Neil Grubb
Well-known member
Following on from the interesting technique of phonescoping, detailed on another thread in this section (http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=27471), I don't know whether any other forum members have tried using a webcam in conjunction with their scope. I borrowed this method from astrophotography, where a webcam is used to image planets and the moon via an astronomical telescope.
The great thing is that you can take still and video pics through your telescope with a £20 webcam. It's a bit of a hassle if you don't own a laptop as you're tied to your home PC. I have found the best method is to remove the plastic lens from the webcam, and place it in where the eyepiece of the scope normally sits (a piece of toilet roll tubing and some sticky tape makes a good adapter to start with!)
Be careful not to take huge clips as your hard drive will fill up before long. Attached are two frames from my recent first experiment with this method.
The great thing is that you can take still and video pics through your telescope with a £20 webcam. It's a bit of a hassle if you don't own a laptop as you're tied to your home PC. I have found the best method is to remove the plastic lens from the webcam, and place it in where the eyepiece of the scope normally sits (a piece of toilet roll tubing and some sticky tape makes a good adapter to start with!)
Be careful not to take huge clips as your hard drive will fill up before long. Attached are two frames from my recent first experiment with this method.