- Hook up your telescope to your PC, direct your scope with a single mouse click
- Includes LPI imager with a CMOS sensor featuring VGA-effective resolution
- Autostar Suite software package contains every imaginable capacity for both guiding your scope electronically
- Watch the confluence of computerized star charts with live electronic imagery
Technical Details
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com Review
Amazon.com Review Digital imaging has revolutionized astrophotography the last few years. Now Meade's Autostar Suite with Lunar and Planetary Imager (LPI) puts digital imaging within the reach of just about anyone with a telescope and a personal computer.
Autostar Suite with Lunar and Planetary Imager combines hardware and software in one small package that is powerful but easy to use. The manual, which comes in PDF format on the program disk, recommends beginning with daylight images to get familiar with operating the imaging system. This is good advice. Using a Firstscope 90 refractor, I found I could get some nice snap shots of hummingbirds at a nearby feeder.
The LPI feature I like the most is real-time control of the exposure setting. Real-time display literally takes the guesswork out of adjusting focus and exposure times. I tested the LPI system by using my eight-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope and 2x Ultima Barlow to photograph Jupiter and Saturn. Sunlight reaching Saturn, for example, is only one percent as bright as sunlight here on Earth. By increasing my exposure time and letting Autostar Suite automatically align and combine the best images, the Lunar and Planetary Imager easily brought out detail like the Cassini division in Saturns rings and cloud bands on the planet itself. When I turned my telescope to Jupiter, I was able to reduce the exposure time and still see Jupiter's moons.
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The Lunar and Planetary Imager is based on affordable Web-cam technology, but it has been redesigned and optimized for use with a telescope. The LPI acts like an electronic eyepiece and is designed to fit standard 1.25-inch eyepiece holders. The LPI simply connects to a PC with an included USB cable, but the cable is only about five feet long. The Autostar Suite package includes a number of special features. The "par-focalizing" ring allowed me to use an eyepiece to pre-focus my telescope before connecting the LPI. The package even includes cables and adapters for updating Autostar controllers and operating Autostar based telescopes by remote control from your PC. Realistically, however, the cables are much too short to operate the telescope from inside the house.
Meade likes to claim that you can get great results "your first night out." It might be true. My first LPI images turned out very well indeed! --Jeff Phillips
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Very good image quality
- Wide exposure range
- Short cables
- CMOS (not CCD) sensor
Product Description
Imagine the astronomical adventures you can have when you add the power of your computer to your Meade telescope! This set combines powerful astronomy software with a Lunar Planetary Imager camera to let you explore space - and capture amazing images of the celestial phenomena you see. Autostar Suite Software:Sophisticated planetarium program with over 19 million objectsSelect an object and your telescope automatically slews to it Control all functions from your PC Talking telescope software translates text to synthesized speech Control your telescope remotely over the Internet Create custom astro-tours Lunar Planetary Imager Camera:Creates high-quality lunar and planetary imagesEasy to use, real-time display of object on PC screenJust center, focus and shootMagic Eye software-assisted focusingExposure control from .001 to 15 secondsAutomatically takes multiple exposuresAutomatically selects best imagesAutomatically aligns multiple images and combines them into one superior image1 year manufacturer's warrantyEverything you need to get started is included, from cables to software. And, to keep your software current, an online updater keeps track of the latest comets, minor planets, satellites, tours and firmware over the Internet. Minimum system requirements: Windows 98SE with 64 MB and 100MB free disk space.
Customer Reviews
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Software is great, camera is... ok.,
By Hi-Tek-Red-Neck (Spokane, WA / San Jose, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Meade Autostar Suite w/LPI Digital Camera (Electronics)
I did a direct compare with Meades LPI camera and the Barskaź Digi Eyepiece. The Digi Eyepiece had a better picture but their software was a little buggy.The Meade LPI camera and Autostar software was very easy to install. The Autostar suite is amazing! If you plan to connect a computer to your Autostar you will need to buy an adapter. The camera plugs into your usb port, BUT the Autostar software,to direct your telescope, goes into a serial port. (how dumb is that? Anyone going to use this is going to be using a laptop and todays laptops do not have this port!) So you will need to buy a USB to Serial Port Cable adapter. Meade sells it for $40.00 but other vendors here on Amazon have ones that will work for $20.00 or even less. I give them 4 stars because the camera could be better and they are unclear that you need a usb port AND a serial port to use them both together. If you are looking for something that is almost plug and play (you need the serial to usb adapter) I would get the Meade. The Autostar Software is amazing! If you are just looking for a camera only, and don't need the autostar software, I would look at getting the Barskaź Digi Eyepiece. Their software is a little buggy but the pictures are clearer. You can read my other review of the Barskaź Digi Eyepiece here on Amazon to see what problems I had. Just do a search for Barskaź Digi Eyepiece. I ended up using both on different computers and telescopes. =o)
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good Camera, bad software,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Meade Autostar Suite w/LPI Digital Camera (Electronics)
The camera works fine unless you have a Windows Vista computer. The driver software does not run on vista. Meade Customer Service says that there is no plan to support Vista. I exchanged this camera for a Celestron NexImage Solar System Imager. It works good on Vista.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
digital camera for the telescope,
This review is from: Meade Autostar Suite w/LPI Digital Camera (Electronics)
This Meade autostar digital camera works great! It's a fun way to view the stars.
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