which observing camera? samsung sdc-435 or mintron 72S85HP-EX Colour

[Trident]

Hi all, wondering if i could get some advice on a purchase

have searched and found a few posts on the sdc-435 and the mintron 72S85HP-EX Colour and in the process of trying to decided which is best for a colour observing camera for deep sky and colour planetary. (i believe if it does colour dso it will do colour planets)

looking to put the camera on a tracking dob, which with the short intergration times i believe will show no field rotation.

the scd-435 appears to be around £100 but needs a mod and isn`t billed as a astronomy cam, may need other bits which make it nearer to the mintron price i think? from what i`ve read in astronomy now it seems to do 512 (fps?,) compared to the 256 of the mintron but no integration up to 5 secs.

mintron appears to be a astronomy cam but at just under £300 frame rate is 256 fps but it does do 5 sec integration which is better for an overall image i think (256x5=1280).

(my budget is up to £300)

any thoughts on which is better and please correct me if my thoughts are wrong above?

many thanks

[Peter Drew]

Hello Trident.

I have one of the SDC 435 cameras and it looks very promising, I have seen some planetary images on Fliker which look as good as CCD images. The 512 figure is the frame integration time not the FPS. The camera stores the frames untill they total 512 and then displays the image, this process is then repeated. This is what gives it the ability to show near realtime colour images of DSO's. The exposure can be adjusted right down to 120,000 secs covering all possibilities. I bought mine 2nd hand and it came with everything needed for use. You may well have to purchase a 1.25" nosepiece, power supply and cables. The camera is available without a lens which you don't need anyway. The removing of the blue filter seems to be straightforward. The guys on QUCAIG group are very enthusiastic about it for the price.

[Trident]

Many thanks for explaining the 512 frames not FPS issue. The samsung does seem good value but was worried there is a lot a playing about to get it working, rather than the plug and play nature of the mintron package hence the price.

dont suppose there has been a direct comparison of the two items?

[Spence]

Hi Trident

I also have the Samsung camera, after deliberating between it and the Mintron range.

In the end i punted for the Samsung as i couldn't find any bad reviews on it and i thought if it isn't ideal, i can at least use it as a security camera.

As yet i haven't had time to use it properly on the scope, but initial tests show it to be pretty good.

The mod only took 10 minutes to do and then its just a nose-piece to conect to the scope, plus of course a power supply.

[Peter Drew]

Hello Spence. Like you, I've not had chance to use the camera properly but straight "out of the box" with no modification the Moon and M42 looked pretty impressive. BTW, I never thought I would see Shaftesbury come up on SGL, I grew up and went to school there. My paper round took in Gold Hill, bit of a stretch on the bicycle! .

[Spence]

Hi Peter. - I'm hoping to use the camera on the scope this week if the skies stay clear! - If the plan goes ahead i'll let you know how i get on...

I don't envy you having to cycle up Gold Hill...Did it once when i first moved here 11 years ago and don't plan on doing it again!

[Trident]

be nice to know how you both get on with the camera, be nice to have some clear skies come to think of it

have got another couple questions as you mentioned power...

in terms of power i was hoping i could use 12vdc, (being the same supply for the scope) does it take a 12-24vdc supply?

Also wondering if you use a monitor or a laptop to view images as that has another supply issue aswell?

many thanks

[StevieDvd]

Have you guys had any success with the Samsung SDC-435?

I bought one based on the reviews and during daylight on a scope it gives a really impressive image which bodes well.

At night it gives a very clear view of some distant trees and I can focus in well on them - the sky is another matter though. I used the settings as recommended on one of web sites that showed good pics and how to remove the built in filter (which I've done) but still find the factory settings have more success at showing anything.

Is it likely I'm using the wrong software/settings? Would the settings suggested by others work if I use the right software?

Or am I expecting too much to see a rough live view which I would record and then post process?

Any help appreciated.

[Spence]

Hi StevieDvd, unfortunately i haven't had the time to get out and use it yet... so i can't advise on settings.

In regards to Tridents question on power, i got a 12v DC power supply and this works just fine. - I also have a USB frame grabber to connect to the laptop. - My ultimate plan is to get a small monitor hooked up in the obs, but again other things seem to be taking up my time (and cash).

Spence

[StevieDvd]

The camera runs fine off a 12v supply from my Maplins powerpack. I think the thing I'm not getting right is the capture rate versus the screen update rate - If I understand correctly it builds up several frames and the display should show at lesser intervals (capture 10 frames show 1, capture another 10 show 1 etc) I may have set both to 10 frames!!!

Will have another bash soon.

[Trident]

I have now bought the SCB-2000 being the rebadged 435. I`m using it on a skywatcher 300p Dob and have a 0.5 reducer on the front. I bought a 17" lcd tv second hand for the back garden and powering everything from a power unit with two 12vdc outs and a built in 240vac inverter (from Makro)

I had quite a few problems achieving focus using the reducer as I cant get the focusser to move in enough, so in the end i`ve removed the reducer.

I spent a bit of time on the moon the other night to get used to various setting etc and then moved on to other object again which has helped, although im at a mag of about 250 with out the reducer so its sometimes hard to find objects.

would recommend just having a look at the moon for a bit to get used to things intially, the moon however need a very short exposure.

I think the way to setup is start with a short exposure to set focus on surrounding stars and then increase to 250 ish for the DSO, which as you say builds up slowly.

Hoping to get out tonight and finally capture a pic of saturn.

Is there a user group for this camera, not sure where to look?

[inspectapart]

There was a good article on this camera in Astonomy Now Magazine Feb. 2011.( Gear Heads Page )

Bob.

[Celestdon]

BUMP!..any updates on the samsung sdc-435? i was thinkin of trying it out