Article: Adding a Webcam to your Telescope

[erick (Eric)]

They come up sometimes. You might have missed this one:-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=36108

[erick (Eric)]

Adelaide?

http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com....am_philips.htm

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Hi all,

I've just completed this webcam adaptation with a Logictech camera.

My question follows on from that of StevenA: How do you increase the field of view of this setup. I had first light with it last night on Jupiter. The image was like an eyepiece view at 350X & with all the damn hassel of nudging the dob at that power & doing so through the monitor. Way too much grunt. And there I was thinking of adding a barlow!

IS there a way? Prime focus with an old fashioned film camera gave wide fields of view. Why is this image so narrow!

I was able to get a wider view, but only by reinserting the webcam's lens & adding an eyepiece to the scope for afocal photography. Not quite what I had in mind.

I was using my 17.5" dob, focal length 2000mm.

Am I missing something?

Alex.

[Terry B]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Hi all,

I've just completed this webcam adaptation with a Logictech camera.

My question follows on from that of StevenA: How do you increase the field of view of this setup. I had first light with it last night on Jupiter. The image was like an eyepiece view at 350X & with all the damn hassel of nudging the dob at that power & doing so through the monitor. Way too much grunt. And there I was thinking of adding a barlow!

IS there a way? Prime focus with an old fashioned film camera gave wide fields of view. Why is this image so narrow!

I was able to get a wider view, but only by reinserting the webcam's lens & adding an eyepiece to the scope for afocal photography. Not quite what I had in mind.

I was using my 17.5" dob, focal length 2000mm.

Am I missing something?

Alex.

Compare the actual size of the sensor vs a 35mm film frame. This is why the field is so small.

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Of cause!!!

So the only solution is using a chip with a larger area?

Other than that its using afocal with this webcam.

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Of cause!!!

So the only solution is using a chip with a larger area?

Other than that its using afocal with this webcam.

Or a focal reducer.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

I have a similar situation, although was advised to consider Mosaic. I have a reducer but not yet got to use it.

[04Stefan07 (Stefan)]

Fantastic article!

Just wanted to ask if there are any newer cameras with higher megapixels that I can use?

Also that is compatible with a Mac.

Thanks!

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

The camera I use, well it is now used as a guide camera is the aGent V5 - http://agent.liquiddigital.com.au/. It is compatible with MAC although can be a struggle to pull off the cover.

It says CCD technology but still have my concerns. It does perform well though as seen in a couple of moon images:
http://mswhin63.waelect.com.au/Moon%...44_34%20PM.png

Along with Jupiter - http://mswhin63.waelect.com.au/Jupit..._03%20Seq2.png
and others.

I am currently trialling an interesting stacking software but is best suited for Mono but am trying it out on some images past completed. So far the software looks promising but haven't completed the tests.

I noticed the V6 is coming soon. Still not sure of the full specs and whether there is any improvements to v5. You can get the v5 a bit cheaper on eBay.

I am not expecting to buy another one any more as I am learning that mono video is far superior than colour cameras. My next one will be a mono and filter wheel.

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by mental4astro

Of cause!!!

So the only solution is using a chip with a larger area?

Other than that its using afocal with this webcam.

Your options are a bigger chip, or a focal reducer to focus the image down onto the smaller chip so that it doesn't 'hang over the edges'.

[ad602000 (Pete)]

If you use a toucam on a guide scope, does the toucam need modification? I have the adapter to fit 1.25

cheers
pete