video astronomy

[alan meehan (Alan)]

OK this is a question from myself that knows nothing about video cameras
our astronomy club wants to set up a video capture camera mounted on our new 16inch goto skywatcher dob its a lovely scope so we can use it for outreach viewing for members of the public and view live on a computer screen ,i have found that a g star EX3 would most likely do this but i dont know who sells them My Astro Shop used to but no longer in business ,maybe a zwo camera maybe or QHY if anyone has some ideas it would be be nice
ALAN MEEHAN
Newcastle Astronomy Society

[mental4astro (Alexander)]

Who said My Astro Shop is no longer in business?

Tried astroshop.com.au? Still here.

[AstroJunk (Jonathan)]

Video astronomy back in the day was based on AV technology and the original Gstar EX from Steve Massey was an awesome piece of kit as well as the legendary Watec 120 N+ that was so easy to use. We would plug them directly into a projector and display a 60" image of the pillars of creation!

If you are taking a laptop into the field, then ditch the AV route and chose the best ASI OSC camera you can and live stack using sharp cap - the results will be awesome.

[ozskywatcher (Josie)]

Hi,

Just reading your post. Hoping you can help with a camera recommendation (and I have just put a post in the imaging section about this).

I just bought a collapsible 6 inch F5 Skywatcher GOTO Dobsonian telescope to take on a short road trip. I want to do some experimenting with imaging as well as compensate for the small aperture. I have no experience in imaging so am looking for something that is basically plug and play.

I would be happy if I could find something that will capture an image in a couple of seconds. A fuzzy image of the Orion Nebula would be just fine.

Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by AstroJunk

Video astronomy back in the day was based on AV technology and the original Gstar EX from Steve Massey was an awesome piece of kit as well as the legendary Watec 120 N+ that was so easy to use. We would plug them directly into a projector and display a 60" image of the pillars of creation!

If you are taking a laptop into the field, then ditch the AV route and chose the best ASI OSC camera you can and live stack using sharp cap - the results will be awesome.

[glend (Glen)]

Alan a ASI294MC, the non-cooled version, is a great camera for EAA (Electronic Assisted Astronomy), aka video astronomy. I have been using one for a couple of years. Coupled with software such as Sharpcap, it is a total solution. Sharpcap will control all aspects if capture of frames, alignment of each with the stack, and stacking of frames, into a real time video. You can watch it on a laptop screen, or remote it off to a big screen. I have a large screen I use on my observatory desk. The 294MC has great sensitivity and is worth the investment in my opinion. The cheap video type cameras only provide very basic resolutions. You may find it hard to locate the uncooled version of the 294 as they are very popular with EAA users. I had to source mine from Teleskop Express in Germany. You won't need to worry about darks, bias or flats for frame stacking. Exposure is at your control, but non tracking mounts like a dob, it is best to keep them short. Sharpcap can still align frames, even if your nudging the dob, as it builds alignment points on each frame. Obviously it is great for use on tracking mounts as well.
I suggest you browse through the Cloudy Nights EAA forum for details on how it all works in a modern frame stacking way.

[floyd_2 (Dean)]

One sort of spins down the rabbit hole when when it comes to choosing their first real astro camera. There are a lot of factors involved in choosing the right camera. Do they call it Analysis Paralysis? I've only just recovered from a bad case of it this week with the purchase of an ASI533MC-PRO. There were so many late nights pouring through forums, tech specs, calculating FOVs, determining if I needed a larger FOV (and whether I could afford it) and more. On it goes lol. Hands up who's been there?

I'm with Astrojunk on this one. Get Sharpcap and the best camera that you can afford that suits your setup and what you want to image.