AFAdrenaline
sage
Reged: 12/08/10
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: Juiced]
#4844491 - 10/05/11 01:14 AM
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glad you found it helpful... again, i need to thank gary honis for his tutorial on the lifecam cinema which served as an invaluable roadmap when breaking down the studio.
hope first light goes well! also feel free to post a pic of your finished camera... just like to see what people have done.
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JoeThePro
member
Reged: 11/04/09
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: AFAdrenaline]
#4890811 - 10/31/11 07:06 PM
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Is it possible to, after popping the end plates off and removing the silver case, just carefully dremel around the black plastic to access the auto focus assembly and skip all the other annoying parts?
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xsnrg
newbie
Reged: 11/01/11
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: JoeThePro]
#4909601 - 11/10/11 11:41 PM
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I just finished performing this modification on a studio. Thank you and Gary both for the effort. I had one hint I wanted to pass along, and to ask a couple questions.
First, I tried very hard to not get anything on the sensor. Yeah, we all know how that goes. It got junk on it. I did not want to mess with it, as it was still pretty good, but even the smallest of particle is a big deal when you are looking at small things projected on a small sensor.
I thought about ordering a $50 cleaning kit for my $30 webcam that has methanol based cleansers (recommended for the purpose by many photographers), but that did not seem to make much sense, so I thought about what might remove it and not leave any residue.
Black electrical tape was the answer. Gently fold it over trying not to touch the area of the fold that will contact the sensor, then dab the sensor lightly and pick up all the crud from it. The black tape I have works very well because it is only slightly sticky, and leaves no residue. Do not try to clean it with it plugged in. The sensor generates heat, and it will end up pulling the sticky off the tape and leave it on the surface of the sensor. Your mileage may vary, and this is in no way a guarantee, but it worked for me with $0 outlay as I had the roll.
The two questions.
1) I am using Linux with guvcview, which is an excellent program for webcams. Exposure on this camera seems to revert to a default setting, even after moving the slider. I am going to work with the driver team on this one to see if we can make it operate a little better. Anyone else with this experience?
2) What is a good quality IR filter that will screw into the blue fireball extender?
Thanks again, and clear skies all.
Jim
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Gary Honis
Vendor-DSLR Mods
Reged: 12/15/04
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: xsnrg]
#4911587 - 11/12/11 09:03 AM
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Hi Jim,
Congratulations on your successful LifeCam Studio mod! I only have experience with the Cinema version and haven't had the exposure reset problem you are seeing with the Studio. Have you tried uninstalling the Microsoft driver? That helped me to get other webcam control and capture softwares to work with the Lifecam as explained HERE. I don't know anything about Linux, so using it maybe microsoft drivers are not even installed or used. If you could try the Studio on a microsoft system for the problem, that should point to Linux/guvcview and rule out a hardware problem, which it probably isn't.
I like the idea of the Studio's imaging chip being twice as large as the Lifecam's chip. Would be nice to see a side-by-side test on planetary.
I use a 1.25" Baader IR blocking filter and it works well.
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Canphaz
newbie
Reged: 12/20/11
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: Gary Honis]
#4975493 - 12/20/11 07:00 AM
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Hi everyone, thanks for this interesting thread!
I've ordere a Lifecam Studio just now and will also be modding it as described above.
However, since i was curious about the specs i searched a bit and found this PDF, similar to the Lifecam Cinema's specifications:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/8/5/8854555F-8FF8-407A-8CD0-0B10D7FC4176/TDS_LifeCamStudio.pdf
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GizmoDave
sage
Reged: 12/06/09
Loc: California USA
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod *DELETED*
[Re: Canphaz]
#5030846 - 01/21/12 04:51 PM
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Post deleted by GizmoDave
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GizmoDave
sage
Reged: 12/06/09
Loc: California USA
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: GizmoDave]
#5034563 - 01/23/12 08:27 PM
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I got my Lifecam Studio and have the mod done just waiting on the 2" extender to use for the housing. Mine works without the microphone, with the LED permanently disabled, and the shielded microphone guard removed. Less stuff to pack back into the housing.
Now to get the software sorted out.
Edited by GizmoDave (01/24/12 03:46 PM)
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Tanchistu
member
Reged: 01/04/12
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: JoeThePro]
#5152085 - 04/01/12 05:37 PM
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You don't need to cut anything. Just open the front cover and remove the lens, leave the autofocus system in place. It will even offer some kind of protection to your sensor.
I found out too late.
Edited by Tanchistu (04/01/12 05:44 PM)
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: Tanchistu]
#5209583 - 05/06/12 11:03 PM
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I know this is an older thread, but i'm waiting on a lifecam studio and the Blue Fireball 1.25" Eyepiece 2.2" Extension Tube... i ran across what seems to be the right software to use called VirtualDub .. if anyone is looking for it
clear skies
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: JoeM101]
#5233808 - 05/22/12 10:11 AM
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Has anyone tried doing DSO's with this setup? I modded a studio myself and i was wondering how to get around the exposure limit. There doesn't seem to be a long exposure mod out there for this cam... any thoughts / links / ideas?
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AFAdrenaline
sage
Reged: 12/08/10
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: JoeM101]
#5233978 - 05/22/12 12:37 PM
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just for fun i tried this on m42 last fall... more or less worthless in this regard from what i was able to try... not that I tried that hard. of course if anyone tries and has any luck i'd be thrilled to hear about it.
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JoeM101
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 04/09/12
Loc: 45.66086, -73.54702
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: AFAdrenaline]
#5234954 - 05/22/12 11:21 PM
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The fact the camera is limited to 1 sec exposures makes all the difference. If there were a mod available or maybe even a software solution to take quarter frames or something like that, there may be hope. I know of a mod i'm sure people have heard of, it's one conceived by a chap named Steve Chambers for a couple of ccd cams like the toUcam, being that this camera has a CMOS chip maybe the reason no one has done it, not sure.... I think most DSLRs use a CMOS and i imagine if someone undertook the challenge and got it done, this cam could prove to be pretty good for planetary and DSO imaging.
anyhow, i have a thread on peltier cooling for this cam, one that i'm hoping to undertake as soon as i get my 15mm x 15mm peltier. I find it gets pretty hot after only a few minutes of use, so, i cut away the housing to expose the aluminum coldfinger, as shown in the images below, that connects to the back of the chip where i will be placing the peltier... so if i could get a mod for long exposure combined with the peltier cooler, well... here's dreaming 
notice the teflon tape around the front of the housing... this works great, it allows me to simply screw it into the adapter for a tight fit, centering the unit precisely every time
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enklined
member
Reged: 01/27/12
Loc: Sacramento, Ca
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: Tanchistu]
#5283983 - 06/22/12 02:31 PM
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Quote:
You don't need to cut anything. Just open the front cover and remove the lens, leave the autofocus system in place. It will even offer some kind of protection to your sensor.
I found out too late.
Any truth to this?
Also, is this the 1.25" extension tubes you used, AFAdrenaline? http://agenaastro.com/blue-fireball-1-25-extension-tube-2-2-extension.html
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GpB311
sage
Reged: 05/29/12
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: enklined]
#5358104 - 08/08/12 02:02 PM
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I only have an orion shorty barlow and will be looking at televue powermates since it seems a number of people use those for this. Is 2x the best choice or can higher powers be used?
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ROursamajor
member
Reged: 09/16/12
Loc: Braila, Romania
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Re: MS Lifecam Studio/Cinema Side-by-side Mod
[Re: GpB311]
#5676988 - 02/13/13 03:11 AM
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Hi! I modified a Lifecam 6000HD and I want to buy another Lifecam. Which one is better for astro purposes between Cinema and Studio?
PS: http://www.astronomy.ro/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10384&start=15
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