+TasKiNG Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I've been looking for a way to video planets without having to use a laptop. I got a Sunco Dream 2 camera off Amazon. They are basically GoPro copies but priced at only £63. The front pops off easily and the lens has a 12mm thread so was relatively easy to replace the lens with a 1.25" eyepiece adapter. The video resolution is 1920x1080 @ 30fps or 1280x720 @ 60fps. It has a built-in LCD and a HDMI output. Battery life is 90 mins and it will work with micro SD cards up to 32Gigabytes. Here's the before and after pics:- Not tried it at night yet but here's a video of a distant tree through my ED80SF Refractor:- https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/59414211/Astro/SuncoCam/20140603_070449.MOV I'll add more info once i've tried it out at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 That looks really cool Dave - looking forward to the results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I like it as well, looks really simple to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) I tried the modded Sunco camera out tonight on Jupiter and for a first try i'm pretty happy with the results. I set an ISO of 100 and decreased the exposure slightly. I found that even with manual settings the camera did tweak the exposure but this was only noticeable if it drifted off centre. Here's the image. Stacked in Autostakkert and sharpened in Registax. ( Celestron C8, 3X Barlow ) Edited March 10, 2015 by TasKiNG xanthic and +Ibbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnnyaardvark Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Very nice indeed! +TasKiNG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAZ Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 That's impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweedledee Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Very nice image. Amazing for the price of that camera Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 Looking good Dave. Can it be used with an iPad / iPhone like the Gopros ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Looking good Dave. Can it be used with an iPad / iPhone like the Gopros ? There is no network or bluetooth function so can't be used with iPad. Very clear display though for it's size. It does have HDMI output so I assume you could connect it to a bigger display whilst recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 (edited) The Sunco camera comes with a waterproof case which I have modified so that the camera with telescope adapter will fit into it. Obviously not waterproof now but should protect it form the dew and you can also put some red plastic film in the back of the case. Edited March 16, 2015 by TasKiNG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post +TasKiNG Posted May 27, 2015 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) Tested the Sunco out with lunar shots last night. This was through a Vixen ED80SF mounted on my camera tripod. 3 panes each of 300 frames processed using PIPP & Autostakkert2. Joined & tweaked in Photoshop. Edited May 27, 2015 by TasKiNG +Bino-viewer, Bottletopburly, +Ibbo and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philjay Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Now that is a great alternative to lugging a pc out everytime, nice one Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 This looks good, very tempted indeed. It would work with my spotting scope as well, like today I saw two black winged Stilts, too far for normal lens but perfect in my spotting scope, put this on and hey presto. +Ibbo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted May 28, 2015 Author Share Posted May 28, 2015 Now that is a great alternative to lugging a pc out everytime, nice one Dave This looks good, very tempted indeed. It would work with my spotting scope as well, like today I saw two black winged Stilts, too far for normal lens but perfect in my spotting scope, put this on and hey presto. It's great with the grab and go. With no laptop to set up, I can be out and imaging in just a few minutes. Will be interesting to see how well it copes with something small and dimmer like Saturn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ibbo Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 This looks good, very tempted indeed. It would work with my spotting scope as well, like today I saw two black winged Stilts, too far for normal lens but perfect in my spotting scope, put this on and hey presto. Now that is an idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stash Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Dave this http://sjcamguides.com/sjcam-sj4000-wifi-action-camera-review/looks like your Sunco only with Wifi for remote control -- not sure how nuch control you have over settings . Seems there are a number of clones of clones Dbpower etc. Still if they would work as well and have wifi control brill as grab and go - Did you have to remove any IR filters ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Thanks Clive that link made interesting reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 (edited) Dave this http://sjcamguides.com/sjcam-sj4000-wifi-action-camera-review/looks like your Sunco only with Wifi for remote control -- not sure how nuch control you have over settings . Seems there are a number of clones of clones Dbpower etc. Still if they would work as well and have wifi control brill as grab and go - Did you have to remove any IR filters ? Cool, yea looks like the one I got but updated with WIFI. The only control I have over mine is via the Menus although I've not checked if I can control it via Sharpcap over the USB as this would mean lugging a laptop around again . Would be great to change settings via a phone app though so might have to look at getting one of these eventually When I unscrewed the lens the IR filter was part of it so had to put a 1.25" IR filter on the adapter. Edited May 31, 2015 by TasKiNG stash 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted June 19, 2015 Share Posted June 19, 2015 Thats a brilliant image you've done of the moon Dave. Amazon are listing them at only £45. Thats a steal, so i've ordered one. Which adapter do i need....? (12mm - 1.25" ?) You say its a 12mm thread ? Where did you source it from ? Thanks for sharing this btw.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 Would this webcam adapter from Altair Astro work ? http://www.altairastro.com/altair-1.25-webcam-adapter-for-phillips-logitech.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 I would imagine it would. It has the 12mm thread. Better wait for Dave to offer some advice. +Bino-viewer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted June 20, 2015 Author Share Posted June 20, 2015 (edited) Would this webcam adapter from Altair Astro work ? http://www.altairastro.com/altair-1.25-webcam-adapter-for-phillips-logitech.html Hi Rob, This is the one I bought http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201372116312 I also bought a good quality 1.25" IR filter to screw on the front of it. £45 was a great price for the camera. I've been really pleased with mine. Edited June 20, 2015 by TasKiNG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted June 21, 2015 Share Posted June 21, 2015 Thanks for that Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+TasKiNG Posted June 21, 2015 Author Share Posted June 21, 2015 (edited) Just taken it apart so you can see what is involved:- The front easily pops off with a little help from a knife blade Also the black plastic piece from around the lens pops off just as easily You can now unscrew the lens. Mine was a little bit tight to start with. I found that if I screwed the adapter all of the way in then it was not perfectly straight so I added a rubber 'O' ring that I got in a pack of assorted rings from B&Q plumbing section. It prevented it going all of the way in, made it nice and sturdy and added a seal between the adapter and the camera body to prevent damp getting in. Hope this helps Edited June 21, 2015 by TasKiNG stash 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Bino-viewer Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 Dave : thats a great help thanks. Really appreciated. I've ordered the webcam adapter thingy, it should be arriving soon. This is imaging on the cheap : i like it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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