8buck
member
Reged: 02/12/09
Posts: 54
Loc: Idaho
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Is one better that the other??? I fianlly rigged up an old web cam to my scope and i wasn't too impressed. It was an old cheap ($18) cam from walmart so i wasn't suprised. So... Philips SPC900 -vs- Philips ToUcam. Would I be happy with either? And how do they compare to the NexImage or Meade LPI???
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NexStar 1100 GPS (EPs Celestron 22mm - Celestron Plossl 32mm) SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO
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cdndob
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/28/06
Posts: 657
Loc: The Great White North
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The SPC900 and ToUcam are basically the same camera, slightly different electronics IIRC. You can save yourself a few bucks by buying one of these and doing the long exposure modifications yourself.
If you don't feel like doing the mods yourself then choose one of the other cameras you listed. I don't think you'll notice an image quality difference between any of them.
Steve
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senske
sage
Reged: 01/10/09
Posts: 360
Loc: Spokane, WA
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The NexImage is 0.3 megapixels which I think is astonishingly low resolution for any type of camera being sold today. I just got one a few days ago and it takes pretty good pictures but I'm a bit disappointed in the 640x480 limitation. I just assumed it would be a more "modern" higher resolution camera. My mistake for not checking the specs. With that said, it's a decent camera and it can fit right into a telescope focuser, so no mods necessary.
The cameras you mentioned I believe are 1.3 or so megapixels. In that respect I think they would be better if you're willing to modify them to fit into a focuser.
To get an idea of what you can do with the NexImage you can see my first two NexImage photos here: Jupiter in 8SE and Moon in Galileoscope using NexImage camera.
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Andrew
Orion SkyQuest XT10 Intelliscope with Orion 9x50 and Telrad Finders
Orion WorldView 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron NexStar 8 SE with GSO 8x50 and Red Dot Finders
Galileoscope
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cdndob
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/28/06
Posts: 657
Loc: The Great White North
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Quote:
The cameras you mentioned I believe are 1.3 or so megapixels. In that respect I think they would be better if you're willing to modify them to fit into a focuser.
Nope, the webcams are 640x480 or 0.3 megapixels, just like the NexImage.
Steve
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Andy Taylor
twistin' by the pool
Reged: 09/24/08
Posts: 437
Loc: t=0 UK
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I've got the ToUcam.
You can burn the 900 firmware into it...
Works for me.
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Equipment list of shame:
A strange heap of assorted junk that when thrown together and dragged out into the dark shows me the wonders of the universe...
And then dews up...
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senske
sage
Reged: 01/10/09
Posts: 360
Loc: Spokane, WA
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Quote:
Nope, the webcams are 640x480 or 0.3 megapixels, just like the NexImage.
Steve, thanks for the clarification. Amazon's listing for the SPC900NC (although currently unavailable) indicates 1280x960. But I saw this webcam review website which confirms what you're saying. 
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Andrew
Orion SkyQuest XT10 Intelliscope with Orion 9x50 and Telrad Finders
Orion WorldView 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron NexStar 8 SE with GSO 8x50 and Red Dot Finders
Galileoscope
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Andy Taylor
twistin' by the pool
Reged: 09/24/08
Posts: 437
Loc: t=0 UK
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Quote:
Quote:
Nope, the webcams are 640x480 or 0.3 megapixels, just like the NexImage.
Steve, thanks for the clarification. Amazon's listing for the SPC900NC (although currently unavailable) indicates 1280x960. But I saw this webcam review website which confirms what you're saying.
They were discontinued some time ago - if you see one for sale - grab it!
Yes 640x480...
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Equipment list of shame:
A strange heap of assorted junk that when thrown together and dragged out into the dark shows me the wonders of the universe...
And then dews up...
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cdndob
professor emeritus
Reged: 07/28/06
Posts: 657
Loc: The Great White North
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Quote:
Quote:
Nope, the webcams are 640x480 or 0.3 megapixels, just like the NexImage.
Steve, thanks for the clarification. Amazon's listing for the SPC900NC (although currently unavailable) indicates 1280x960. But I saw this webcam review website which confirms what you're saying.
Yah, those marketing people love to boast about megapxiels!
When in doubt try to find out what CCD/CMOS sensor the camera uses then look up "effective pixels" for the sensor. The SPC900 uses the Sony ICX098BQ CCD.
Steve
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mclewis1
Thread Killer
Reged: 02/25/06
Posts: 3946
Loc: New Brunswick, Canada
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Same resolution. Newer electronics with the SPC900 which I've been told means that you can run at a slightly higher fps rate. It's not a free lunch though (getting faster fps rates) since you'll ultimately be limited by the brightness of your image.
Have to buy a 1.25" adapter for the SPC (extra cost).
Have to disassemble the SPC a bit (remove lens) to attach the adapter.
You can get great images with either unit, the SPC900 is just a little newer in design but it's not astro imaging ready right out of the box.
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Mark
C11, C6, APM/TMB115, and AT80ED - Tandem mount CGE and CG-5A, WO EZ-Touch and AT Voyager
25x100s and 8x56s, T-Mount Light, Mark 1 eyeballs - Modded 350D, DSI-P, SPC900, Mallincam
Just because you can doesn't necessarily mean that you should
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russ_watters
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 11/24/04
Posts: 1277
Loc: Trappe, PA
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Quote:
The NexImage is 0.3 megapixels which I think is astonishingly low resolution for any type of camera being sold today.
Note that unless you are imaging the moon or sun, 640x480 is plenty of resolution for solar system object. Unless you have an extremely large scope, you only need to cover about 200x200 pixels with a planet like Jupiter before the resolution of the camera gets a lot higher than the resolution of the telescope.
Most people, I think, would find the low framerate and large file size of a 1280x1024 camera limiting when imaging planets...
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Equipment: Orion Atlas 11, ED80, DSI-C, DSI II Pro, Dell Inspiron Laptop.
www.russsscope.net
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8buck
member
Reged: 02/12/09
Posts: 54
Loc: Idaho
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Looky what I just bought!!!!
They have 8 more!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Philips-SPC900-NC-PC-Camera-with-VGA-CCD-Sensor-90-FPS_W0QQitemZ250504071155QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Video_Conferencing_Webcams?hash=item3a5334c7f3&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
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NexStar 1100 GPS (EPs Celestron 22mm - Celestron Plossl 32mm) SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO
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senske
sage
Reged: 01/10/09
Posts: 360
Loc: Spokane, WA
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Cool.
I see this seller is also claiming 1280x960 video capture resolution. You'll have to tell us what it really is, because now I wouldn't bet either way.
Have fun with the new camera!
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Andrew
Orion SkyQuest XT10 Intelliscope with Orion 9x50 and Telrad Finders
Orion WorldView 10x50 Binoculars
Celestron NexStar 8 SE with GSO 8x50 and Red Dot Finders
Galileoscope
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Chris_H
Post Laureate
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 3307
Loc: Norway
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1280x960 is snapshot mode, 640x480 is movie mode
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Chris
Orion Optics 200mm F4.5
DMK 21AU04.AS
Astrodon LRGB
SPC900NC
Canon Powershot A610 (CHDK modded)
My Website
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ccs_hello
Post Laureate
Reged: 07/03/04
Posts: 3298
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Consumer products tend to be "tinted" by marketing. An educated customer will be less likely be tricked. They can simply add "interpolated resolution" in parenthesis in a more regulated society with proper consumer protection laws.
Philips German site has better info:Quote:
Sensor-Auflösung: VGA
Interpolierte Schnappschuss-Auflösung: 1,3 MP
Sensor-Resolution: VGA
Interpolated snapshot resolution: 1.3 MP
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