NexImage 5 camera as PHD2 guider

[Barry Brook]

Hi folks, 

I'm using a Celestron NexImage 5 planetary cam (essentially a repackaging of an Imaging Source camera) as a guider with PHD2. It wasn't in the list of supported cameras, so I chose Windows WDM-style webcam, and this works okay. 

However, the NI5 can take exposure lengths up to 30 sec, so I'm wondering if I would be better to instead select the long-exposure LXUSB webcam. Will it make any difference? (i.e. is PHD2 currently stacking short frames in the background, using my WDM choice, to simulate longer exposures?)

cheers,

Barry

[Andy Galasso]

On Tue, Jul 8, 2014 at 9:41 PM, Barry Brook <bwb...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm using a Celestron NexImage 5 planetary cam (essentially a repackaging of an Imaging Source camera) as a guider with PHD2. It wasn't in the list of supported cameras, so I chose Windows WDM-style webcam, and this works okay. 

However, the NI5 can take exposure lengths up to 30 sec, so I'm wondering if I would be better to instead select the long-exposure LXUSB webcam. Will it make any difference? (i.e. is PHD2 currently stacking short frames in the background, using my WDM choice, to simulate longer exposures?)

Barry,

That's exactly right, when WDM-style webcam is selected, PHD2 stacks short frames in the background to simulate longer exposures.

Andy

[jon davis]

Hello there, did you ever get this working? I'm just getting into guiding, and already have a nexImage so would like to use it if i can get it to work. I can connect Phd 2 to it if i select WDM webcam, but when I try LXUSB webcam i get an error message that phd2 is unable to connect. Did you see this issue?

Thanks, 

Jon

[Andy Galasso]

Jon,

As far as I know you will need to connect the camera as a WDM webcam. You should be able to select long exposures in the Cam Dialog. PHD2 will stack one or more camera frames depending on the exposure duration setting in the main window. For example, if you set the duration in the Cam Dialog to 1 sec, and then set the duration in the main window to 2 sec, then each guide frame will be a 2-frame stack.

I do not know what work would be involved in allowing the NI to connect as a LXUSB webcam. We'd need a developer with a NI to volunteer to work on it.

Andy

[jon davis]

Thanks for the comments all. 

I intend to buy a dedicated guide camera, but having something in the interim will be nice and and give me some time to save the monies and do some research for what will work best with the rest of my imaging setup. 

[Dave]

I know I am a bit late to the party, but...
I have a NexImage 5 that I bought a while back to take terrestrial pictures with my little 70mm refractor.
I am now in the process of setting up my 8" Ritchey-Chrétien telescope/Celestron AVX mount for doing astrophotography and was
wondering if it could be used as a guide camera in conjunction with PHD2 and Astro Photography Tool.
It's nice to know that it should work, at least until I can afford a dedicated guide camera.

Thanks guys.