I am assuming that the reply to this is going to come back as user error, this is generally the case when i cannot seem to figure something out!!!  I have a nex image vid cam, i took some shots early this evening of the moon and venus, and also of the comet, or so i thought that i did, seems all i got was a black secreen.  There was simply total black, no stars, no images nada,,,On my "dry runs" during the day it seemed to capture an image with no problem, but as i said, at night in the dark..i have a beauty pic of just that!! am i missing a setting or adjustment here?? is there something i should be setting in order to see what i am shooting?? any ideas would be appreciated Thanx Bill

the short answer is- it wont do extended exposures ,but you should of easily gotten the moon and venus on it- you need to work with the camera settings to see the image on the screen- also, focusing may be a a little touchy.

tasco-60mm:

the short answer is- it wont do extended exposures ,but you should of easily gotten the moon and venus on it- you need to work with the camera settings to see the image on the screen- also, focusing may be a a little touchy.

He may label himself as the "worlds worst photographer", but I have to agree with him on this one. Make sure you have the moon (or venus) in the field of view by using an eyepiece. You didn't mention the type of telescope you're using, but if you're using a motorized mount; it should track either of those targets well enough to keep it closely centered. If you're using a Dobsonian mounted reflector, and your finder scope is aligned with the primary scope; then you'll have to insert the camera, and align your target in the finder. If you're not getting an image to your computer, you'll want to play with the gain, and the shutter speed adjustments until you get something on the screen. It may be just a big blob of light at first, but once you have that; then you can work on the focus. I would turn the gain all the way up to begin with, and then work with the shutter speed, until you get some light from your target coming through to the computer. Then you can adjust the gain down enough to give you  enough light to get the target focused. Once focused, you can turn the gain up or down, whichever is needed to give you the best possible image. Good luck!