The CCD camera I am using at the moment is the Philips PCVC740K CCD webcam, also called ToUcam. This seemed the natural substitute of the very much used Quickcam, as the Philips one is a CCD and it seems that the Amateur Astronomer is going for it.     I started using it on August 2003 for a short period and I have not discovered all its possibility - but nowadays we have huge quality cameras at our disposal ! Although this webcam has only a standard CCD chip installed, it is a good compromise price/performance without being too expensive. Unless you have more money available, this is a solution to be able to do a low-cost science with decent results. Obviously results will depend on your personal skill as well as your equipment's quality, but the trick is to use all the tools and skills to get the best out of your observation experience. After all, it is a hobby! You have to enjoy it and possibly get some self reward out of it (once in a while) and budget CCD imaging allows you to do that.

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