HELP needed Please CCD cam advice .

[Guest billywhizzzzz]

hi all ,

 

before I start I would to apologize for yet another boring ccd camera question , that im sure as members you have debated this subject time and time again , however I could really do with some advice as im really in the dark on this subject ...... so here goes ...

 

 

Right I am about to invest in a ccd cam  , I want one that's simple to use , ready to go , cheep-ish ,think you all get the picture lol

well after doing a fair bit of research myself over the past week or so I have narrowed my choice down to this ..(  link added)

its right on my budget , and looks  like a fair simple all-in-one colour set up . 

 

I want to use the cam for a bit of everything  , Luna , planetary ,D.S.O's you name it , basically a good average all round performer . 

 

anyway any advice , views , just some good ol fashioned help will be very welcome in this minefield

 

many thanks

 

steve

 

heres the link below for the camera

 

http://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/Products/DBK_31AU03_AS_High_Resolution_.html

Edited June 9, 2013 by billywhizzzzz

[+Ibbo]

great for planets and moon but limited chip size for DSO's

[dawson]

Yes, good for solar system objects, will be limited for DSO stuff. I'm finding there are not good all rounders when it comes to trying to do solar system stuff and DSOs with any astro kit really; if you want to do well in one, it is usually the opposite of what you need for the other.

 

I looked at this camera (and its siblings) recently as I wanted a new camera for planetary. I contacted Damian Peach, who if you don't know is one of the best planetary imagers. He said:

 

"The ASI120MM or MC is the one you want. Priced at £300 is an excellent camera and many of my latest images were taken with this very camera. Its as good as the more expensive Flea3 camera costing twice as much."

 

So I did get the colour version, ASI120MC. I've only managed to use it once for weather and other reasons. I'm not blown away, yet, by the step wise improvement in quality from the Quickcam Pro 4000 (£36 off ebay) I was using before. I keep meaning to do a side by side comparison but this takes time and there never is time when it's clear to do seemingly unimportant tests like this.

 

I've also looked at other peoples images with similar kit to mine and with DFK/DBK cameras and again I'm not blown away.

 

Dion recommends the QHY IMOGH (I think I've just made those letters up, but it's along those lines), and I've seen some peoples planetary attempts with those and they look good.

 

I also think you need to think about getting a mono camera. Again looking on SGL at what people achieve with mono vs colour cameras, I am coming around to the idea mono camera capture much more data, and the resultant images are much more detailed. The counter argument is you'd need to get filters and a filter wheel and the issues of focus, and then the processing of three or four AVIs and merging the files to make one super image, but if you are thinking of spending £500 on a colour camera, I think this is soemthing to seriously consider.

 

So, I'd say, have a good look on SGL at what results people are getting with the camera you fancy, and also the competitors. save their images to different folders then flick through each folder of each camera type and see overall which images you like most. A very rough test, but maybe worth it if you are spending half a grand.

 

Also, can the DBK camera allow you to decide how much of the sensor to use so you can reduce the amount of data sent to the computer and increase the frame rate? Everyone tells me frame rate is key to planetary, and it seems the one you have selected tops out at 30 fps.

 

Take everything I say with a pinch of salt as I am very new to imaging planets, but these are some of my thoughts.

 

All the best and I look forward to seeing your images whatever you go for. [There is minimal planetary rush as Saturn is probably past its best and getting worse, and Jupiter won't be around again for a few months].

 

James

[Brantuk]

I'd follow James's advice - that's a cracking post with some sound ideas and including a tip from the top.

[red dwalf]

i to am interested in going down the ccd route again after my Meade dsi pro 2 mono packed up, and not wanting to spend £1000 on an atik 314L as the wife would possiably leave me if she found it, maybe not a bad thing, i`ve been looking at the brightstar Mammut, as sold by modern astronomy for £399, looks good for the price and a mono camera is more sensitive than a colour although this does mean that you then need a set of filters and a filter wheel, about another £200 for these items.

it`s the same sensor as the meade dsi pro 2 which was a very sensitive chip, but has a cooler fitted, the only real problem is that it has a interlaced shutter rather than a progressive scan which isn`t a big problem when doing long exposure shots at all and is the same again as the meade dsi pro 2,

as said above, no camera is a good all rounder, a webcam might be better for quick planetary shots but will be useless, or no way as good for deep sky stuff and visa versa.

[Guest Kheldar]

I'd be tempted to say in the price bracket you would do better sticking with a DSLR - but that's just my opinion

[red dwalf]

indeed a dlsr is another option , modded ones available of astro buy and sell for somewhere around £280

[dawson]

A dslr isn't much good on its own for planetary. Again, on my list of things to try is attaching the dslr to a hyperion eye piece and doing some video footage of saturn with that set up, but again there aren't enough clear nights or nights when my back isn't making me want to cry.

A dslr would be great for the dso stuff.

This is why you need to make your mind up what you want to image.

So many typos in my post above, sorry. It was while i was eating my breakfast, in a rush, prior to work.

James

[Guest billywhizzzzz]

First off I would like to thank you ALL for taking the time to  get back to me  , really appreciate it .

 to be fair I pretty much had some of the same thoughts ,  due to my inexperience I think I just need to hear it , starting to think I should maybe learn to walk first before I try to run , try to learn a bit more and just have fun with what I have , and maybe  over time hopefully get to know some members that use different types of cameras .

 

as for the  Good all round  ( low budget ) camera  that I mentioned , I think IF there was such a thing I would know by now because you would all have one haha

 

 

regards steve