Operating Manual CCD Camera Models ST-7E, ST-8E, ST-9E, ST-10E, ST-1001E

Section 1 - Introduction
Page 3
• Load up the other sample images and display them using the photo display
mode.
• If you find that the display is too dark or bright, try setting Auto Contrast in
the display menu or adjust the background and range parameters to achieve
the best display. Usually your monitor brightness and contrast want to be
set fairly high.
Note: Full daylight at F/22 will saturate these cameras with the shortest exposure.
With a camera lens start out in dim room light. For full sunlight you will need
a neutral density filter.
1.2.2. CCD Camera
Unfortunately there really aren't many shortcuts you can take when using the CCD camera to
capture images. The instructions below refer you to various sections of the manual.
• Insert the CCD Camera into the telescope and focus on a star (refer to
Sections 3.2 and 3.3).
• Find some relatively bright object like M51, the Ring Nebula (M57) or the
Dumbbell Nebula (M27) (refer to section 3.5).
• Take a 1 minute exposure using the Grab command with the Dark frame
option set to Also (refer to Section 3.6).
• Display the image (refer to Section 3.7).
• Process the image (refer to Section 3.8).
If you happen to have purchased a camera lens adapter for your CCD Camera you can use that
to take images in the daytime. Additionally you could make a small pinhole aperture out of a
piece of aluminum foil after wrapping it around the camera's nosepiece.
• Shut down the F stop all the way to F/16 or F/22.
• Set the focus based upon the object and the markings on the lens.
• Take a 1 second exposure with the Grab command.
• Display the image (refer to Section 3.7).
• Process the image (refer to Section 3.8).