Svbony SV305 Lunar Planetary Camera Review

This is an unboxing and review of the SVbony lunar, planetary camera. If you are interested in this camera or any astronomy gear I use or recommend I've put some links down below to help get you started on the right foot.
My Link Tree - linktr.ee/avastronomy​​​​​
Links to my other videos that explain layer masks, camera settings, Collimation and image processing in more detail.
• How to process Astroph...
HLVG - www.deepskycolors.com/archive...
Gradient Xterminator - www.rc-astro.com/resources/Gr...
OPT telescopes and Agena Astro have a tremendous inventory of astrophotography gear and great service. You can check them out here through my affiliate links. This is the setup I currently use.
Agena Astro - bit.ly/3D3U8id
ASI AIR PLUS - bit.ly/46BTfej
IOPTRON GEM 28 MOUNT - bit.ly/3O2QpGX
WILLIAM OPTICS Z61 - bit.ly/44v5Hv7
IOPTRON IGUIDER - bit.ly/44AXRzv
ASI 294MM CAMERA KIT - bit.ly/46Clqd3
Links to helpful astrophotography items that can be purchased directly through Agena Astro.
TELESCOPES
Redcat71 APO telescope - bit.ly/3D6cT4s
Sky Watcher 8" Dobsonian reflector telescope - bit.ly/3XGYwNy
ASTRONOMY CAMERAS
QHY 600M - bit.ly/3rbHgno
ZWO ASI533MC Pro OSC camera - bit.ly/3XPlzpx
ZWO ASI2600MC pro camera - bit.ly/3pDJFHg
MOUNTS
ZWO AM5 Mount - bit.ly/44eHUzn
Sky Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Pro pack - bit.ly/44gXXMV
Sky Watcher EQ6 R pro mount - bit.ly/3riYbVc
Sky Watcher EQ8 (for heavier payloads) mount - bit.ly/3D3UFkd
Celestron CGXL mount - bit.ly/3O2u6lQ
FILTERS
Optolong Luminance Pro (broadband light pollution filter) - bit.ly/46FIdEJ
Optolong L-extreme(vary tight/narrow dual band light pollution filter) - bit.ly/3NLwrjJ
Optolong L Ultimate - bit.ly/3NIHABV

[@ohwell2790]

Just ordered this camera and looking forward to more of your videos. My no nonsense real reviews and how to's guy. Thanks and look forward to your videos. I am 76 and learning new things to do. Have CC6 Orion for lunar and planets and hope to learn enough to take some decent photos.

[@AVAstronomy]

Thank you and clear skies!

[@ssadams]

thanks for the video. I am thinking of buying this unit for planetary & lunar photography.

[@astrobenn_]

Great Video! I have a couple of questions if that is ok? I have just got this camera and everything is fine in the Direct Show Camera but does not work with ASCOM or the Svbony setting in Sharpcap. I have tried to setup the camera in Nina and APT but getting no results from the ASCOM driver. The Ascom driver shows as connected but when taking a test image.. nothing. Any ideas?

[@BrotherAlan]

I've had the SV305 for over a year now and it is a good planetary camera and a basic entry level deep sky camera. I have not tried it on solar observing yet but my filter just arrived last week. It does fine on the obvious bright targets like Orion, Pleiades (nebulosity was very faint), Andromeda, M3, but with enough time I have pulled in some of the brighter galaxies like Pinwheel, Bodes, and Whirlpool. You have to keep your exposures under 60 seconds and you need a good set of darks because that thing gets noisy at those exposures. Last year's comets turned out not too bad either. What can it not see? From my bortle 5 location dimmer objects such as horse head and rosette are unattainable with this camera. It will beat the pants off my asi120mc for sure. For someone looking to dip their toe into astrophotography but not spend a lot of money I think it's a good bet. The pro model supports USB3 which is great for high frame rate planetary imaging. This is the camera I will be using for EAA club outreach events this summer on a little 80mm refractor. Their drivers now support Windows, Linux, and Intel based Macs.

[@alainbellemare2168]

do you know if it can be run from an i pad pro ?

[@BrotherAlan]

@@alainbellemare2168 That is a great question and my best "guess" would be no. It is possible that when SVBONY has native Apple Silicon drivers for the Mac that it possibly might work for the iPad Pro with M1 chip. The only other issue would be someone porting imaging software. It's kind of the chicken and egg quandry, no drivers/software because no one uses the hardware, no one uses the hardware because there is no software.

[@mjhaslberger]

To give your comment context, what scope/s were you using the 305C with? I've just received mine, planning to use it with my SkyWatcher 120/100 achro frac and SW 130/650 newt, with an eye to getting a short frac for widefield soon.

[@dankahraman354]

Yes SvBony is greatly underestimated and overlooked.

[@TTProgressive]

The 305, USB 2.0, do you have a speed problem? (The 305p pro 3.0 is more expensive)

[@walkertexaschuck8342]

how do you hook it up to a computer

[@Mmmm-wg1tm]

Nice

[@Rizqi_jo]

Mau tanya, menurut Anda mana yang lebih baik antara SV205 dengan SV305?

[@stupidvid]

planning on buying mines from Aliexpress like always good cheap stuff there vs other stores like Amazon

[@chavenyenketswamy1498]

Can it take long exposures?

[@CountryCampers]

Will it work on a Windows 11 computer?

[@NatarajanGanesan]

All that Orion DSOs were from this?

[@-WhizzBang-]

You need the SV305 PRO for a guider camera as it has the Rs 12 output . It costs about $100 more.

[@WayneLittle-qz3fm]

I know I'm late to the party but I have the Sv305 Pro and PHD2 does support it and it guides well providing you have a dew heater on it. I am going to give it a try imaging the moon to see how that goes.

[@AVAstronomy]

The video is a bit dated now but at the time there’s wasn’t any official support for it. Glad you have it working! 👍

[@louboom5711]

Hi, I enjoy your videos they're very helpful. I just got this camera and the images I'm getting are in black and white only, was there a different setting in missing? I can't find any information about this, and on your video you mentioned using direct connecting which I also did but it's still not in color. Thanks in advance and clear skies!

[@AVAstronomy]

would be glad to help you out. Let me know what camera you are using and shoot me an email. [e-mail]

[@daveymach6941]

Hi, you're thumbnail picture shows SV305 Pro, however you reviewed the SV305. There not the same. CS

[@captainwasabi]

I bought this a few months ago to use as a guide camera, returned it because there were no ascom drivers. You have to get the Pro version for the drivers to work.

[@BrotherAlan]

I don't believe that is correct. www.svbony.com/Support/SoftWare-Driver/

[@noskanow]

Hi, thanks for a great video. When I heard you say that this would be a good terrestrial daytime camera I tried it on my 127 Mak in daylight using Sharpcap, (v4.1) which I'd never thought of doing before. When selected it in Sharpcap, as I normally would for the night sky, I got nothing! No amount of playing with exposure, gain, frame rate, or anything else would get me an image in Sharpcap, so am I doing something wrong here for the camera's daytime use?

[@AVAstronomy]

Hi Peter, it’s been a while since I last used that camera but I had no issues using it for daytime use. What exposure settings are you using?

[@noskanow]

Changing the exposure setting on Sharpcap from full left to full right has absolutely no effect on the image window which remains blank. I beginning to wonder if the camera has gone faulty. As we speak I've got my 127 Mak tracking Jupiter which high in the southern sky at the moment and I've got a good visual on it. So when it gets dark I'll put the SV305 on the scope and see if I can get Jupiter on Sharpcap. If I can then the camera's good and I'll try a terrestrial target again tomorrow. Thanks for your swift reply.

[@PafMedic]

Ok,Wait,I Know This Is A y/o Video,But You Can Do Deep Space With This,And Im In A Bortle 3/4,With An Evostar72ed,Evoguide50ed,On The Eqm35Pro.

[@phfreddie6242]

Hello, great video, please could you inform what is the difference when choosing the camera in SharpCap as an SVBony Camera or Direct Show Camera and why ? Many Thanks

[@AVAstronomy]

Not sure other than that's what the instructions say to do. good luck!

[@HermieDaddy]

according to sharpcap. the first interation of the camera in the list is direct to the mfg driver and therefore offers more control, and should be chosen. the next two choices are with other drivers including ascom which has the least control of the options in the camera.

[@MichalJuul]

Do you know if ASIAIR PRO recognizes SVBONY SV305 as an ASI 290 MC color in the ASI app, since they have the same chip?

[@AVAstronomy]

Good question. Not sure about that one. I haven’t made the jump to the ASIAIR PRO yet.

[@sidh023]

Can i use it directly into the eyepiece of a dobs or would need a setup for eyepiece projection?

[@AVAstronomy]

It fits 1.25" adapters so you could use it with a barlow but would need some kind of Eye piece projection setup if you wanted to use an eyepiece.

[@CorkyDaCat]

😊 nice one and I have my eye on one @ 49USD

[@mwales2112]

I have the SV105 camera and it works very well with my Meade 125 Mak and sharpcap. Is the SV3058 better in anyway to the SV105? How about the SV205 8mp camera? Nice video thanks

[@nethertamer9943]

Sv305 is best for imaging close up of planets

[@reinaldoaltamura6898]

Hello Dear, I'd like to know if this sv305 camera is compatible with APT (astro photography tool). Thank you in advance to your reply.

[@AVAstronomy]

I haven’t tested it yet with APT but I would give a shot and try. Clear skies!

[@Rizqi_jo]

Can you tell me please, the better between SV305 and SV205? thx

[@OrizontasGegonota]

I got the 205 but I'm disappointed because of 1000ms (1 second) only exposure. The 305 has 1800 seconds!

[@AZ4Runner]

Now that you've had it for a while, have you tried planetary imaging with it? I'm looking for a new low cost planetary camera and this looks affordable.. Thanks 4 the review. Clear skies....

[@AVAstronomy]

I haven’t had much time under the skies lately due to bad / sporadic weather. Really haven’t done planetary mainly due to the fact that I don’t really have the focal length for it.

[@djphild]

In PHD2 try setting it as a webcam. Heard this works for the Svbony 105. Let us know if you confirm guide cam functionality. :)

[@AVAstronomy]

I’ll check into this next time skies clear up. 👍

[@tomjones2121]

I have the 105 version and a 72 ed skywatcher , I've struggled getting this camera to work with various back focus issues ,last night I imaged saturn , with a 2" focal extander and a x2 barlow with the lens removed just to gain focus , complete nightmare , my image was so small that I couldn't get proper brightness and image was a complete wash out , just a tiny bright white saturn .. back to square one

[@AVAstronomy]

Contrary to what youtubers post about this hobby. It can be extremely frustrating at times. I promise you, there's been multiple occasions where I almost hung up my hat on this hobby lol!

[@tomjones2121]

@@AVAstronomy Tried again last night , and I nailed it, got a great picture of Saturn with clear and visible cassini division in the ring , I'm so stoked LOL , ready for more

[@ohwell2790]

I just took the lens out of an old Barlow and got by back focus no problem.

[@tomjones2121]

did the same thing last night

[@dankahraman354]

The images are quite good. It should be the case. Same sensor as one at twice the cost...probably fewer middlemen.

[@oscard.g8624]

How would it work with a c9.25?

[@AVAstronomy]

I think it would work quite well and at that magnification would give you nice FOV for planets and lunar. Go for it!

[@ronstewtsaw]

There is a Pro version that seems to have faster USB and also a guide port. The thumbnail for this video shows the Pro, not the version reviewed here. The thumbnail should reflect the content.

[@AVAstronomy]

Sorry about that. That’s the link that SVbony sent me.

[@chaozhang2455]

you can search svbony sv305 on shopee ,and you will get what you want

[@richardforee1342]

Aloha! Good vid! Rookie question: What determines what my magnification will be? My scope, Omni XLT 150. So 150mm ap and 750mm focal length@F-5 equals ...???????????? Thanks to anyone who responds, and clear skies!

[@AVAstronomy]

If your using an eyepiece it’s the focal length divided by the eyepiece mm. So your scope at 750mm fl would give 30x magnification with a 25mm eyepiece. With cameras it’s more about field of view. Use stellarium to calculate files of view with a particular camera and scope. Clear skies!

[@richardforee1342]

@@AVAstronomy Thanks!

[@richardforee1342]

@@AVAstronomy Hey, I went to Stellarium and couldn't find anything useful. Where on Stellarium? Thanks again!

[@AVAstronomy]

@@richardforee1342 check out my video on stellarium. It will show you how to add your scope and camera specs

[@AVAstronomy]

@@richardforee1342 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iYPGenybeqyJhrs

[@dankahraman354]

If it is ASCOM compliant PhD2 should work. Test it out!

[@AVAstronomy]

Tested. Could t get it to work

[@dankahraman354]

Bummer! In the case of my ZWO ASI120mini the ASCOM driver works better than the camera equipped drivers.

[@fagionato1320]

Comprei a Camera SVBony SV305 há um mês atrás, e por enquanto fiz imagens apenas da Lua, utilizando o programa Sharpcap. Tenho um Telescópio refletor de 203mm, com motor Clock Drive. Mesmo fazendo algumas poucas imagens, entre 400 e 1000 frames, gostei muito do resultado! Excelente!! Falta agora eu testar com planetas, como Júpiter e Saturno, e com Nebulosas e aglomerados. Peguei com ótimo preço, direto na loja da Svbony, na Shopee.

[@AVAstronomy]

No sé español, pero parece que estás diciendo que usaste esta cámara con un telescopio reflector y obtuviste buenos resultados. Si es así, es una gran felicitación. Usé el traductor de Google para escribir este mensaje. ¡Cielos despejados!

[@fagionato1320]

Compré la cámara SVBony SV305 hace un mes, y por el momento solo hice imágenes de la Luna, usando el programa Sharpcap. Tengo un telescopio reflectante de 203 mm con un motor Clock Drive. Incluso haciendo algunas imágenes, entre 400 y 1000 fotogramas, ¡me gustó mucho el resultado! ¡¡Estupendo!! Ahora tengo que probar con planetas, como Júpiter y Saturno, y con nebulosas y cúmulos. Lo conseguí a muy buen precio, directamente en la tienda Svbony, en Shopee.

[@jasm0ahn547]

This dude probably has a waaaay larger budget than what the rest of us are working with... So... It's mediocre in his book... but amazing in our book!

[@shedtime_au]

Two frikkin' megapixels? Fergeddaboudit. I just picked up a Canon 5D (12.7 MP) for less money.

[@AVAstronomy]

Lol! Nice! Love the 5D. It’s an amazing camera. Clear skies!

[@itsunclebobbybbaby2412]

Is it just me or is that not the 305?

[@AVAstronomy]

Yes, it is the sv305. Clear skies.

[@itsunclebobbybbaby2412]

Correction the pic for the video is the pro you advertised the regular 305.

[@tomjones2121]

I was instantly thrown off when he started talking without an english accent , I had to re adjust my hearing and set them to ( normal )

[@reckoningful]

Boycott Chinese brands....

[@BrotherAlan]

Unfortunately that would not leave many choices at all, now would it. If you can find a list of non Chinese made astronomical equipment I would love to see it and if I could afford any of the items, order off of it.

[@stupidvid]

@@BrotherAlan this camera is on aliexpress as well as other telescope gear very cheap prices compared to other store. aliexpress is my amazon lol but from china. i buy almost everyday