i want to move on from holding my camera with the giant 50mm lenses up to my eyepiece, and im wanting to move into a ccd web cam imaging iv had a look at some recommendations on the internet and most of them are for discontinued web cams so my question is what is the best web cam for me which i can go out and buy today (and will run with vista) and id be grateful if you could direct me to somewhere which will show me how to adapt it to my telescope thanks.

you dont say what to want to spend, or if its for planetary or DSO, looking at your signature i see you have a dob mount, so i assume its planetary, being that, my 1st suggestion is get an EQ mount

sorry let me fill you in i wouldn't spend more than £100 on the web cam and another £50 on adaptors ect but that relay is my limit and id like to keep it under that. also it will be for planetary and lunar imagery and maybe taping into bright things like the andromeda galaxy and the odd bright star cluster later on but their not that important. also what would an EQ mount do better than my dob mount for my telescope

Although Planetary imaging has been done quite successfully using a Dob, I hope your prepared for a lot of failed attempts and or a lot of manual stacking. The focal lengths required to achieve a decent image scale makes it extremely tough without tracking.
That doesn't mean don't try, we all know for every good image it took many failed attempts to get what we have shown here.

Having said that and I know it's hard to find a nice Web Cam these days suitable for the purpose, so why not just get your hands on a Lunar Planetary Imager. In reality you won't be spending too much more than you would for a web cam and the adapter. The prices have come down quite a bit to stay a little more competitive. I believe this one cost lest than half what you expect to pay, but then the shipping you probably cost unless you can find it at a dealer a little closer to your home.
Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager

im all ready familiar with staking and failed attempts :( anyway i have herd of the celestron neximager and the lpi but i have herd of bad reviews for them and people seem to get a better result with a mod web cam that's not to say i'm completely ignoring them and also i was wondering why Dodson aren't recommended for imaging

catsrool5:

also i was wondering why Dodson aren't recommended for imaging

Because they don't have tracking.
If you build or buy a EQ Platform with motor drives you can use them more successfully. You will need something similar to this one -- Dobsonian EQ Platform.
But even with that you will still be limited in your exposure times, or time spent on target before you have to reset.

thanks for that looks like a good project for next summer hols something i will deficiently look into but onto the camera would you recommend the celestron nextimager or a ready made web cam so to speak because im also thinking that would be the way to go thanks for all your help Daniel Mortimer

the neximage you use right out of the box- the SPC900nc also is but needs a 1.25 adaptor, both available and about the same price- they also need 32 bit drivers

catsrool5:

thanks for that looks like a good project for next summer hols something i will deficiently look into but onto the camera would you recommend the celestron nextimager or a ready made web cam so to speak because im also thinking that would be the way to go thanks for all your help Daniel Mortimer

if you can get your hands on any of the Philips ToUcam Pro Web Cams Which includes the most recent discontinued web cam the SPC900nc then go for it. Otherwise, looking at the new web cams on the market most are converting over to the CMOS rather than CCD chip and are less sensitive. The Philips ToUcam Pro series web cams had a minimum sensitivity of less than 1 Lux, most newer web cams are only less than 5 Lux. You want the lower Lux.

If you cannot find one of those then take a look at either the Orion StarShoot Solar System Imager or the Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager. They are essentially the same as the above mentioned web cams just purpose built for lunar and planetary imaging. Note: the Orion cost nearly twice that of the Celestron and will give you the same results.

The Results you get with either a web cam or one of those Solar System Imagers will depend greatly on you, your telescope and the current sky conditions. Results will vary, you might get an outstanding image one night, then the next time you try you might get a terrible image, you just need to keep at it.

hmm im going to try and get my hand's on the discontinued SPC900nc im going on an astronomy course with my local club so il see if anyone there knows where i can get one round hear someone will know anyway if i can't get hold of one il get the celestron imager but they are my 2 choices ow and talking about light pollution it would be my look that i live just south of the 4th biggest city in England, Leeds but you can't have it all can you im going to put my telescope out now it'l be dark in an hour or so hear clear sky's all day today so should be good tonight. thank you for you're help