Webcam on my guide scope?
Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:50 am
I'm a newbie interested in astrophotography, and I'm planning on becoming a SharpCapster as part of it. (Actually as soon as Robin can add Canon DSLR capability I'm in.) I'm really looking forward to quick and accurate polar alignment using it.
I have a pretty long focal length scope (920 mm) with a 1.6x crop factor on my camera to boot, so I'm not sure the FOV through the main tube will be wide enough. https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ says it's 1.39° x 0.93°. I have an 8x50 guide scope which should work better, but it doesn't have a camera.
So I'm thinking of tacking a webcam onto my guide scope for SharpCap PA. I see where SC can use webcams for the main imaging camera, but just to make sure, can it use a webcam for PA too?
If so, are there any special features I should look for in a webcam for SC PA use? I will probably try to use it as an auto-guider, too, once I have it in place.
I have a pretty long focal length scope (920 mm) with a 1.6x crop factor on my camera to boot, so I'm not sure the FOV through the main tube will be wide enough. https://astronomy.tools/calculators/field_of_view/ says it's 1.39° x 0.93°. I have an 8x50 guide scope which should work better, but it doesn't have a camera.
So I'm thinking of tacking a webcam onto my guide scope for SharpCap PA. I see where SC can use webcams for the main imaging camera, but just to make sure, can it use a webcam for PA too?
If so, are there any special features I should look for in a webcam for SC PA use? I will probably try to use it as an auto-guider, too, once I have it in place.