on my laptop.

I basically want to spend less than $500. I might not want to pursue this side of astronomy. And weight is important. I will be experimenting with it on a lightweight 6 inch GOTO Dobsonian mount before I used it on my 12 inch not so lightweight GOTO Dobsonian.

Thanks,

Josie.

[sharkbite]

Originally Posted by ozskywatcher

From following the contributions I can narrow my question a bit more.

Can anyone suggest a low cost lightweight (not a DSLR - Have two of those) astrocamera with live stacking software so I can do a quick exposure and see the image on my laptop.

I basically want to spend less than $500. I might not want to pursue this side of astronomy. And weight is important. I will be experimenting with it on a lightweight 6 inch GOTO Dobsonian mount before I used it on my 12 inch not so lightweight GOTO Dobsonian.

Thanks,

Josie.

....

Why, yes I can ;-)

The 224 will set you back about $350.

It does planetary really well,
And I have pleasing results with deep sky as well.

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

OK, I will give it a go!

Just been looking on the Bintel website.

This one? ZWO ASI224MC USB3.0 Colour Astronomy Camera.

Thanks by the way for the recommendation.

Regards,

Josie.

Originally Posted by sharkbite

....

Why, yes I can ;-)

The 224 will set you back about $350.

It does planetary really well,
And I have pleasing results with deep sky as well.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Originally Posted by mura_gadi

Warning this is a Hi-Jack,

Dean,

I have been looking at 2nd hand dslr's, as the better half likes the idea of a good camera as well.

Can I ask what's involved in your setup and if its not rude a rough price as well.

*We have a 4k TV and I was wondering about transmitting a 4k signal instead of the 1080p format.

There was a bit involved for me to get to the point of EAA with my DSLR. I had a Sony A6000 not doing a whole lot, so started wondering how it would go as an Astro camera. The main things for me to get were a bahtinov mask, ZWO 2” filter drawer, spacers, a field flattener / reducer for my C9.25, some cables and the adaptors to go on each end to hook it all up with the right back focus. Other than that, it was mostly about software and drivers. I ended up using Stellarium, the Sony Remote suite, an Ascom driver that was written for the Alpha cameras and Sharpcap Pro. The bits and pieces required to hook it all up cost about $500 excluding the camera which I already had.

I ended up documenting the set up as I went in case I ever had to go through it again. With regard to 4K, I’m not sure that you would get the best results connecting a camera’s HDMI out directly to a 4K tv as it wouldn’t allow you to layer timed exposures. You would only ever be able to look at a single frame. At least with the Sony the chip is 6000x4000 which I believe exceeds 4K so there might be possibilities for using a 4K capable laptop running Sharpcap to drive it all.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

Originally Posted by ozskywatcher

OK, I will give it a go!

Just been looking on the Bintel website.

This one? ZWO ASI224MC USB3.0 Colour Astronomy Camera.

Thanks by the way for the recommendation.

Regards,

Josie.

It might be worth using the Bintel Astronomy Calculator to see how the 224MC would go with your telescope just to be sure that it’s a decent match.

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

Thanks for the suggestion.

I have had a look this morning. I couldn't find my exact telescope so I chose a couple with the same F ratio.

I haven't used the calculator before. Is the point of it to see if it will cover the type of objects I want to image?

Thanks,

Josie.

Originally Posted by floyd_2

It might be worth using the Bintel Astronomy Calculator to see how the 224MC would go with your telescope just to be sure that it’s a decent match.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

You can enter your telescope’s focal length and ratio manually rather than selecting a telescope from the list with that tool. You can override the camera settings the same way if you’re considering a camera that isn’t on the list. I’ve used the tool to check resolution per pixel for a given combo, check for over sampling / under sampling, and also to check the FOV of the combo.

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

Thanks Dean.

I will give it a go.

Originally Posted by floyd_2

You can enter your telescope’s focal length and ratio manually rather than selecting a telescope from the list with that tool. You can override the camera settings the same way if you’re considering a camera that isn’t on the list. I’ve used the tool to check resolution per pixel for a given combo, check for over sampling / under sampling, and also to check the FOV of the combo.