Jul 19 2007, 02:38 AM, updated 13y ago
Philips:
General questions about this 2007 designed webcam SPC900NC
1. Is it compatible with Windows 7 32 bit or 64 bit?
Yes, it is. Auto detect, no drivers require.
2. Max resolution @ 90 fps?
320 x 240 @ 90 fps.
3. Why this dinosaur still for sale from your online store?
This is the main strong selling point why many astrophotographer choose this model. General user usually do not appreciate it.
A brief overview of Webcams and Astronomy
Not all webcams are made equal.
For a webcam to be suitable for astrophotography it needs to be particularly sensitive to light. Webcams with CCD (Charge Coupled Device) chips are generally more sensitive than CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) chips, certainly in webcams, although some more recent makes of CMOS chips used in professional DSLR cameras are able to offer the required light capturing ability.
Generally if you are searching out a webcam for use with a telescope, try to find a CCD webcam, otherwise be sure that any CMOS webcam is sufficiently sensitive and has been tried by other astonomers. The Toucam Pro I and II models were the original favourite choice for astronomers. For example a very cheap webcam, the Philips SPC230NC is a 1.3Mpixel CMOS chip, but its Minimum Illumination is 5 Lux (the amount of light it can detect and requires to operate effectively), whereas the SPC900NC's CCD chip has a Minimum Illumination of < 1 Lux, and hence why it is so popular for astrophotography. A typical family living room is lit to 50Lux, the dark limit of civil twilight is 3.7Lux, the full Moon overhead at tropical latitudes provides 1 Lux, the full Moon on a clear night provides 0.27Lux, a quarter moon 0.01 Lux, and a moonless clear night sky with skyglow gives just 0.002 lux. Total starlight shining through an overcast sky provides 10 to the power -4 lux.
Specifications for video cameras such as camcorders and surveillance cameras often include a minimum illuminance level in lux at which the camera will record a satisfactory image. A camera with good low-light capability will have a lower lux rating. Still cameras do not use such a specification, since longer exposure times can generally be used to make pictures at very low illuminance levels, as opposed to the case in video cameras where a maximum exposure time is generally set by the frame rate.
The SPC900NC uses the same Sony ICX098QB CCD sensor as the Toucam Pro's with a pixel size of 5.6 x 5.6 microns (=0.0056mm), which allows a high resolution (320x240 Pixels non interpolated). This table shows the chip is a 1/4" Type which has 659 pixels horizontal x 494 pixels vertical, in a 14-pin Plastic DIP package with a CXD2450R Combined timing pulse generator, and a primary colour mosaic (Bayer) filter mounted.
Windows 7 compatible.
http://www.microsoft.com/Windows/compatibi...bcams&os=32-bit
This post has been edited by DAViS: Sep 13 2012, 05:21 AM
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