Hello,
for some time, I have been thinking about getting a mobile all sky camera. In my backyard, I don't have enough unobstructed sky to actually make use of this, so I need it to be mobile enough. Ideally, I would like to program imaging sequences via a web interface or app using my smartphone and power the device via a powerbank or car battery.
However, the commercially available options are quite expensive and not all that mobile. A DIY solution might work, but getting it to a really comfortable level of practicability and ease of use may be hard.
So I came up with a quite crazy idea: why not use an action camera as a mobile all sky cam? I know they are not tailored to our use case, but still, this seems like an option.
In principle, this seems quite good to me. The camera is already enclosed and weather sealed, so a little rain won't really hurt it if I ever leave it outside while I am not imaging.
Additionally, most expensive models are capable to image in RAW format, so I also have the option to stack some images and process them.
Many models are also capable of using an external power supply, so I could quickly set up the camera while imaging to capture some all sky images alongside my main imaging rig. This would mitigate the weather sealing, but I probably won't need that all that often while I am imaging anyway ;)
There is also the option of using a 360° camera to capture the whole scene, including my setup at work + the sky and surroundings. Which could be interesting at least. I could always throw away the part that is not covering the sky, however, I am really unsure of the image quality of those cameras for our purposes, there may be some very extreme distortions.
Mounting the camera to a tripod should also be straight forward, the manufacturers include mounting options.
This would allow me to easily capture all sky images for meteors or general documentary purposes during the night.
Currently, I consider the following options:
GoPro Hero 13 Black
Insta360 Ace Pro 2
DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro
Insta360 X4
However, this seems to be a little too good to me. It covers basically everything I would need, and I suspect if it were that good, others would be using it already. But I can find very little experience about this online.
So, is there anyone out there using an action cam for such purposes? I would be interested in some reports regarding the image quality and maybe even some images you captured that way.
Or do you guys see an obvious flaw in my idea that I am overlooking?
Thanks and CS
Gerrit
for some time, I have been thinking about getting a mobile all sky camera. In my backyard, I don't have enough unobstructed sky to actually make use of this, so I need it to be mobile enough. Ideally, I would like to program imaging sequences via a web interface or app using my smartphone and power the device via a powerbank or car battery.
However, the commercially available options are quite expensive and not all that mobile. A DIY solution might work, but getting it to a really comfortable level of practicability and ease of use may be hard.
So I came up with a quite crazy idea: why not use an action camera as a mobile all sky cam? I know they are not tailored to our use case, but still, this seems like an option.
In principle, this seems quite good to me. The camera is already enclosed and weather sealed, so a little rain won't really hurt it if I ever leave it outside while I am not imaging.
Additionally, most expensive models are capable to image in RAW format, so I also have the option to stack some images and process them.
Many models are also capable of using an external power supply, so I could quickly set up the camera while imaging to capture some all sky images alongside my main imaging rig. This would mitigate the weather sealing, but I probably won't need that all that often while I am imaging anyway ;)
There is also the option of using a 360° camera to capture the whole scene, including my setup at work + the sky and surroundings. Which could be interesting at least. I could always throw away the part that is not covering the sky, however, I am really unsure of the image quality of those cameras for our purposes, there may be some very extreme distortions.
Mounting the camera to a tripod should also be straight forward, the manufacturers include mounting options.
This would allow me to easily capture all sky images for meteors or general documentary purposes during the night.
Currently, I consider the following options:
GoPro Hero 13 Black
Insta360 Ace Pro 2
DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro
Insta360 X4
However, this seems to be a little too good to me. It covers basically everything I would need, and I suspect if it were that good, others would be using it already. But I can find very little experience about this online.
So, is there anyone out there using an action cam for such purposes? I would be interested in some reports regarding the image quality and maybe even some images you captured that way.
Or do you guys see an obvious flaw in my idea that I am overlooking?
Thanks and CS
Gerrit
