Moon Tour Using Modified Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD & 20 Inch Starmaster Telescope

[silentsmokey]

how did your entire set up cost ya!? where can i buy it?

[Neueregel]

great tour !1

[sukamugen]

12k views?? kanye west or lady gag have over a million?? society im telling you...

[The1FlyingHigh]

Thanks for good instructions!

[Huey1H]

Tremendous tour. Just the right amount of narration and orientation graphics.

All was well 'til you mentioned you took it through a 20 incher. Ahhh. Instant aperture envy. Makes my 80mm apo, 127mm Mak and 200mm SCT look weedy. HeHe.

I'll have to look into the HD webcam. Just off to visit your site.

BTW I've subscribed.

[hallobaaaby]

Wow very nice guided tour, Gary! By the way the air turbulance doesn't look too harsh on slow motion.

Since you have a canon 1000D too, do you think i should mount it on my scope (omni celestron 127 xlt) without any lenses (with eyepiece adaptor) or keep the eyepiece on the scope and then attach the camera behind it (have this metal fixture that's kind of metalic steady)? I start to get the impression that galaxies one shouldn't use too much magnification for photos, while moon is ok.

[ghonis]

With your 1000D, for lunar imaging, it would be best not to image through a telescope eyepiece or camera lens but instead image at prime focus. You would need a Camera T-ring and a T-thread to 1.25" adapter. If you wanted a higher magnification image, you can add a barlow lens. Yes, a higher magnification is good for the Moon since it is bright and your exposures will be short. For Galaxies, imaging at prime, or even using a focal reducer will allow you to take better long exposure images.

[hallobaaaby]

@ghonis Thanks alot for these advises!! Can't wait to get back at home and try it (provided there are clear skies since there is quite intense chemtrails-activity lately there, France)!

In any case spring is coming and it will be good time go outside with a telescope in a weather that's neither freezing nor too heat-wavy :D

Clear skies to you!

[beconfly]

awesome moon tour! thanks for putting this together!

[beconfly]

awesome moon tour! thanks for putting this together!

[astronomyisfun]

@sweetpie I found the adapter on ebay. Do a search for "lifecam telescope" it is the only auction that shows up.

[sweetypie000]

i got a Microsoft Lifecam Cinema HD spare and wanted to try the mod. I looked at your great page on how to do it but the eyepiece extenders where to get ? Can you recommend a UK ebay please due? I don't want to get the wrong ones !

p.s worth modding the camera if I dont have one? are the results that good or should Ipay out for a proper one?

tnx

[ghonis]

Wayne Weedon was making and selling special housings for the Lifecam HD modification on ebay and I think he is in the UK. 1.25 inch eyepiece extenders have a standard size outer diameter but the inside diameter can vary a little. If you get one that is too tight, you could always file or sand it a little. Couldn't advise as to how a "proper one" would compare. I understand Microsoft recently released a 1080 resolution version of the Lifecam HD.

[sweetypie000]

@ghonis hey thanks dude. Tracked down the seller but he dosen't seem to be making them atm

[CessnaPilot99]

@sweetypie000

Really? Darn I am trying to find out what the best HD webcam is that has an adapter available.  Does anyone know?

[fdosdesign]

@ghonis Thanks for the mention. Yes it's true I do make these occasionally and there's about 40 or so in use out there.

[agrahamtec84]

@ghonis What are my chances with the specifications of my telescope? Binar 767 AZ1 D=76mm F=700mm 525 power? Thanx man

[outithewoods]

very nice imaging , well worth watching

[duduadubidu]

This is not 720p, far from it. Please, don't lie.

[Ultrajack100]

good tour man, i wish my telescope could give me a quality look like this

[ParaglidingManiac]

@Ultrajack100,

What telescope do you own?

[Ultrajack100]

@ParaglidingManiac Celestron Astromaster 10 inch

[Iguanaguy9]

Gary, did you have auto-gain or auto-level turned on? I'm curious about the light level changes I see in the video.

Just saw your how-to and I'm off to pick up one of these and try the mod myself.

[bosb33r]

Thanks for the tour!!!! real great

[MVT7100]

Great tour....

1 question. What is that ambient u using in the background? It sounds wunderfull.

[ghonis]

kraterkid,

The ambient sound in the video is just a single note on an old Korg DW8000 midi synthesizer with some bending of the oscillator joystick. The DW8000 is a digitally controlled analog synth hybrid that I modified with a turbo mod from Germany. It's an old synth with some great spacey analog sounds.

Gary

[kraterkid]

Great live tour of the Moon Gary! I very much enjoyed the video and the way ou used the graphics and nomenclature as well as the info on crater rim/central peak elevations. Superb!

Richard Handy

(AKA kraterkid)