Lack of color in ToUCam images of Saturn

Can over-magnification combined with bad seeing result in a loss of
color in Webcam photos?

Last night I tried imaging Saturn with a ToUCam Pro, 8" Celestron, and
3x Meade TeleXtender. (The 3x is new and I wanted to try it out - the
seeing was way too poor.)

I used the same setup last year, but with a 2x Barlow, and got very
colorful images, but last night's show almost no color. (I checked to
make sure the camera settings were not set to BW, and the camera shows
color indoors, so that's not the problem.)

Also, I was using 15 fps, 1/33 sec exposures.

Any comments?

Thanks,
Tom

On Feb 17, 11:33 am, Thomas Dickens wrote:
Can over-magnification combined with bad seeing result in a loss of
color in Webcam photos?

Last night I tried imaging Saturn with a ToUCam Pro, 8" Celestron, and
3x Meade TeleXtender. (The 3x is new and I wanted to try it out - the
seeing was way too poor.)

I used the same setup last year, but with a 2x Barlow, and got very
colorful images, but last night's show almost no color. (I checked to
make sure the camera settings were not set to BW, and the camera shows
color indoors, so that's not the problem.)

Also, I was using 15 fps, 1/33 sec exposures.

Any comments?

Thanks,
Tom

Hi:

Yes, a dim image will be less saturated. What can you do? Pour on more
aperture, or wait for better transparency, or crank up the
"saturation" control a bit. You can also slow down that exposure. In
my experience, 15fps is WAY too high. 5fps is much better noise/
compression-wise. If seeing is really bad, you can crank up to 10fps,
but you'll need to lower the shutter speed. If the seeing is bad
enough that you can't get a decent on-screen image at 5 - 10fps, you
should probably pack it in, anyway. In my experience, unless you're
seeing a reasonably stable and reasonably detailed image (banding and
Cassini easy) you're probably not gonna get the results you long for
anyway. Be of good cheer, spring and (I hope) more stable skies are
coming.

Unk Rod

Thank you very much! These are great tips. I was a bit worried that
something was wrong with my setup somewhere, but it seems to be just
the unstable atmosphere!

Next time I will try 5 fps. I guess the camera has to compress too
much with USB 1.1 at higher frame rates.

Regards,
Tom


On 17 Feb 2007 10:01:48 -0800, "RMOLLISE"
wrote:

On Feb 17, 11:33 am, Thomas Dickens wrote:
Can over-magnification combined with bad seeing result in a loss of
color in Webcam photos?

Last night I tried imaging Saturn with a ToUCam Pro, 8" Celestron, and
3x Meade TeleXtender. (The 3x is new and I wanted to try it out - the
seeing was way too poor.)

I used the same setup last year, but with a 2x Barlow, and got very
colorful images, but last night's show almost no color. (I checked to
make sure the camera settings were not set to BW, and the camera shows
color indoors, so that's not the problem.)

Also, I was using 15 fps, 1/33 sec exposures.

Any comments?

Thanks,
Tom

Hi:

Yes, a dim image will be less saturated. What can you do? Pour on more
aperture, or wait for better transparency, or crank up the
"saturation" control a bit. You can also slow down that exposure. In
my experience, 15fps is WAY too high. 5fps is much better noise/
compression-wise. If seeing is really bad, you can crank up to 10fps,
but you'll need to lower the shutter speed. If the seeing is bad
enough that you can't get a decent on-screen image at 5 - 10fps, you
should probably pack it in, anyway. In my experience, unless you're
seeing a reasonably stable and reasonably detailed image (banding and
Cassini easy) you're probably not gonna get the results you long for
anyway. Be of good cheer, spring and (I hope) more stable skies are
coming.

Unk Rod

"Thomas Dickens" wrote in message
...
Thank you very much! These are great tips. I was a bit worried that
something was wrong with my setup somewhere, but it seems to be just
the unstable atmosphere!

Next time I will try 5 fps. I guess the camera has to compress too
much with USB 1.1 at higher frame rates.

Regards,
Tom


how well does the 3X teleextender work? What is ht eapproximate length?

Hi,

The telextender is 3 7/8" long, and seems to be very well made, with
nice touches like a brass 'ring' that holds the eyepiece, so the screw
doesn't scratch your eyepiece.

However, I can't say anything about optical performance yet, since I
have only used it on one night, and the seeing was terrible.

Best regards,
Tom

On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 19:51:40 GMT, "TMA" wrote:


"Thomas Dickens" wrote in message
.. .
Thank you very much! These are great tips. I was a bit worried that
something was wrong with my setup somewhere, but it seems to be just
the unstable atmosphere!

Next time I will try 5 fps. I guess the camera has to compress too
much with USB 1.1 at higher frame rates.

Regards,
Tom


how well does the 3X teleextender work? What is ht eapproximate length?

"Thomas Dickens" wrote in message
...
Hi,

The telextender is 3 7/8" long, and seems to be very well made, with


4" long sounds good enough

Thomas Dickens wrote:

Can over-magnification combined with bad seeing result in a loss of
color in Webcam photos?

Last night I tried imaging Saturn with a ToUCam Pro, 8" Celestron, and
3x Meade TeleXtender. (The 3x is new and I wanted to try it out - the
seeing was way too poor.)

I used the same setup last year, but with a 2x Barlow, and got very
colorful images, but last night's show almost no color. (I checked to
make sure the camera settings were not set to BW, and the camera shows
color indoors, so that's not the problem.)

Also, I was using 15 fps, 1/33 sec exposures.

Any comments?

Thanks,
Tom

Get a real camera and stop screwing around with toys?

Ah yes, 90% of amateur astronomy is junk and toys and experts
tripping over morons to get to the next latest greatest Anna
Nicole Connection!. You skip your way beyond the baloney
and get a real camera. Be the exception to the rule. Dont be
fodder for someone's next book on nothing in this field!