Hi Mike...
I do understand your view, and respect it, and if it was a person?who had nothing at the moment, sure, I'd probably think it was perfect advice. It's certainly a good starter setup. But my answer to the question of "why not use webcam + laptop" is probably obvious from my original post. IMO, it depends simply on where you are on the observation/imaging spectrum and what you already have.
I regret that when I started, nobody explained to me that if I was interested in AP, maybe I didn't have to buy a webcam and adapters for my DSLR and go down a rabbithole that was more about long exposure photography than it is about astronomy. I wish someone had pushed back a bit, as I do, to say "Wait a minute...when you say AP, how much AP do you mean? 50/50, 80/20, 20/80?" Because those are very different AP points to me. If they know for sure they are at least 50% AP, and they're willing to spend the time letting their scope run for hours on its own, to get the data, and then time processing? Sure. Go for the webcam. And so long as they understand that it is another piece of equipment for the webcam, another set of cables, another piece for the laptop, power for the laptop, screen filter for the laptop (software or physical) to save your view, likely a table, maybe a chair. And that they are unlikely to be doing any visual while it's imaging.
I also prefer the KISS principle for buying equipment and trying new things. I am often stressed when someone comes into a?group, asks a Q, and in a larger scenario, says their price point is $500 for example, and they get recommendations that are $2K. WTF? Why? It's way too easy to spend other people's money when they ask for advice. For me, the guy has a scope, an adapter and a phone. He won't get APOD shots, but he'll get SOMETHING that will hold his interest before he starts to complicate his life. And enough for him to figure out if he likes it enough to go deeper. If he does, I think webcam you shared was a great choice. Not too expensive, not one of the high end liquid cooled, blah blah blah :)
I confess I also fear "experience rebound" for the people trying it for the first time. I did the webcam and DSLR thing, and that really zooms up the learning curve, imo. So much so that when I didn't get amazing stuff after a few tries, I was like, "I'm stupid, I don't get it". Because I was trying to learn astronomy, my new scope, imaging, and the laptop software all at the same time. And I set it aside thinking it would "never work for me". It really spoiled some of my early experience with having a scope. I also know that is NOT an isolated experience...there are lots of people on CN who are like me, maybe 20% imaging and primarily visual who got identical advice, with no larger context, and it was the wrong advice *for us* because nobody asked us what we liked/wanted. I wish there was a universal rule, like you can't buy AP equipment until you've had a minimum 6m cooling off period after buying a scope hehehe To encourage "responsible astronomy equipment ownership"? :)
Shh, don't tell anyone, but I also think smartphone stuff is a great gateway drug. If they like and enjoy it, they'll want to upgrade other elements and have a better idea of what they want/need. As you say, it can be frustrating, but sometimes the reward has a good bounce rather than a bad rebound?
Paul
Paul and Chris,
I'm not saying you should not try imaging with a smartphone (I have done it too for the moon, afocally while waiting for it to get darker) and kudos to those that get results doing so. But the real question is why would you want to if there are cheap affordable alternatives that do a much better job and are easier to use?? When I started imaging the moon, sun, and planets 25 years ago all we had was the venerable Toucam webcam, but it started a lucky imaging revolution even with its so so frame- rate. I wish I had access to the fantastic planetary cams we have available now and the wonderful easy to use capture and stacking software that Torsten Edelman and Emil Kraikamp developed for use (free) for all of us amateurs!! Lets face it our weather here in eastern Ont is not the best for astronomy, why not make the best of the nights we do have with the right tools? Darcy already said he does have a laptop, there you have a nice big screen where you can focus real time with Firecapture and have lots of nice uncompressed video streams to play with when the clouds roll back in later!
Darcy, look up Damian Peach on youtube, he has all kinds of great tutorials and tips -- he is the master!
cheers
Mike
Good Morning Everyone!
It has been a while since I have weighed in on a discussion here. Darcy...a very interesting topic that raises some interesting questions/discussion. On the issue of using smartphones to image, I am going to get behind Paul on this one and say...in patient hands and with an inquisitive mind, a smartphone can generate some very good images. The caveat is...it will be limited by the size of the optics, primarily. Your ETX 80 setup has small optics so it will be limited to sun, moon, bright planets, bright double stars and some of the brighter Messier objects such as the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Orion Nebula (M42) and the Hercules Globular Cluster (M13). There are likely others, you will simple have to experiment. I am not sure what you are referring to when you say chromatic aberration, but the ETX has fairly good optics, albeit small, that should not generate a lot chromatic aberration. There is a possibility that your ETX has had an accident and the optics have been misaligned, or it may be an issue of the smartphone camera not being in proper alignment. One thing I would suggest is that you start with the longest focal length eyepiece that you can find. This will generate the wider field, thereby gathering more light and giving you brighter but smaller images....not and issue for sun and moon...but for everything else. If you can find someone with a 1.25" focal reducer, that should generate an even wider field. Borrow as much as you can to start, just in case the bits don't generate the results you want.?
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On the issue of a finder scope, an ETX can be easily fitted out with a red dot finder. I don't have an ETX in front of me so I am not aware of the mounting holes that may be available. I would suggest that you find a plastic version that is fairly light and can be mounted with some 2-sided tape. The only caution, some finders may have a limited range of adjustment so you will need to find a temporary way to attach the finder to see if it provides enough range for your setup. The 2-sided tape can work but you will need to be prepared to remove it if you need to add a slight shim to help the adjustment.
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Tim...on the issue of power supply, if you are a tinkerer, this thread from Cloudy Nights may provide your solution:
Darcy...do you have an owners manual for your scope? It would be very useful. According to my Sky Safari app, the older Meade ETX models can be controlled with it. I have a Meade LX200 and Sky Safari works flawlessly with it. I use Sky Safari with all my mounts...a joy to use. One note....I do all my Messier Marathons with a manual setup and a red dot finder. For my LX200 connection with Sky Safari, I use a SkyWire instead of the Wifi dongle.?
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One final note Darcy, you will be limited to short exposure, stacked images, given the Alt-Az nature of the ETX drive. Adding a field rotator is not a possibility for this scope I believe.
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With all astro-photography, there is a learning curve that can be overcome with patience and a little guidance. I wish you luck and don't forget to post your images and don't ever apologize for there quality!! :-)
Cheers, Chris.
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