I've been wanting to get around to this for a while and finally got motivated after the May Aurora episode. I've previously had a go at building a Allsky camera with an old ZWO ASI120M however that suffers from a lot of noise and is also monochrome.
I had a spare ZWO ASI294MC Pro being under utilised and this has formed the basis for my next project. I picked up a new Pi 4B with 8Gb RAM and eventually got the software playing nicely. I then went looking for a wide angle lens and was quite disappointed at the options so I've decided to go down the Micro 4/3 path since I have a lot of Olympus M43 gear already. ZWO has a T-M43 adapter for the ASI294 so a week later I've got my Laowa 7.5mm f/2 attached to the ASI and first light is under way as I type.
The Laowa is too good for this application and I've ordered a 7artisans 4mm f/2.8 to use instead. While the Laowa has some impressive features the 7artisans has some impressive capabilities also (see below).
Laowa:
This lens is the widest rectilinear lens currently in the market for Micro Four Thirds Cameras. It gives a field of view equivalent to 15mm lenses in 35mm sensors. This allows MFT users to enjoy an impressive 110° ultra wide angle of view for a wide range of shooting needs despite the 2x crop factor.
7artisans:
Featuring a one-of-a-kind 225° field of view, 7artisans 4mm f/2.8 fisheye lens can create a circular fisheye perspective on Micro Four Thirds (M43) & APS-C cameras.
Now playing with camera settings. SpaceWeatherLive predicting Kp5 tonight!
