Neximage question/help

So tonight I went out and was able to get Saturn in view and focused through the scope. Put in the camera and got Saturn into view. Recorded it and all that a couple different times.

I can't find the gain gamma and what not on the AMCap.

Anyway...used 35 frame rate to focus and then 5 fps to record.

Everything has blues waves through it.....

It was like that on the screen when recording but I was hoping it wasn't on the "real" video.

Any ideas?

And can you get Neximage to focus on a nebula?

Thanks for your time.

Can you try another capture program perhaps?
I use Virtualdub (http://www.virtualdub.​org/) for use with my capture card. It should work with just about any type of capture device.

'm not familiar with the Neximage, but maybe there's some settings in the Windows Control panel or something for it. That's all I can think of.

Have you searched at Celestrons info Forum ? If not try here :

http://www.celestron.c​om …t.php?CatID=50&​ProdID=354

I have one but only used it once but i can tell you it's only good for planets and the moon . No nebulaes , or galaxies or etc.... . Sorry .

Here's a pretty good capture application, written specifically for astro imaging:

WXAstroCapture

It's free, and it supports any camera with a Windows WDM driver, which I believe the NexImage has. It runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista, and on Linux.

Support is provided via the WXAstroCapture Yahoo group, and you have to join the group to download the user manual.

The software works fine with my Philips SPC-900NC, which I understand is electronically the same as the NexImage.

There's alsoK3CCDTools, which I have used as well for webcam video capture, but I prefer WXAstroCapture.

And there's Iris, which is my favorite astro image processing softare. I have used it to capture video from the SPC-900NC also, but the webcam interface in Iris is pretty crude compared to WXAstroCapture and K3CCDTools.

Don

DonR wrote in post #9775234
Here's a pretty good capture application, written specifically for astro imaging:

WXAstroCapture

It's free, and it supports any camera with a Windows WDM driver, which I believe the NexImage has. It runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista, and on Linux.

Support is provided via the WXAstroCapture Yahoo group, and you have to join the group to download the user manual.

The software works fine with my Philips SPC-900NC, which I understand is electronically the same as the NexImage.

There's alsoK3CCDTools, which I have used as well for webcam video capture, but I prefer WXAstroCapture.

And there's Iris, which is my favorite astro image processing softare. I have used it to capture video from the SPC-900NC also, but the webcam interface in Iris is pretty crude compared to WXAstroCapture and K3CCDTools.

Don

Well, I see now on closer inspection that WxAstroCapture specifies support for Philips webcams, not for any webcams. The release notes do, however, name some other webcam brands that will work - it's worth a try with the NexImage since the NexImage is reportedly a Philips camera re-badged by Celestron.

Don

I am more curious about why the lines through everything.

I wouldn't think that is the capture program as I did try WXAstrocapture but it also had lines thru it.

Lines...waves.....

What operating system are you using? If Vista, you need to go to Celestron's site here, click on the Details tab, and download the Vista drivers. If Windows 7, you are out of luck it appears - no mention of Windows 7 drivers for the NexImage on Celestron's site. The drivers that ship with the camera are supposed to work with Win98SE and Windows XP, no mention of Windows 2000.

If you are running XP or Win98SE, it sounds like your camera is defective. You should call Celestron and try to get some help or get the camera replaced.

here is a link to the video....

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=Ubwn_QBxfjs

os is vista I did get the driver already....so.... geez...maybe bad camera or interference?

Could just be your gain is too high - it's definitely too high, based on your video. Try adjusting the gain and shutter speed while previewing. Bring the gain down and the shutter speed up (longer, i.e. 1/20), and set the frame rate to about 10 FPS. When properly adjusted the planet's disk should be clearly visible but not nearly as bright as in your video, and the sky background should be completely black.

Once you get the brightness under control, play with the color balance. WXAstroCapture may give you more control than the software Celestron provided. In my experience, autoexposure is worthless for planetary imaging.

I couldn't find the gain or shutter speed on the neximage software. I did adjust the fps to 5 on it though.

I will try playing with the other software. I couldn't get Saturn in view on that one though. lol

btw...Thank you for your help.

You're welcome.

Check out Step 7 on page 2 in the Quick Start section of the NexImage manual. You can see it online here:

http://www.celestron.c​om/c3/images/files/dow​nloads/1126218497_NexI​mageInstructions.pdf

You have to turn off the Auto checkbox before you can change the shutter speed and gain.

What I usually do with planets is set the gain to minimum and shutter speed to maximum (i.e., slowest), and if the image is completely black, increase the gain slowly until the target shows up, or if the image is overexposed at first, adjust the shutter speed until it looks right. Then if the gain is still below 50%, adjust the shutter speed to a faster setting and bring the gain up to make the image brightness right. I stop these iterations when the gain is near 50%. I don't like to go over 50% with the gain because noise starts creeping in.

Once I find the right combination of gain and shutter speed, I increase the gain temporarily (or make the shutter speed slower) until the sky background is no longer black, then adjust the color balance until the sky background is grey. Then I bring the gain and shutter speed back to the correct values.

For the frame rate, usually around 10 to 20 frames per second works well. The important thing here is not to make the frame rate faster than the shutter speed. For example, if your shutter speed is 1/20, you don't want to shoot 30 frames per second, because your "shutter" (not really a shutter but the electronic equivalent) is still open when the frame ends.

From what I see in the NexImage manual, it doesn't look like their software gives you much control over the color balance. This may be where WXAstroCapture can do you the most good.

Good luck and keep trying, you will get there if you don't give up, and then it becomes much easier.

Don

I am going to try reinstalling amcap because i do not have those options under my options tab.

just uninstalled it and reinstaled it version 9.1.9.1 i think

under options i only have

preview
mpeg2
audio format