catman161 Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Hi Everyone, My powemate has arrived and is literally in brand new condition, I am well chuffed. So I have seen that tomorrow night is looking clear so wanted to try and get some avi's of jupiter to mess about with in registax. My question is what are the best settings to use in sharpcap? I will be using my 2x powermate and 200P and my SPC900 webcam. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Try these from WxAstrocapture - should be pretty close: (Not mine by the way - I've lifted them from somewhere ages ago lol) Bahtinov mask to get precise focus (on a star, then move back to planet) I’m also using X3 and X5 Barlows and adding extra tube length between to increase image size. Here is my initial setting for my SPC900 Frame rate 5 FPS or 10FPS (nearly always 10FPS) don’t go higher with the SPC900 Resolution 640x480 Auto white balance “ON†Brightness 50% Contrast 32% Gamma 0% Saturation 70% Shutter speed 1/25 1/33 1/50 or more Gain 60% ( no less than 50%) If image is too bright increase shutter speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) Hi Felix, i have had moderate success with the settings i am going to post below. I have posted some of my results in the planetary imaging section. The equipment we are using is similar so the required settings should not be far off. All i will say though, is that i use a 3x barlow where you are going to be using a 2x powermate. The image will be a little smaller but it will be brighter so you may need to adjust the gain or exposure to obtain the best results. Also it sometimes helps with focus if you turn the gain up and then before capture return the gain setting to where it was. The settings are as follows and are what i use with an spc900 and sharpcap. Colour space/ compression YUY2 Resolution 640x480 Exposure 4 Brightness 57 Contrast 32 Saturation 0 Gamma 0 Colour enable 255 Backlight compensation 0 Gain 15 Frame rate 10fps As i said, because we are using similar equipment they should be ok or not far off. Give them a try and tweak a little if required. I hope that this will be of some help. Mark Edited December 4, 2012 by oldfruit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I just had an idea I know you're gonna like. We could hoik the 200P up on my NEQ6 Pro (I still have the rings) and double stack both our Powermates to increase image size - all behind the caravan lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Thanks everyone. It's clear still so scope is cooling and jupiter is just about to clear the roofs of the houses to east so will go and set up the laptop Kim that is an awesome idea!! Let me know if ya fancy it tomorrow as forecast is clear all night Will probably be disastrous, but will give it a try and see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 My backs a bit naff right now Felix - so maybe we can leave it till later in the week or w/e - I knew you'd be keen and the results will be good if you do the camera stuff and I do the mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 No probs Kim. Hope your back feels better soon. I just spent an hour trying to get focus. If I put the powermate directly into the focuser tube I don't have enough outward travel but if I put the two inch eyepiece adapter on that came with the scope I don't have enough inward travel! Tried adjusting the settings on sharpcap but got nowhere. Got frustrated and did a little bit of visual on Jupiter instead -very impressed with the clarity of the powermate though I think I need to be with a seasoned web cam user to show me where I am going wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Focusing with a webcam is a little tricky first time out - the Powermate unscrews in the middle in order to mount a dslr at the right spacing for doubling images up. I have an extension tube that may help with the webcam - plus one or two ideas. Pop round tomorrow if it's clear and we'll see if we can sort the focusing issue first. I just can't lift th NEQ6 for a bit till my backs right The Powermate for visual use get's right out of the way and just magnifys - you don't even notice it's there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted December 4, 2012 Author Share Posted December 4, 2012 Yeah it is tricky. I'm also having trouble with the milk bottle washers on my base. Using two its slightly too loose and the Dob moves under its own weight and if I use 3 it's too stiff and when I try to get the target in the webcam FOV it zooms past it! Agghh! Will give you a ring tomorrow Kim see if you're up to it in the evening. Would be cool to try and nail this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Great stuff - I'll look forward to it - not seen anyone for two days - 'cept the guy in Budgeons who sells me fags lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I've made some breakthroughs with Jupiter recently but am far from mastering it. I don't have a driven mount and hand-guiding with a 3x Barlow is very tricky. I didn't think a frame rate of 30fps was too high, perhaps I'll try some lower rates. If the planet is too bright, try a variable polarizing filter but you will lose the moons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meteoriot Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Try these from WxAstrocapture - should be pretty close:(Not mine by the way - I've lifted them from somewhere ages ago lol) Bahtinov mask to get precise focus (on a star, then move back to planet) I’m also using X3 and X5 Barlows and adding extra tube length between to increase image size. Here is my initial setting for my SPC900 Frame rate 5 FPS or 10FPS (nearly always 10FPS) don’t go higher with the SPC900 Resolution 640x480 Auto white balance “ON†Brightness 50% Contrast 32% Gamma 0% Saturation 70% Shutter speed 1/25 1/33 1/50 or more Gain 60% ( no less than 50%) If image is too bright increase shutter speed Hi Felix, i have had moderate success with the settings i am going to post below. I have posted some of my results in the planetary imaging section. The equipment we are using is similar so the required settings should not be far off. All i will say though, is that i use a 3x barlow where you are going to be using a 2x powermate. The image will be a little smaller but it will be brighter so you may need to adjust the gain or exposure to obtain the best results. Also it sometimes helps with focus if you turn the gain up and then before capture return the gain setting to where it was. The settings are as follows and are what i use with an spc900 and sharpcap. Colour space/ compression YUY2 Resolution 640x480 Exposure 4 Brightness 57 Contrast 32 Saturation 0 Gamma 0 Colour enable 255 Backlight compensation 0 Gain 15 Frame rate 10fps As i said, because we are using similar equipment they should be ok or not far off. Give them a try and tweak a little if required. I hope that this will be of some help. Mark I am going to try both these settings I think. Do those Bahtinov masks make much difference please? I will be using a Nexstar 8 and I have a 2x and a 3x Achromatic Barlow to play with too. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Bahtinov masks work very well and are essential to get a perfect focus. They produce a very specific "diffraction spike like" pattern when focus is spot on and you can see it in your computer image preview window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meteoriot Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 They sound great. I just read the description also on FLO. I think I will have to invest. I'm also looking at these flip mirrors but they are considerably more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meteoriot Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I can only find one for the Celestron c8 sct whereas I have the nexstar 8. Am I correct in thinking it will be suitable? Thanks Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brantuk Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Sorry Richard - I've not used a flip mirror so can't advise - maybe Pat (Todd) can help - he might have used one before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meteoriot Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Hi thanks. It's definitely the focus mask I want to go for. I just need one to fit the Celestron Nexstar 8. I can only find them for the Celestron C8 but I think they will be the same. Thanks for the help. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Plenty of good Bat masks on ebay,all sizes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catman161 Posted January 7, 2013 Author Share Posted January 7, 2013 Hi thanks. It's definitely the focus mask I want to go for. I just need one to fit the Celestron Nexstar 8. I can only find them for the Celestron C8 but I think they will be the same. Thanks for the help. Richard Rons right. Search starsharp bahtinov mask and you can message the guy and he will make it for what scope you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I found a frame rate of 10 per second appears to give better results than 30. I have a home-made mask but there wasn't enough light on 5th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Meteoriot Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 I found them and purchased one. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red dwalf Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 if your using a philips webcam don`t go above 10 frames per second otherwise the Avi`s start to get compressed using a usb cable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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