lernerda
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/21/07
Posts: 589
Loc: New Jersey 40.0 N 74.9 W
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Has anyone else used the logitech fusion for planetary?
Gary Honis has done some comparisons and it seems to create much sharper images, despite being a cmos chip. (think this may be due to it being a true usb 2.0 connection)
http://ghonis2.ho8.com/fusiontest4.html
Input is appreciated.... David,
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David
www.seeingafterdark.com
GoTo_Dobs (Yahoo Groups)
Orion XT10G, Tak EM200, SV ED102, WO Z66ED
Canon 550 (T2i) w/ Orion's Skyglow Imaging & , DSI-2 for guiding,
25x100 Burgess & homemade P-mount
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ccs_hello
Postmaster
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 5224
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RE: sharper
I suspect it's because of fine pixel size and quantity of total pixels (1.3 Mpxl vs. 0.33 Mpxl).
By stacking many frames, sensitivity becomes a non-issue.
BTW, this week Staples has the Fusion on sale for $50.
Clear Skies!
ccs_hello
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Lernerda,
I have made one of these, and I am pleased with the results. I shall post a few images I have taken with it.
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Another ... a mosaic taken during 2/5 seeing:
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Another lunar, this time of Tycho. Windy conditions, 2/5 seeing:
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Saturn, not particularly high in the sky, and I had a lot of difficulty with atmospheric scattering of blue light (it was difficult to focus). Also my collimation is a bit off due to difficulty adjusting it; seeing conditions have been too poor to do a proper star test. This is 2/5 seeing, windy:
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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lernerda
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/21/07
Posts: 589
Loc: New Jersey 40.0 N 74.9 W
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Just picked up one at staples.. $15.00 out of pocket. (50% of and had a $35 cash card)
Sputnik, how did you do your modification for the telescope?
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David
www.seeingafterdark.com
GoTo_Dobs (Yahoo Groups)
Orion XT10G, Tak EM200, SV ED102, WO Z66ED
Canon 550 (T2i) w/ Orion's Skyglow Imaging & , DSI-2 for guiding,
25x100 Burgess & homemade P-mount
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Lernerda, I shall post instructions, parts list, and images shortly.
--------------------
Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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For the Logitech Fusion project, I followed 'Gary Honis excellent tutorial, but I made a few modifications.
Parts:
1 x kit box from Radio Shack (4 x 2 x 1).
1 x Celestron T-Adapter Model # 93625.
2 x 3/8 metal standoffs.
5 x 1/4 screws threaded to fit metal standoffs.
1 x nut threaded to fit screws above.
1 x plastic card (credit-card type).
1 x 1-5/8 drill bit for cutting a hole into the lid to accept the T-Adapter.
Use of the Celestron T-Adapter allows you to connect the camera directly to the telescope, to a Barlow, or even to a diagonal. The added benefit is that the end of the adapter accepts standard 1-1/4 filters, which is useful for a variety of situations. A lot of people recommend the use of something like the Baader UV/IR cutoff filter to help with achieving finer focus (you can find information about this in other threads).
Fig 1: I used two metal standoffs to secure to the camera logic-board to the housing. I sandwiched the camera logic-board in between two pieces of plastic (cut from an old credit card), on the end closest to the CMOS sensor, by using a screw and a nut. Then I screwed the camera logic-board onto the standoffs from the inside, using lock-washers to keep it secure.
Fig 2: I cut a hole using the 1-5/8 drill bit into the lid. This is the perfect diameter for a snug fit of the threaded T-Adapter, and it allows for easy removal if you need to do any work / cleaning to the CMOS sensor. You will also see how the standoffs were attached to the lid form the outside using phillips head screws.
Fig 3 The T-Adapter is now mated to the body, ready to be mounted to the telescope's visual back, Barlow or diagonal.
Please private message me, or email me, if you need any help; Ill be more than happy to assist if I can.
Best of luck,
Daren.
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Also,
I added some felt baffling to the end of the adapter that screws to the camera body, in order to minimise internal reflections (off solder points, the white plastic, the metal screw-heads, etc). I simply cut a circular piece of felt, and contact-cemented it to the adapter, then I cut a hole in the centre the same diameter of the plastic housing for the CMOS sensor.
The photos aren't the greatest, but they should illustrate how well the baffling works to minimise internal reflections.
Best of luck,
Daren.
--------------------
Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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lernerda
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/21/07
Posts: 589
Loc: New Jersey 40.0 N 74.9 W
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Hi Darren,
Thanks for your info. I read Gary Honis's site, and I see your adaptation. I was thinking, wouldn't a standard webcam adapter made of delran plastic (like those sold by Steven Moog), with the threaded portion of the adapter cut and filed flat work well? This way it could be glued/screwed directly to the face of the kit box and would be very stable.
Additionally, do you know of the codec or driver that allows for 1280 x 960 capture? (I use qfocus). Or is there other software the does allow this?
David
--------------------
David
www.seeingafterdark.com
GoTo_Dobs (Yahoo Groups)
Orion XT10G, Tak EM200, SV ED102, WO Z66ED
Canon 550 (T2i) w/ Orion's Skyglow Imaging & , DSI-2 for guiding,
25x100 Burgess & homemade P-mount
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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I think your modification to Mogg's adapter would work extremely well. I wish I had thought of it. 
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
|
sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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For 1280x960 capture, you could try Virtual Dub, which is a free AVI capture and editing application.
A nice companion application is WcCtrl (Webcam Control) which allows real time adjustment of all your camera's parameters, as well as the ability to save settings profiles.
Let us know how things are progressing!
Daren.
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Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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lernerda
professor emeritus
Reged: 01/21/07
Posts: 589
Loc: New Jersey 40.0 N 74.9 W
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Darren,
Did you remove the lens from the webcam? In your pictures, it looks like it is still screwed in place.
Virtual dub works fine, but qfocus is till more straight forward and automaically updates your filename. BUT, will not show the 1240 x 960  . Do you use the 1420 codec or the rgb24? Adapter is on it's way.
David
--------------------
David
www.seeingafterdark.com
GoTo_Dobs (Yahoo Groups)
Orion XT10G, Tak EM200, SV ED102, WO Z66ED
Canon 550 (T2i) w/ Orion's Skyglow Imaging & , DSI-2 for guiding,
25x100 Burgess & homemade P-mount
|
sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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Good eye on the lens. What you're seeing is only the bottom half of the lens: I used a dremel to slice the tiny lens barrel in two, to seperate the refractive top lens part from the IR filter of the bottom. What you're seeing in the pictures is the IR cutoff "lens" screwed back in to test if it would work. I just happened to take the pictures shown above while it was still screwed in.
Using the bottom IR cutoff part worked, by the way. The camera still functioned perfectly at prime focus. I've unscrewed it again though, because now I'm using a Baader UV/IR cutoff instead.
Regards,
Daren.
--------------------
Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
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jonbosley
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/19/05
Posts: 694
Loc: Texas
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Not much of a shoot-out, so in the red corner we have the
SPC900nc. Price from Sams $50, Color ccd, mods just pull the lense out and srew in the $20 mogg adapter- good to go.
First a moon shot:
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Mobile
9.25 EdgeHD Celestron
Atlas Hyper-tuned Mount
Trenched
RCX400 12" Meade
POD Observatory
Reserves
WO 66 SD Doublet APO Refractor
AstroSystems Quantum 18" f5.5 Zambuto Optics
Edited by jonbosley (05/01/07 12:37 AM)
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jonbosley
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/19/05
Posts: 694
Loc: Texas
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2nd Moon Mosaic:
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Mobile
9.25 EdgeHD Celestron
Atlas Hyper-tuned Mount
Trenched
RCX400 12" Meade
POD Observatory
Reserves
WO 66 SD Doublet APO Refractor
AstroSystems Quantum 18" f5.5 Zambuto Optics
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jonbosley
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/19/05
Posts: 694
Loc: Texas
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And last Saturn, with 5x powermate (a little to high for my scope).
All images taken with SPC900NC & 8" f6 Reflector.
Hope these help give a more balanced judgement,
Jon
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Mobile
9.25 EdgeHD Celestron
Atlas Hyper-tuned Mount
Trenched
RCX400 12" Meade
POD Observatory
Reserves
WO 66 SD Doublet APO Refractor
AstroSystems Quantum 18" f5.5 Zambuto Optics
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debmanna
member
Reged: 01/11/07
Posts: 66
Loc: Cypress, CA
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sputnik..you have taken some really great pictures..truly inspiring pictures....now i am thinking of trying my hand at webcam astrophotography... 
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Debangshu
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Equipment:-
Orion Astroview 100mm EQ
Nikon D50
Nikon N80
Nikkor 75-300mm Zoom
Nikkor 50mm Prime
Galileo 20x60 Binocular
Orion 1.25" Sky Glow Filter
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sputnik&mir
sage
Reged: 11/27/06
Posts: 446
Loc: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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jonbosley,
Those are fantastic images! I think there is one aspect to all of this that our images bring to the forefront, but that we have not mentioned ... the human element. In the right hands, even the most modest equipment can turn out truly dazzling results.
Debmanna - thank you so much for those comments. It means the world to me that my humble images could inspire you to take the plunge into the exciting world of astrophotography.
I have received tremendous help from everyone here, so when you are ready, this will be a great resource to you when you need answers.
All the best,
Daren.
--------------------
Celestron Nexstar 8 SE - "Budgie."
Celestron Plossls: 32mm, 25mm, 12.5mm.
OWL Enhanced Super-Wide 9mm (Expanse Clone).
Antares W70 5.7mm (rebadged 6mm Expanse).
GSO 2x Barlow.
GSO 3x ED Barlow.
DIY Logitech Fusion Webcam (1280 x 960).
Filters: Baader UV/IR Cutoff, moon, orange, green, blue.
|
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