Astrophotography Japan / SVBony WiFi cameras (Episode 39)

[@Paul-ds9fh]

Hi Paul, You've done another solid piece of work with this video. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks for sharing and a lot of clear skies :)

[@jpastroguy]

Hi Paul, I am glad you are still "tuned in" to my channel. And of course, happy to know you enjoyed the video. I am not sure why, but this video captured more views in the first 24 hours than any other video I ever published. Best wishes and clear skies! PAUL

[@michaelwalsh7846]

Thanks, really clear and detailed, helped me a lot on my new sc311. Regards. Mike

[@jpastroguy]

Excellent. Great to hear that Michael. Best wishes with your new camera! PAUL

[@mangauniversity]

Greetings from another Kanto-based stargazer. I'd been considering this SC311 for quite some time. Your video has convinced me to finally press the Amazon buy button. Thanks for the info!

[@jpastroguy]

If you want to borrow mine and try it out, you are welcome to. I hardly use it. Paul

[@mangauniversity]

@@jpastroguy Wow, that is incredibly kind of you. I would welcome the opportunity. May I contact you at the address you provide at the end of your videos to discuss it further?

[@jpastroguy]

@ Yes indeed, send me an email.

[@grantsorenson4113]

Hardware wise this could have been a amazing wireless camera. I actually did the firstlight review for this camera way back in December of 2023 (see my review on my blog) and it did have promise at that time. I have been bugging Svbony ever since so many times to fix certain things such as allowing to save uncompressed formats such as png etc...or at least a much less compressed format among many other essential updates needed. Unfortunately they have completely ignored my suggestions and requests. Svbony really dropped the eightball here with this wireless camera. It is too bad it had so much potential I am very disappointed and cannot recommened this wifi camera for its price there are so many better options now out there. Paul I love your utube videos! Keep up the great work!

[@jpastroguy]

Thanks Grant. I think the wifi concept is excellent as well. Maybe some day some company will catch on and create something more useful for deep sky applications! Clear Skies and Happy Holidays! PAUL

[@jeromemarie4770]

Hi great video, thank you for review in such detail, I was really wondering on the capability of this 311 camera. All my question were answer here and more. Great work! congrats

[@jpastroguy]

Hi Jerome/Marie, I appreciate the comment. I am glad I could help you make an equipment decision. Thanks for watching Astrophotography Japan! PAUL

[@matthiasharbers2533]

Thank you! Hope you will have a nice weekend with a clear sky.

[@jpastroguy]

Have a nice weekend, Matthias!

[@petergries3804]

As usual, I like your precise data and explanations. I am using the SC311 and I would like to get RAW or fits files. At the movie section it would be nice to get ser files for better quality editing/stacking. The “graphic” user interface in the app should be improved, it looks a bit like 10 years ago. Anyway, SC311 is a nice product and SVBony should spend some more effort on their software.

[@jpastroguy]

Hi Peter. I agree with your comments; especially about the file formats. The types of data collected and the limitations on it don`t make much sense for the astro-community. For example, "why limit the exposure time to only 5 seconds" in the SC311? The camera softwares seem to be designed for terrestrial daytime usage and SVBony made little effort (no effort?) to modify the software for night-sky applications. That is my opinion. However, the SC001 is still the lowest cost option available. I wish that I started off my astrophotography hobby career with it, instead of a smartphone. Cheers and clear skies! PAUL

[@AmatureAstronomer]

The SvBony 231 Color Correction filter is a great fringe killer.

[@jpastroguy]

I tried some other ones (Baader, etc.) in the past, but none really works well. I appreciate your comments, but I do not think it is necessary for visual and I do not use the SV48P for imaging anyways... Cheers!

[@KRKuuga]

Thanks for the explanation comparing the models. I've only recently become interested in telescopes, so I'm learning from review videos while researching equipment. I was initially interested in the monochrome SV305 Pro, but discovered that I can't use it on a smartphone, so my attention turned to the SC001 when I found your video and saw the SC311.

[@jpastroguy]

Welcome to the world of astrophotography! Camera choices can be complicated. And it is an evolution as you progress in your skills and equipment. Thanks for watching Astrophotography Japan! Clear skies, PAUL

[@KRKuuga]

I'm in the early stages of my journey, still waiting for some components for the telescope to be delivered, including the camera (after reading reviews like this one, I decided to start with the SC311 because I don't have a laptop available to work on the stacking. But in the future I want to upgrade to a camera that's more suitable for deep sky). Since I have a tight budget, I bought a 400/80mm refractor and also got another 700/70mm refractor. Is it possible to observe the Orion Nebula or the Pillars of Creation with this camera, for example? Or am I expecting too much from this equipment?

[@jpastroguy]

@@KRKuuga You might be able to get an image of the Orion Nebula with the SC311, but probably not a very good one. As for the Eagle nebula (Pillars of creation), no. Do not buy the SC311 if you expect to be able to image deep sky objects. You will be disappointed. It is good for the sun, moon and star clusters and daytime photography. It is not good for nebula or galaxies. You can get inexpensive planetary cameras for around $300 (USD) that will work with a PC and give you deep sky object capabilities, but you are correct - you need a computer to control the camera. Also, remember, to image deep sky objects, it requires long imaging times and hence a star tracker is also required. Frankly, if you want to jump right into deep sky imaging at the least expensive price, you should buy the Seestar S30 (ZWO Corporation) for $350 (USD).

[@KRKuuga]

Thank you very much for your attention and all the observations made! As a beginner, I have a lot to learn for bigger steps. Sorry for the grammatical errors, I am not fluent in English…

[@jpastroguy]

@@KRKuuga I am happy to help. Ask me anything, anytime. Use my email address given on the video credits. And don't worry about the language. I live in Japan. Do you think I am fluent in Japanese? Guess again! Best regards, PAUL

[@philipchesleyiii]

Was M57 a single 5sec exposure with no added filter or stacking?

[@jpastroguy]

Yes, no filter was used. It was a single 5 sec exposure from here, under Bortle class 7+ skies. Thanks for watching! PAUL

[@massimo541]

Very interesting video, as always 👏👏👏

[@jpastroguy]

Hey Massimo, thanks for watching again..... Best wishes & clear skies!

[@chesleyrolleMusic]

Thank you for this video awesome video..

[@jpastroguy]

Greetings Chesley, thanks for watching and the motivating feedback. Clear skies! PAUL

[@Ajajambo]

Great video 👌 what a bummer these camera can’t do proper long exposure like 2 minutes nonstop. Basically, doing planetary is near impossible!! How many FPS? I think these are considered electronic EP. Cheers

[@jpastroguy]

Yea, I agree. These are not really astrophotography cameras for seasoned imagers. They are more for daytime, moon, and sun exploration, only......or just starter cameras. But I really like the all-in-one Wifi and battery concept. Perhaps someday SVBony or another will create a real astro-camera version like that...... Thanks for watching Astrophotography Japan!

[@forerunner75]

5 secondes maximal exposure time, for camera? did i heard right? sounds odd, especially for deep sky object :(

[@jpastroguy]

@@forerunner75 You heard right. The camera can only do up to a five second exposure. It is not a true astro-camera.

[@dirkvinkx1597]

The 5 sec limit , and no uncompressed output , jpg images only, are dealbreakers for me.

[@jpastroguy]

Hi Dirk. That is one reason why I made this video......so everyone knows what they are getting! Clear skies!

[@artyombeilis9075]

The biggest issue wit this camera that you can control it only from the App. Also it is UVC camera it is very-very limited. One of the owners tried to use one with OpenLiveStacker via usb cable but it was failure due to very limited UVC controls. Have it been possible to use some kind of SDK to control it remotely it could be very interesting camera for EAA. I talked to SVBony about SDK and SDK for their cameras for Android so I can support some advanced cameras on OpenLiveStacker but so far only plans 😕

[@jpastroguy]

Indeed, it is very limited. It is a beginner camera, but better than using a smartphone, I think......

[@artyombeilis9075]

@@jpastroguy I agree - but my problem is actually software not the camera itself - get access to something outside your own app.

[@technojet607]

Спасибо за обзор! Думаю взять себе sc001 для моей трубы sv41 pro :)

[@jpastroguy]

Я думаю, что SC001 хорошо подходит для дневной съемки, съемки солнца и луны. Он должен хорошо работать с SV41. Спасибо за просмотр Astrophotography Japan!

[@MollyBrown-kt8uq]

😀Great！

[@jpastroguy]

Hi Molly. I guess you found it helpful. Then it was worth the effort! Thank you for watching Astrophotography Japan and clear skies! PAUL

[@AmatureAstronomer]

I have an SvBony 305, an SvBony 705c (IMX585) and the SvBony 405cc (IMX294). I like them. Use them for EAA with no post processing. I post them on my channel.

[@jpastroguy]

Seems like we all eventually collect a few cameras! When I first started out doing astrophotography, I would have liked to have one of these wifi cameras instead of using my smartphone. I think they are nice "beginner" options. Thanks for watching! Clear skies!