Video Astronomy
Video Astronomy Equipment
Video Astronomy Equipment
Webcams - For Lunar and Planetary
Several Webcams are suitable for Video Astronomy and even Astrocasting. It is highly recommended to remove the factory fitted IR filter and add a proper Astronomical IR filter, if needed. The small original lens is unscrewed and replaced with a hollow 1.25" adaptor to attach the webcam into a Telescope Focuser.
The two most popular Webcams for this purpose are the Philips ToUcam Pro II and the Philips SPC900NC. Both have very sensitive low light sensors.
Unfortunately these cameras aren't very useful for Deep Space Objects like Nebulae and Galaxies. Webcams can only be used with Computers.
Ready to use Commercial versions can also be purchased from Astronomy shops.
Meade's LPI (Lunar/Planetary Imager), Celestron's NexImage and then right up into the higher price bracket ASI Planetary cameras and Imaging Source range.
Security Cameras
Although almost all Security cameras will give reasonable results for Lunar/Planetary work, there are a limited number of Security Cameras that are suitable for Deep Space Video Astronomy and Astrocasting.
Again, it is highly recommended to remove the factory fitted IR filter and add a proper Astronomical IR filter if needed. Simply attach a 'C' mount 1.25" adaptor to attach to the Telescope Focuser.
Because these Security Cameras are Analogue (available in PAL & NTSC) they will also need a Video Grabber when used with a Computer, or simply use an AV cable to connect to a TV or DVR.
Security cameras that serve a useful purpose for Video Astronomy can be bought from around $75 up to about $400
They give a reasonable result on many Deep Sky Objects but do require modifications like IR filter removal and some form of Cooling does help.
Guiding cameras that are usable for Video Astronomy
There are several companies that make Guiding cameras that are very suitable for Video Astronomy use. These cameras are easliy available and often many Astrophotographers already own at least one.
The most common Guide cameras used in Video Astronomy are the Starlight Xpress 'Lodestar' , Lodestar X2, and Ultrastar.
Lodestar & Lodestar X2
Ultrastar Guider/Imager
Video Astronomy Cameras
There are several companies now making a range of dedicated Video Astronomy Systems.
Some of these Video cameras are professionally modified., Others are totally manufactured purely for Astronomical use like Orion, Gstar-Ex, Mintron, etc and cover almost all price and quality ranges
Depending on which manufacturer you buy from, the quality varies greatly, as do the features included.
Most brands offer a selection of models starting at very basic cameras right through to Scientific Grade sensors and fully controlled Peltier Cooling to help reduce noise at longer Integration times.
Some companies sell re-badged Mintrons, same as they do with many other Astronomy products like Synta Telescopes.
Mintron Colour Camera
Phil Dyer PD1
Phil Dyer Astronomy
PD Colour Camera
Gstar-Ex offer 3 models. Gstar-Ex Colour, Gstar-Ex Mono, and the Gstar-Ex2 Mono with Ex-View HAD mono sensor.
Gstar-Ex also sell their cameras as full PC Ready Imaging Kits.
and now available, the new Gstar-Ex3
Gstar-Ex2 Mono Camera
Gstar-Ex Colour Camera
Gstar-Ex3 Astronomy Camera
Rising Tech have a large range of cameras suitable for Video Astronomy in CCD and CMOS, in USB2 and USB3
Also offereing two models are the Watec cameras, with the Watec WAT-120N+ Mono and the Watec WAT-902H2 Ultimate Mono.
Revolution Imager sell a complete kit as a stand alone system without the need of 110 ~ 240v power or a computer, but can be used with both.
The Revolution is a terrific Kit to start out with, and includes IR filter, Focal Reducer, Battery, all cables, Monitor, and Nosepiece.
AND Revolution Imager's NEW IMX224 Imaging Kit
This camera is USB and the kit comes complete ready to use.
The Orion Starshoot Deep Space Video Camera is a camera based on a re-badged Mintron Video Camera.
The Orion Starshoot is availablr from many Astronomy shops
and relatively new on the Video Astronomy market are the Brightstar Mammut cameras.
Although the Mammut has Sony ICX429 1/2" Exview CCD used in the Mintron cameras it also has the benefit of peltier Cooling
Astrovid has three models, all in Monochrome.
Stellacam Ex, Stellacam II and Stellacam III (which comes in two models, one being Peltier-cooled).
Mallincam have cameras from a basic beginner model called the 'Micro' , and the 'Jnr PRO', up to the Xtreme and Xterminator
The Atik Infinity is the first Atik brand camera developed and dedicated for Video Astronomy
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CAMERA NEWS
There are now even MORE new Video Astronomy cameras available as interest in this branch of Astronomy grows in popularity.
Cameras such as the 'Starlight Express Video Astronomy Camera', Altair Astro's 'GPCAM Video camera', ZWO's 'ASI224', etc. and Sony has released an amazing camera that works excellent for Video Astronomy, the SONY A7S and the newer A7S II.
- Yet another addition to the Video Astronomy camera family is the 'Atik Infinity'
Cameras
Video Astronomy Equipment is not very diffferent to a basic Astrophotography setup.
The same Telescopes and mounts are used, but Video is a lot more forgiving in the areas of Mount backlash, lack of Autoguiding, bumps and knocks to the scope, Light Pollution, and even thin Cloud.
Here we attempt to show many levels of equipment from basic to advanced
New Products
on the Scene
Due to bad
counterfeits
of the original
EASYCAP
introducing the
NEW EzCAP
Ebay and other sources have been flooded with poor quality copies of the Easycap Video Grabber.
Now Easycap has introduced their new version in the new design unmistakable packaging and a new name - EzCAP.
The REAL EzCap is ONLY available from Ezcap UK.
Avoid the cheap copies on Ebay
EzCAP
Video Grabber
REVOLUTION IMAGER
IMX224
Advanced IMX224 USB Imaging Kit
REVOLUTION IMAGER
Video Astronomy Kit
Revolution Imager sell a complete kit as a stand alone system without the need of 110 ~ 240v power or a computer, but can be used with both.
The Revolution is a terrific Kit to start out with, and includes IR filter, Focal Reducer, Battery, all cables and Nosepiece.
GSTAR-Ex3
Astronomy Camera
It's finally here!!! A camera that can basically do everything you need. The amazing new GSTAR-EX3 colour camera is your passport to live viewing and imaging the night sky.
With better overall functionality and performance and also offering a slightly wider field of view than its predecessors, the GSTAR-EX3 camera is USB plug and play ready utilising latest high-speed USB3 technology with new generation Sony Exmor series image sensor and inbuilt thermal cooling fan.
Telescopes and Lenses
With Video Astronomy almost any Lens or Telescope can be used which is excellent news for people with expensive SLR Camera Lenses or basic Telescopes
Security Camera Lenses easily come in as the cheapest form of Lens for C Mount cameras (Security and Video Astronomy cameras) and the smaller ones being as cheap as $1. They come in an enourmous variety of sizes and styles including wide-angle and Fisheye
SLR and DSLR Lenses can also be used by attaching a simple C mount adaptor, making use of all those unused Lenses sitting in the Cupboard. Many people seem to accumulate SLR lenses and they often don't get used. Here's your chance to put them back into use. From a basic 18~55 kit lens right through to Exotic Telephoto lenses. They can all be used with Video Astronomy cameras thanks to the vast range of adaptors made for most brands of photographic equipment
With Telescopes used in Video Astronomy, 'Fast' is best
Practically any telescope can be used as long as a few simple guidelines are followed to make them all usable.
When we say 'Fast', that means a telescope with as short a Focal length as possible. Reflector Telescopes like Dobsonians are normally fast scopes at f4 and f5, but the larger the aparture the longer the focal length, so while f4 in a small scope is great, it isn't as practical in a larger scope.
The ever popular ED80 Refractor at f7.5 works well because of it's very short Focal length. It works even better when Focally Reduced to around f4.
Thanks to the use of Focal Reducers, slow scopes like f10 SCT's and even f12 Maksutovs become very good telescopes for Video Astronomy.
If you want to observe the Moon and Planets then the opposite is true. Slow the scope down by using a Barlow, but good tracking will be essential at such high magnification.
A simple cheap 80mm f5 Achromat Refractor is ideal to start out with, and gives a nice widefield view, especially when used with a Focal reducer for larger areas of sky and large objects
Dobsonian mounted Reflectors are a very cost effective way to have a telescope with a large Aperture compared with more expensive Refractors of similar size. The larger the aperture the slower the telescope will be, needing more Focal eduction if you wish to regain a wide Field of View, otherwise they give a good view of smaller objects due to their increased light gathering capability but tracking the object will be a lot harder
To achieve good tracking with a telescope, especially at slower focal ratios an EQ mount is a very practical piece of equipment. Most EQ mounts come with RA tracking, others come with computerised GoTo so you can locate objects at the push of a button.
Another form of Tracking mount for Dobsonian Telescopes is called an Equatorial Platform, many of which are home made. They allow you to sit your whole Dobsonian mounted telescope on top of a tracking platform.
Another very popular telescope is the 'SCT' or 'Schmidt-Cassegrain'.
These style of Telescopes have very slow optics mostly at f10, often necessitating a Focal reducer for most objects, but many users are happy to use then at native f10 for smaller objects like tiny Planetary Nebula and Solar System views.
ED80 Semi-Apochromat Refractors have long been known as an Astrophotography marvel due to their fantastic optics at a low price in comparison to Fully Apochromatic Refractors of the same size.
Feel confident using almost any size and style of Telescope or Camera Lens with Video Astronomy cameras. Just remember the basic guidelines about 'fast optics' giving a brighter image in a wider field of view, and that your tracking must be more precise the slower the optics.
Here you can see two Video Astronomy cameras attached to two different Telescopes.
The top one being a Mallincam Xtreme Video Astro System in an ED80 Refractor and the lower one is a modified Samsung Security Camera in a 6" f5 Achromat Refractor
Due to Video Astronomy being a process of real-time video or fast exposures, guiding is rarely used, and fast exposures are so forgiving that accurate tracking isn't even essential, but it is helpful.
Motorised EQ mounts offer the best method, but many people also use Alt/Az mounts, Dobsonian Tracking Platforms, or even just a camera tripod when doing widefield work.
Because Video is near-live, the occasional moved stars, knocked scope, or to a lesser extent, Field Rotation, doesn't matter. It is the same as looking in an eyepiece.
But the smaller the Field of View (more magification) the more critical the tracking will need to be.
For Meteor showers no tracking is needed at all. Just a very widefield camera lens, and a camera tripod or telescope mount turned off. The exposure times used to capture Meteors aren't long enough to see any star-trailing.
ALT/AZ style Mounts
Alt/Az mounts (Altitude/Azimuth) move in two directions: Vertical and horizontal.
For long exposure Astrophotography they can suffer from Field Rotation, but for Video Astronomy they are excellent as the integration frames are not long enough to show rotation.
Field rotation is the rotation of a celestial object in the field of view of a telescope during the course of the night. All objects in the eyepiece field or on the camera’s image will move in arcs. It’s usually either ignored or not noticed for visual observations and Video Astronomy, but cannot be ignored for long exposure Astrophotography.
Alt/Az mounts and
EQ mounts use different styles of mechanical designs to move around the sky. Both will work well with Video Astronomy.
EQ Mounts
An EQ (Equatorial) mount follows the rotation of the sky (celestial sphere) by having one rotational axis parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. In this way field rotation is completely eliminated. A motorised EQ mount will track an object across the sky and not change the viewing angle.
Dobsonian Mount Equatorial Platform
A Tracking, (or equatorial) Platform allows a Dobsonian mounted Telescope to follow the arc of Celestial bodies' making it similar in use to an EQ Mount.
Commercial products are available but many are home made. Also, many are motorised so the Telescope will track the object.
Mounts
As with any form of Astronomy, Video Astronomy has essential equipment too.
Cables, Filters, Monitors etc.
Cables
Depending on whether you want to view your camera on a TV, a Monitor, or a Computer, you will need the right cables for the job.
For a Webcam the connected USB cable is all you will need. You can use a USB extension if needed to reach your PC or Laptop and Boosted USB cables are preferred.
Security Cameras and dedicated Video Astronomy cameras will need an AV cable, or an S-Video cable if your TV or Monitor accepts it.
These will connect directly to the TV/Monitor.
When using a PC/Laptop you will need a Video Grabber which converts the Camera's Analogue signal to a Digital Signal so the video feed can be recognised by the computer.
Video Grabber
An AV or Svideo cable will be needed to go from the camera to the Video Grabber or TV/Monitor. This can be anywhere from 1 metre (3 feet) to 30 metres (100 feet)
Nosepiece
Video Astronomy Vendors usually supply their cameras ready to use including a 'C' mount to 1.25" Nosepiece adaptor.
This is an Aluminium, Delron, Nylon or plastic hollow tube which screws onto the front of the camera allowing it to be inserted into the Telescope's Focuser Tube instead of an Eyepiece.
Security Cameras do not come with this adaptor but they are readily available from many Telescope stores and online.
Be sure to buy a good Nosepiece adaptor with an internal thread at the telescope end. This thread is to allow you to screw on Astronomical Filters such as IR, UV, UHC, etc.
Essentials
Focal Reducers
As previously mentioned above, "with Telescopes used in Video Astronomy, 'Fast' is best"
The method used by many Video Astronomers to make their Telescopes faster is by use of a Focal Reducer, also known as a Telecompressor.
A Focal Reducer shortens a Telescopes Focal Length which in turn gives a wider 'Field of View' (FOV), sharper focus and a shorter integration time to gather the same amount of light.
There are several brands of Focal Reducers available in many configurations.
Single lens, doublets, and combination sets.
They are commonly available in 1.25 inch and 2 inch daiameters to fit most standard Telescope Focusers.
Some of the common Focal Reducers are 0.5x, 0.6x, 0.63x, 0.7x and 0.75x
There are also combination Focal Reducers made by Mallincam that have 2 seperate elements and spacers which can be changed to many different reduction levels.
For people keen on 'Do-it-yourself' projects you can make your own Focal Reducer using a Binocular Primary lens.
This video shows how to make a home-made Focal Reducer
Filters & Accessories
Resources
Books
Click on the Book Covers to be taken to more information
Video Astronomy
Started on the first published title in 1998 and it was released in 2000. Video Astronomy is a beginners reference guide to using CCTV based CCD cameras for imaging the brightest object like the planets, meteors, the Sun and Moon. It includes all the practical information needed to understand the basic of this technology, its application as a useful tool in astronomy plus how to make your own astro-camera from cheaply available CCTV components found in some consumer hobby electronics stores. It was a sell out world-wide.
(out of print)
Video Astronomy - Revised Edition
As we were just going to press with the first edition, many advances in Video technology were arriving into the market place. In 2004 I added several updates to the first edition to cover these amazing advances including the new evolvement of onboard image accumulation camera technology which now saw video enter the deep-sky capable realm. We were deeply gratified to find that this title has been referenced as the bible of video astronomy in many other books published around the world
Deep-Sky Video Astronomy
This book is for anyone interested in astronomical observations with modern video cameras and is the perfect follow-on companion to 'Video Astronomy - revised version' also authored by Steve Massey, along with Thomas Dobbins and Eric Douglas.
It extends on the typical use of video for lunar and planetary observations to full deep-sky viewing and imaging.
It covers the technical side of popular devices and how to set-up and use them for deep-sky observations and imaging.
A major chapter describes all the basic image processing techniques needed to transform video recordings into wonderful deep-sky images.
Several other branches of astronomical observing with video are mentioned to round out the many uses of these versatile cameras.
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