Comments on: Webcam Imaging Mars

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:20:20 +0000

Thanks for the comment Malcolm. I shall give QFocus a go. I always hate having to convert from MPG to AVI in order to process them. I have no idea what YUY2 is, but I shall look it up.

By: Malcolm Morris

Malcolm Morris — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:13:00 +0000

I’ve just got a Philips SPC900NC and Vlounge only captures MPG files. If you convert to AVI to stack in Registax you’ve already lost data. I downloaded QCfocus (freeware), which controls the camera, with Vlounge in the background, and can now record in AVI with full control over exposure and fps. Also had to download porttalk.sys to get around a slight problem with windows xp but both were very easy and there are posts and forums aplenty about it. This should improve your final result as you can also take advantage of the YUY2 capture format that you couldn’t access in Vlounge. Good luck.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:12:49 +0000

Yes, it is practice, and having a moon-less sky, plus Mars is now getting smaller all the time towards the beginning of the year.

Keep playing with the webcam settings and make sure you have a decent IR/UV filter. I think the Baader filter I now have is much better than my 1st unbranded model.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:43:31 +0000

Your first results are very similar to my results last night. I did have the added trouble of a bright Moon and after seeing the results I was getting a bit frustrated. However after seeing what you have managed to achieve recently I hope to get better results. Guess its just practice at the end of the day!

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 21:10:26 +0000

Thanks for your great comment. All your tips are great, and helpful to both myself and others reading this blog.

I do have Registax and use it all the time, I also now have a Baader UV/IR filter.

I don’t think the VLounge Software goes down to 5fps, I think 10fps is the minimum, perhaps it’s not the minimum in other capture programs.

I now think I have a better shot of Mars, have a look at my next post. Thanks again.

By: Robert Fitzgerald

Robert Fitzgerald — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:37:17 +0000

Do yourself a favor - download RegiStax. It’s free and easy to use and it supports Phillips SPC900. Also, if you removed the lens cell and installed an adapter you will need a UV/IR cut filter (Baader #245 9207 or Orion #5564). Without IR filtering you may not reach sharp focus. UV/IR blocking also greatly improves contrast, reduces color abnormalities and reduces halos.

For Mars try 5 fps. The faster frame rate, even though 10 or 15 fps captures more images, faster frame rates also introduce compression artifacts. Try 500 frames of 5 fps and then again at 10 fps. Quickly Align, Combine, and Stack to see which is working best that night. You might often find the 5 fps is best even though you will need to collect twice as many frames. I always collect 1000 or more frames if I am satisfied my focus is good. Seeing often dictates frame rate capture for use here in central North Carolina but our high humidity and clashing upper air currents usually limit us to 5 fps. Florida folks enjoy super steady columns of air so 10 or 15 fps works well for them. That may be the case for you too but try the experiment each night you image. You might be glad you did!

Finally, make sure you have plenty of hard disk space. I use an externa USB 2.0 drive to collect my .avi video. When you process the file you can save to the hard disk in both raw .avi and final result thereby having an automatic backup of the precious video. Good luck!