Webcam Astrophotography

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About these photos

I just purchased a Philips ToUcam Pro II 840k (late December 2006). I just started doing some photography, so I really don't have much to share, but I will say this- the first time out with this webcam, and I completely blew away anything I ever took on film or DSLR.

It's tempting to think that maybe you can use this same technology for deep space photography, but it doesn't work that way. With DSLR and film, the exposure data/light adds to an image. Webcams just keep taking very short exposures. For deep space, you need at least a few minutes per frame to get something useful. There are some people who have modified their webcams to do deep space, but in my opinion, I don't think it will ever get to the point where it threatens DSLR or film. I've been wrong before tho, so who knows.

I was surprised to see how high the magnification level is with the webcam straight out of the box. You remove the lens that comes with the camera, and screw on an adapter (purchased seperately). Without any eyepiece projection, it gives you the appearance like you're looking through a 12mm eyepiece. I was expecting to see the whole moon like I would through an SLR camera, but what you see below is what you get...

Enough babbling, here are the pics...

The above photos were taken with the Philips ToUcam through an 80mm refractor. This was my first attempt using the ToUcam. Conditions were clear, but there was a lot of turbulence, so I'm surprised they got as well as they did. Each photo above is a stack/average of approximately 500 frames, which equates to approximately 50 seconds of video. The video was shot at 320x200 resolution. These photos were taken 12/28/06.

The above photos were taken with the Philips ToUcam through the 10" LX200. This is considered prime focus. Each photo above is a stack/average of approximately 500 frames, which equates to approximately 50 seconds of video. The video was shot at 320x200 resolution. These photos were taken 12/28/06.

The above photos were taken with the Philips ToUcam through the 10" LX200. This is considered prime focus. Each photo above is a stack/average of approximately 500 frames, which equates to approximately 50 seconds of video. The video was shot at 640x480 resolution. These photos were taken 12/28/06.

The above photos were taken with the Philips ToUcam through the 10" LX200. Each photo above is a stack/average of approximately 500 frames, which equates to approximately 50 seconds of video. These photos were taken 1/2/07.

1) 640x480 at prime focus
2) 640x480, a zoomed-in shot of the set of three craters on the right side of the first photo, shot thorugh a 2x barlow lens
3) 640x480 at prime focus
4) 320x240 through a 2x barlow lens.