Meade Instruments designed the LPI-GM Autoguiding and Imaging Eyepiece Camera for beginner and veteran astrophotographers alike. As an imaging camera, it simply replaces a 1.25" eyepiece on a telescope to capture photos of the Sun (using appropriate solar filters or dedicated solar scopes), the Moon, planets, planetary moons, and wide-field nightscapes to be processed, edited, matted, and stacked using the included Sky Capture software installed on a computer. This version of the LPI-G is offered here with a monochrome CMOS sensor to make adding filters to in post faster and easier.
More experienced astrophotographers tend to have elaborate higher-resolution and faster imaging rigs, so the LPI-GM is designed with an ASCOM-compliant ST-4 port to connect it to autoguider-capable mounts. In this capacity, the LPI-G is installed on a secondary guider-scope, with the primary imaging system installed on the larger OTA. With the LPI-G connected to a mount and PC, it will use the camera and user-supplied autoguider software to monitor the mount's tracking and make precise corrections to reduce or eliminate errors which can result in fuzzy images and star trails.
- 1.2MP monochrome CMOS AR130 imaging sensor
- Resolution: 1280x960 at 28 fps; 640x480 at 30 fps
- Image formats: JPEG, BITMAP, PNG, TIFF, FITS
- Compatible with imaging and guiding software such as Maxim DL, PHD, and FireCapture
- USB port: Connect LPI-GM to computer to interface with Sky Capture software for processing and editing images
- ST-4 guider port: ASCOM-compliant; Use for high-precision autoguiding tracking during long-exposure astrophotography
- Included ST-4 cable plugs into mounts with autoguider ports
- Operating System: Windows (32 & 64 bit) Vista/XP/7/8/10
- Processor: Intel Core2 2.8 GHz equivalent or higher
- Memory: 2GB or higher