The Starlight Xpress Oculus all-sky camera

In this video, Robert looks at the Starlight Xpress Oculus all-sky camera, looking in detail at what you get in the kit as well as demonstrating the included camera control software. Robert also ventures up a ladder to show you how to install the camera in a permanent rooftop location and operate it remotely.

Since is launch the Oculus is a firm hit with astronomers wishing to record the sky conditions of their local or remote observatory site or record night-long meteor activity and other sky phenomena. Capable of producing beautiful and functional images of the whole sky, the Oculus is also suited for general weather observation and provide high-quality all-sky images for weather system and cloud formation (NB: an additional neutral density filter is required for daylight exposures and is not included).

The Oculus camera is based around the 1.4 megapixels Sony SuperHAD CCD chip and is combined with a 2.5mm FL f1.2 super wide-angle lens to achieve 150 degrees coverage. (An optional 1.55mm FL f2 lens is available for 180-degree coverage but see our video for more details about lens choice and which is best for you).

The SuperHAD chip which has all of the benefits of Sony's interline CCD technology, such as very low thermal noise and a fast non-mechanical electronic shutter. Featuring exceedingly low-noise electronics and fast pin-sharp optics, capturing the night sky is easy and reliable. The Oculus is USB powered and driven but does require a 12VDC input to power the built-in anti-dew heaters. The software supplied allows you to capture a series of exposures and quickly add them together to create a dramatic avi movie of the night sky. This is the perfect camera for imaging meteor showers, viewing the weather conditions at a remote observatory and imaging the night sky in a spectacular way.

For more information on the Oculus and other Starlight Xpress products, please visit the Starlight Xpress website at https://www.sxccd.com/.

Presented by Robert J Dalby FRAS

Produced by DB Video Services for Astronomy and Nature TV