The talented astro-photographer and prolific DMK blogger, Oldfield So has again raised the standard in amateur solar photography.

The first of the two images that he recently posted in his blog is a mosaic of the solar limb that he built using eight individual files. He used a DMK 31AF03 FireWire camera, Borg 45ED II, SM40/BF10, with 2x Barlows and an extension tube for the close up work:

The second is a full disc shot, which he captured at 14:52 (GMT+8) from his apartment in Hong Kong.

These images illustrate delightfully the quality, clarity and precision of images that are possible with The Imaging Source astronomy cameras.

Keep up the good work, Oldfield.

Recently a customer inquired about connecting more than one DMK cameras to his telescope system and I thought this may be a good FAQ blog. Jeff Barton is obviously a solar outreach fanatic like myself working in the Southwest United States.

Jeff writes:

I have a 21F04 mono and two 21AF04 color cameras, each of which is attached to a different type of solar telescope (PST Ha, PST CaK, 40mm MaxScope Ha), all on the same EQ mount for solar imaging. These are going to be connected to monitors inside a blacked-out cargo trailer to allow small groups of students to watch a short solar video followed by seeing (directly observing) three different views (wavelengths) of the Sun “live”.

My question is whether I can use Window XP and multiple monitor cards to provide the displays from a single computer, or whether it would be better to use three separate computers , each with its own monitor?

Jeff, the problem you may run into is a bandwidth jam. Although it is possible to have more than one DMK from The Imaging Source connected to your computer, at high frame rates, it is not possible to “push” that much information through the PCI bus. In other words, you get a data traffic jam.

To alleviate this problem, start both cameras out on very low frame rates and step them up carefully. But be forewarned, Windows does not like this traffic jam, so do not increase both to the 60 FPS setting or else Bill (you know who), the traffic cop will pull you over! It is most definitely better to use an additional PC, if possible for this application.

Check out the very neat programs that Mr. Barton and the Texas Astronomical Society are conducting for the public and junior astronomer through the Three rivers Foundation for the Arts and Sciences! Profjohn and The Imaging Source hope to see some of their work at the next Texas Star Party.

We now have resellers for our astronomy cameras in most industrialized nations of the world. Please take a look at the reseller section for details:

http://www.astronomycameras.com/en/company/resellers/

If you would like to resell The Imaging Source astronomy cameras, please contact us. We are continually looking for new resellers that have a strong astro-imaging foundation and unsurpassed customer support!

Thank you.

Oceanside Photo and Telescope (OPT), one of The Imaging Source’s biggest resellers in the US is once again hosting the Southern California Astronomy Exposition in lovely Oceanside, California. Now in its third year, SCAE has grown into one of the premier events in the astronomy business for vendors and astronomers alike.

The two key dates during this event are the Astronomy Seminar Symposium Star Party on July 14th and the Product Demonstration Convention on July 28th.

The Astronomy Seminar Symposium will be a day filled with stimulating seminars on the hottest topics in astronomy including solar observing and imaging, night sky photography and advanced CCD imaging techniques.

The Product Demonstration Convention will include mini-seminars for manufacturers like The Imaging Source to highlight their latest and greatest products. With this years theme, ‘Astrophotography and CCD Imaging,’ Profjohn will hold a mini-seminar on the versatility of the DMK and seamlessness of the ever popular IC Capture.AS software that is included with all The Imaging Source cameras.

The DMK and IC Capture.AS seminar is scheduled for 1:00 pm.