At right is the full frame from each camera taken with a 10” LX-200. The 2-megapixel Olympus 490 Zoom digicam was used in afocal mode at 16.2 mm zoom and a 25-mm eyepiece, an effective focal length of 1620 mm. The webcam (Philips Vesta Pro Scan 690K) and videocam (Supercircuits PC164C) were both placed at the telescope’s prime focus (2500 mm). In processing, I have applied only enough contrast enhancement to ensure a reproduction approximating my computer screen. At left is a subframe at 1:1 camera-to-screen pixel resolution.

All three cameras deliver fine images: shadows are sharp and dark, and bright features such as Linné (and Messier’s rays to the southeast) are readily visible. The digicam has the widest field of view and highest nominal resolution (0.7 km per pixel), although images are fuzzy in detail and sometimes lacking in contrast. Better results could be had with shorter eyepieces, manual exposure control and less image compression. The field of the video and web cams are similar (5-6 arcmin wide), but differ dramatically in number of pixels and ultimate detail. Video images suffer from VHS recording and playback, a low-end frame grabber and too much contrast. Much more detail is visible “live” at the telescope, and upgrading my video hardware would improve the end results. The webcam easily resolved Linné F at 5 km across (less that 3 arcsec), and nearly resolved Linné itself (2.4 km or 1.4 arcsec). The webcam images are digital, and this simplifies the necessary post processing. For attempting the even greater test of the < 2-km craterlets on Plato's floor, the webcam is my camera of choice. 

I found the digicam the simplest to use and produced satisfactory results for posting to the web or as part of a larger mosaic. Video is almost as easy to setup and use, provides instant gratification and is the most crowd friendly. This is a great tool for group observing or for practicing your lunar landings. The webcam as the highest resolution but also comes with armloads of hardware to move and hook-up. The bottom-line: the best choice depends on you goals: a snapshot, sharing with a school group, or taking advantage of that rare night of perfect seeing.

In a couple of months, Jupiter and Saturn will become targets for these cameras. How will they perform at the longer focal ratios needed to extract planetary detail? I would welcome hearing from anyone using any of these cameras or astrophotography techniques. Comparing notes will certainly lead to better results for all. Until then, Clear skies!