I have been trying to do abit of imaging over the last year with my dslr or my meade dsi ii pro. Connect your mount, your camera, select a star, and start guiding. Buy meade lpig advanced autoguiding and imaging camera color featuring use for autoguiding or astrophotography, 6. A secondary question relates to the orientation of the dsi as regards the autoguider capability within the meade dsi imaging software. Jan 16, 2018 in this video, richard shows you what is included with your lpig camera and how easy it is to setup and use. Let the color lunar, planetary imager and guider lpig unleash the inner astrophotographer in you. By using autoguiding software such as phd2 guiding, our computer can communicate with the telescope mount. I do this by using the poth hub in ascom to connect to the scope and connect my software to that instead of directly to the mount. It not only comes with its own highquality, weatherresistant hard carrying case and ac power adapter, but weve included a. This driver controls the meade deep sky imager, which connects to the computer via. When you install the dsi for the first time, pick a usb port that you will use it on, and then install the driver by selecting the path c.
Lpig camera by meade brand ambassador richard keele. I was hoping to be able to use one sensor per pixel to take the picture and the second to feed the autoguiding software, but the second feed is only. The goal of this document is to give users of the meade dsi cameras and. How to use meade dsi or dsi pro cameras with k3ccdtools. The ccd camera in this case, the meade dsi pro ii takes quick 1 second exposures through the 50mm miniscope. The autoguiding camera is traditionally lighter than your primary imaging camera, and will often include a small mono ccd or cmos sensor. Download phd guiding software and install it when you install the dsi for the first time, pick a usb port that you will use it on, and then install the driver by selecting the path c. These arent mustdos, but they represent lessons learned from both personal experience and from analyzing hundreds of log files covering a wide range of equipment configurations. Although their initial attempts to enter the amateur ccd market were flops, it was unlikely that this aggressive company would sit by while others cashed in on anything to do with astronomy.
Fortunately, through the use of the software program phd and the ascom platform, it is possible to use this mount with ease. Often, new features or bug fixes can be found in the prerelease section. The authors personal experience is limited to the lx200gps telescope with the orion ed80 as guide scope. Meades dsi camera control and basic image processing software. If using the camera as an autoguider, connect one end of the included st4. Once properly connected to your computer using the appropriate cable in my case, a usb 2.
The dsi iv offers immense value beyond the camera itself. Is anyone using or is it possible to use phd guiding stark labs with the lxd75 mount. The key is an accurate and low latency centroid that can be chased aggressively to overcome gearbox and bearing noise. Upon installation, please use serial number 783a36800007296416.
The autostar suite software package that comes with the dsi is a combination. Astrophotography equipment basic setup for deepsky imaging. Support for canon, nikon, olympus, webcams, dsi, lpi, and lumenera cameras. Meade dsi and dsi pro cameras are supported in k3ccdtools 3 version. Phd2 is a telescope autoguiding software that automates the process of tracking a guide star. If youre running an orion autoguider and youve not upgraded their drivers. Jun 29, 2010 dsi autoguiding and imaging questions posted in dsi ccd cameras. I guess that someone may produce a hack for it in the future, but it isnt possible at the moment. Autoguiding system essentials shoestring astronomy. Using phd2, orion 50mm guide scope, and a philips spc900nc webcam. The sleek design and impressive weather resistant carrying case are the first things i noticed with the meade dsi iv. Known for its groundbreaking telescopic designs, meade has introduced dozens of improvements over. Given that meade says to mount the dsi with the usb cable exiting to the left side of the scope, is it possible that the autoguiding function assumes that as the default orientation, and therefore, any other. Autoguiding works well with a meade dsi pro and ph.
Program files meade autostar suiteenvisage2kxp plug the serial to rs232 adapter into your serial port com1, and use the rs232 cable included with the dsi to connect to the 497 hand controllers port. Used meade lpig advanced autoguiding and imaging camera. In the following picture you can see the meade dsi interface. Meade deep sky imager pro ii dsi ii pro monochrome ccd. Meade instruments designed the lpigm autoguiding and imaging eyepiece camera for beginner and veteran astrophotographers alike.
About meade accordion footer meade instruments is acknowledged as one of the most innovative and dynamic companies in the telescope market. Meade lpig advanced autoguiding and imaging camera color. Only available with the purchase of a meade imager. I was hoping to be able to use one sensor per pixel to take the picture and the second to feed the autoguiding software, but the second feed is only used to drive the autofocus. The meade deep sky imager dsi iv mono is a dedicated astronomy camera featuring a cooled 16mp cmos sensor. The goal of this document is to give users of the meade dsi cameras and meade telescopes. The webcam is mounted on the 80mm400mm guidescope at f15, its usb cable is plugged into the computer. By marcusf, march 28, 2019 in getting started with imaging.
Meade will repair or replace a product, or part thereof, found by meade to be defective, provided the defective part is returned to meade, freightprepaid, with proof of purchase. Hi all, im going to give 35mm film widefield photography a go, i have a piggyback bracket mounted on my 8in lx90 but cant yet afford a guidescope or autoguider. Dslrs are not able to take single long exposures like ccds, but software can be used to extend the exposure time and to stack multiple images. If autoguiding, imaging in raw format, or wanting plug and play compatibility with 3rd party software, its necessary to install the ascom. The other issue was that i was using two different programs in the process, phd for guiding and meade envisage which came with the dsi camera as the imaging software. About camera compatible, lusol should must work with all camera compatible with wdm drivers almost all camera on windows. Now an employeeowned company, we pride ourselves on an unswerving commitment to best quality products, value and unmatched customer care. Meade lpigm autoguiding and imaging eyepiece camera.
The new deep sky imager is the latest innovation from meade instruments and represents a revolutionary breakthrough in ccd astroimaging. Envisage software click to download meade s dsi camera control and basic image processing software. Metaguide allows me to obtain sub2 fwhm stars with a celestron cge and 11 sct at 2800mm f. If autoguiding, imaging in raw format, or wanting plug and play compatibility with third party software. Meade deep sky imager dsi, deep sky imager ii, lunar and planetary imager lpi, pictor. The meade deep sky imager dsi iv mono is a dedicated astronomy camera. Software is free, updates are free ascom compliant. Click the word meade in the main menu or in the general catalog to go. Please feel free to test the software and let me know if you have remarks, questions or bad experiences with it. The lpig is an excellent camera for autoguiding and solar system astrophotography.
Phd guiding phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent autoguiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. Phd guiding phd guiding is designed to be push here dummy simple, yet provide powerful, intelligent auto guiding of your telescope for both pcs and macs. Page 11 corporation meade to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year from the date of original purchase in the u. Autoguiding autostar suite software meade 4m community.
This was taken using canons 300d dslr through the meade lx90 at f6. This paper should be considered a work in progress. Whilst i cannot comment on the dsi, i do not like the meade software, at least with the lpi you need only download the drivers to work with phdguidemasterguidedog whereas i believe that the complete envisage suit is required for the dsi not 100% sure of that though. Another argument against the long focal length brigade is the advent of modern autoguiding software. This is able to calculate the centroid of a star to sub. Opticstar pl and meade dsi iii support added opticstar is on windows only. I found meade s lpi software doesnt autoguide very well. There is also a oneshotcolor version of the dsi iv available, for those that prefer to capture images this way. I cant speak for the dsi software, even though it recognizes the lpi.
In this video, richard shows you what is included with your lpig camera and how easy it is to setup and use. Buy meade lpigm autoguiding and imaging eyepiece camera monochrome featuring use for autoguiding or astrophotography, 1. By keybaud, december 25, 20 in getting started with imaging. The acclaimed deep sky imager dsi camera series is back, and its more advanced than ever. This pushes autoguiding of a midrange mount into a realm of performance that normally requires adaptiveoptics. Meade continues to release new versions of firmware for the lx200gps, and software. The sac, while plenty sensitive as a guide camera didnt have a good guiding software solution. Get excellent guiding with phd2 what is phd guiding, how to use phd2 for autoguiding duration.
I have one and after surviving the challenging installation process, i am intrigued by the simplicity of the software meade provided for it. This is due primarily to the widespread availability of equipment that produces amazing, highquality results with relative ease at prices that are affordable to many. Autoguiding a telescope for deep sky astrophotography. Phd2 guiding is the successor to phd guiding, which i used for several years before upgrading to phd2. Install meades skycapture software, camera directshow drivers, and ascom. Lxd75 mount and phd guiding lxd series meade 4m community. The gpcam2 autoguiding camera is smaller and more lightweight than my previous meade dsi pro ii guide camera. Found camera displays at the bottom right of your pc screen. I actually grabbed a software developer at the peach state star gaze to help me. But as far as i know it only works with meade s software. Lxd75909 moduleorion starshoot autoguiderphd guide posted in lxd series.
K3ccdtools how to use meade dsi or dsi pro cameras with. Using phd2 guiding there are five basic steps to start guiding. Equipped with a 16mp panasonic cmos image sensor, regulated two. I know it doesnt work with guidedog which is what i use.
Connect one end of theusb cableto the deep sky imager camera. The thermoelectric cooling, and monochrome panasonic 43 mn34230plj image sensor are what i value most in this camera. Although meade lists the inclusion of the skycapture software as an added value. Users of the meade envisage and guidestar version 1. Messing around with meade s dsi pro the introduction of meade s inexpensive line of ccd cameras for astroimaging was no surprise.
Autoguiding is required to take successful exposures on a tracking mount longer than 3 minutes. While looking at the back of the telescope, orient the deep sky imager camera into the eyepiece holder so. Download the meade drivers for the autostar 497 hand controller 4. May 04, 2019 metaguide allows me to obtain sub2 fwhm stars with a celestron cge and 11 sct at 2800mm f. Lxd75909 moduleorion starshoot autoguiderphd guide. Then assuming your guide camera drivers are installed, both the native driver and the ascom driver both of which should have come with the camera, click the camera icon at the bottom and select your camera from the list. My question is, with my dsi 1 fitted could i use the autoguiding in the envisage program to guide the 35mm camera, would this be ok for longer exposures. Although meade lists the inclusion of the skycapture software as an added value, i believe many future owners of the deep sky imager will prefer to use their own astrophotography software with this camera. The trick to getting great images with dslrs is to use the right software maxdslr. Deep sky imager iv series quick start guide meade instruments. The rather bulky proportions of the meade dsi often caused me to bump my headlamp against it while looking through the telescope eyepiece.
Autoguiding system essentials doug anderson shoestring astronomy. This is accomplished by using a great piece of free software developed by stark labs. Meade lpigc autoguiding and imaging eyepiece camera. Dsi autoguiding and imaging questions posted in dsi ccd cameras. Meade autostar suite software included with meade deep sky imager pro. Reducing the overall weight of your imaging rig has its advantages. I used this camera for autoguiding exclusively, and it worked well for many. Gpusb and gpint are hardware devices accessed via a usb port or parallel port, respectively that connect on the other side to an st4 compatible guide port on the mount. This image is a 10 minute 600 second autoguided exposure of m42 taken after pec training and retraining. Autoguiding a telescope for deep sky astrophotography basic. At any rate, i presently have a permanently polar mounted 10lx200gps in a small observatory with a televue pronto piggybacked on top and losmandy counterweights system on the bottom. All standard functions of typical goto mounts are included in the software.
The open architecture of the meade autostar permits the update of operating software, the loading of events such as comets, satellites, and minor planets, and allows you to share or clone this information with other autostars. I use an old meade mono dsi ccd i found used and a 50 dollar zhumell 9x50 scope. View and download meade deep sky imager manual online. Lusolguide, software for solar autoguiding solarchat. The internet is filling up fast with info about the lpis interesting, though modest, imaging capabilities, but so far nothing about its autoguiding performance. Hit the loop button and look at the available stars, adjusting focus if necessary. This is what i have come up with but dont know if it is correct. This is an important aspect of deep sky astrophotography because it allows you to focus on capturing successful long exposure images and get the most out of your telescope mount phd2 is easy enough for a beginner to use right away, yet also includes sophisticated. Connect the other end of theusb cableto your pc or to a usb hub. Open phd and from the mount drop down list at the top, select ascom and your meade classic and autostar driver, from the list. The lpi should have been a capable guider using meade s software but its not very sensitive and it was often difficult to find guide stars bright enough for the camera to pick up among the noise. Phd2 is telescope guiding software that simplifies the process of tracking a guide star, letting you concentrate on other aspects of deepsky imaging or spectroscopy. Apr 12, 2014 about camera compatible, lusol should must work with all camera compatible with wdm drivers almost all camera on windows. It is an excellent little camera as it is sensitive enough to be useful and it is low cost.
The versions here are the current stable full releases. To connect the deep sky imager camerato your pc, you need to install the deep sky imager device driver and connect the usb cable. Amateur astrophotography is more popular today than it has ever been. The setup i use with my meade lxd55 mount for autoguiding is roughly as above. Meade sky capture software on cd rom includes installation and operating instructions. See my image processing video tutorial using this software. Head to downloads for the installation files and release details phd2 best practices.
Autoguiding with a dslr getting started with imaging. A world leader in the manufacturing of telescopes, solar telescopes, microscopes, optics, binoculars, for amateur astronomers and hobbyists. Bruce and andy have compiled a list of best practices for phd2. Since envisage can also guide using meade cameras i figured that a dsi would allow me to use envisage exclusively for both functions. Diameter barrel, usb and st4 guider ports, skycapture software for windows. Dsi autoguiding and imaging questions meade 4m community. The image was captured using dslr focus as a largefine jpg image at iso 800. Hi, im getting deeper into astrophotography and trying to do so on a tight budget what else is new. Autoguiding questions lx200 series meade 4m community. Press the usbicon button and connect to your guide camera and mount. Dec 25, 20 the 70d has dual pixel cmos, which means that each pixel has 2 sensors. Meade deep sky imager pro dsi pro ccd camera w meade.