Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager by Celestron
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Digital camera reviews of Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager
Digital camera Review: Fine for moon viewing but it struggles for other viewing
Summary: 3 Stars
I used the NexImager with my Celestron 130 SLT. It was very good for moon viewing but it struggled a bit with the planets. For example, I found that viewing Saturn through a normal eyepiece produced a better and sharper image than using the NexImage. Also the CCD resolution of 640x480 is low in this day when megapixel CCD's are commonplace even in low price cameras. My unit also produced a fair amount of noise when viewing a dark sky.
But it is fun to play with and given it's low price, it is worth having.
A more expensive and useful add-on would be to make it wireless to avoid the cable that runs from the telescope to your PC.
As a side note, I'm using the NexImage with a Macintosh Macbook laptop. Though the software is written for a PC, I am using it fine via VMWare Fusion hosting a Windows XP OS.
Digital camera Review: Great for Jupiter
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to use with a 20+ year old 4" Schmidt Cassegrain Telescope (f/12). The first night I used it to image Jupiter at its close approach in September. I initially found it difficult to find Jupiter thru the imager, despite centering it with an eyepiece before switching to the imager. Then I realized I was way out of focus (much different focal plane for the imager). Once I turned the focus knob a few revolutions, there it was. I had to reduce the gain using the included software to see details on the surface. At least with my system you can either see the cloud belts or the moons, not both at the same time. The images on the computer screen were so-so but once I aligned and stacked the images with Registax, the picture was more than I expected for such a modest telescope. The equitorial belt was vivid (one missing at this time) and several smaller belts were also seen. One photo shows the Great Red Spot and another shows a moon or it's shadow as a small dark spot on the surface of Jupiter. Overall, this was more than I had hoped for with this imager for Jupiter considering my small telescope.
Some notes:
You don't necessarily need tracking but it makes your life much easier. With decent magnification, you will lose objects from your field of view before you can record a few hundred frames for stacking. Even with tracking on my scope, I would have to tweek the declination between photos to keep things in the frame.
The image size of Jupiter at prime focus with my telescope an this imager was perfect. For the moon, the magnification was too high. I could only photograph small sections and the quality was so-so. With Jupiter, you could start with the planet at the top of the frame and film it until it reached the bottom. This was not a problem for Registax to handle. With the moon, you fill the entire frame so only half of the craters are still in the frame after a minute or more of capture so some craters move out of frame during the capture while others appear.
I tried to use this with my f/6 10" Dobsonian. I was unable to focus within the range of my focuser until I lowered my mirror cell in the tube. This gave a very high magnification image so only short capture times were possible before objects left the frame (no tracking). The images using the 4"SCT were better so I converted my Dob back to a visual telescope and stick to the SCT.
Finding objects is a bit challenging due to the narrow field of view when using this imager. I recommend centering the object using a high powered eyepiece and using/making a parafocal ring to make the focus close between the eyepiece and imager.
The camera is easy to use and the cord is plenty long enough. The software is reasonably easy to use once you play with it a little. Registax works very well and the automatic processing is usually good enough. Keep in mind that if the image on the screen is horrible, you probably won't get much from Registax. You need to have clear skies and sharp focus.
Digital camera Review: Great stuff for the up & coming astrophotgrapher
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased this item to use with my 8" CPC, SCT. I printed & studied the instructions, page by page, before trying it. I ran through the tutorial first. It was exceptionaly well presented & gets the beginner on his way fast. I Captured so so images of the Moon & Saturn at first & learned the basic processing but after more fine tunned studing & attempts my images are remarkable. I really like the instantanious veiwing of the capture image on the computer as your focusing the object in. Good stuff.Digital camera Review: Great value and more than a toy
Summary: 4 Stars
Installing the software was a piece of cake, using it is quite another matter. The basic introductory instructions are easy enough but after that it seems to require a PhD in mathematic astrophysics to get round all the available toggles, tweaks and options. First attempts? The moon came out real nice, but Saturn was a white blob with no fine detail. Nothing like type of pics that the super-whizzkids proudly display on the Celestron site. Will go back to night school and one day you might see my fine efforts published as well
(oh - was using it on a classic LX200 in good see'ing conditions - sorry Celestron!)
Digital camera Review: Husband loves it...
Summary: 5 Stars
purchased as a birthday present for my husband to use with his telescope. He has used and enjoyed this product several times.