Webcams and barlows vs. powermates

Hi,

I want to move to a CCD setup for imaging and am considering purchasing a webcam and a high-powered barlow or powermate.

I know a few people use the Philips ToUcam Pro for CCD imaging but these seem to hard to come across, is there other suitable alternatives? The most apparent is the Meade LPI would seem to best fit my desire to do plantery imaging but would like to consider other reasonably priced options (around US$100)

To go with the webcam I would like to get high magnificant from my etx-125 and am considering a 5x Powermate, is this a good/bad idea and will it work with the etx-125 and a webcam?

Is there anything else I should need ?

Thank you

Darragh

Is there anything else I should need ?

Lots of patience! Its a learning curve, so don't be rattled if you don't get the desired results the first time... or even the 7th time!

Seanie.

Darragh - just watch your focal length - the longer the focal length, the better your mount tracking needs to be.

The native FL of the etx125 with a Philips ICX098A is 1905mm which is relatively long - you want reasonable tracking with this. Lash on a 5x PowerMate and you'll get a FL of 9525mm - very ambitious.

I think the best advice I can give is just go with the imager and your curent OTA/mount - forget Barlows etc for now. Its a steep learning curve alright - that'll be enough for you go with without complicating matters too much.

When you get the hang of astrophotography, then you can think about reducers, Barlow's, Powermates etc.

As for the imager, I've heard reasonable comments about the LPI or Celestron's equivalent though it seems modified webcams offer better performance. All these products should be about the 100 quid mark, give or take...

Give it a lash anyhow and keep us posted!

Cheers and good luck

Dave

Darragh,

I would also agree with starting with the web cam alone. I use a LPI and now use it with a 5X Powermate. (It took awhile before I moved to the 5X) I also use a 2x and a 3x Ultra TX TeleXtender 1.25 Inch Format by Meade. I saved about half the money of buying powermates. These Ultra TX TeleXtender by Meade are fairly new and I find them almost as good as the powermates. (Almost)

I believe you will enjoy imaging with the web cam. Again, I have had very good results with the LPI, but you must choose what is best for you.

You can see my LPI work at sightsabove.com/gallery.php

Good luck,,,

Jim[/url]

Focal Length of 9525mm, that's quite tempting.

I asked about the barlow versus the powermates as I am heading to the US in a few weeks would like to purchase one while in the US for *future* use.

On the webcam, Logitech have a 1.3Mega Pixel webcam for around $65 dollars and seems to be good value.

The Meade LPI seems a little expensive compared to standard webcams, what does the LPI offer over a standard webcam?

Thanks
Darragh

Hi Darragh,

I've been using a logitech 1.3mp quickcam pro until recently. They are quite good but I found (when trying to image Jupiter) that it could not function correctly when I moved the Gain or Gamma below around 70%, which made it difficult to get good results.

I just got my hands on a Celestron NexImage, which is the same as the Toucam Pro, but in another body (same imaging chip and electronics). It's far better than the Logitech, easier to use and can be modded for long exposures just like the Toucam.

They're expensive in Europe, but are quite cheap in the US (check out Astromart or eBay as I got mine for $70 2nd hand).

By the way, I heard that the LPI has a CMOS sensor and does not get quite as good images as the Toucam.

Best cash I spent in ages.

Trev