MarsG76

13 minutes ago, AndysAstroPix said:

Thanks MarsG76

I just looked up your astrocam.... that's one hell of a beast....

27 minutes ago, AndysAstroPix said:

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone, I'm delighted to announce that this image is now Astrobin Image of the Day 🤩

Deservingly so...

Excellent image.... welcome to SGL.

11 hours ago, MartinB said:

You are going to love that new camera!

Do you think that there will be much difference between the 2600MM and my DSLR?

11 hours ago, MartinB said:

Ooh, very nice and a nebula which is completely unknown to me.  I need a holday in Australia!  Great work with the DSLR.  You are going to love that new camera!

Thanks... if you do holiday down here... go to the outback on a moon less night and have a look at the sky... you'll {word removed} yourself with joy at what you'll see.... literally the star light casts shadows!!

10 hours ago, carastro said:

Great result.  I love this nebula, such a shame we can't see it from the UK.

Carole 

Thank you.... You guys have plenty of objects we wish we had down here too...

Hi all,

My current image, still WIP, but I'm sharing this Hydrogen Alpha image as I thought it looked ok...

This is NGC3603 and NGC3576 (AKA The "Statue of Liberty" nebula), a massive H-Alpha region containing a very compact open cluster, located in the constellation "Carina" about 20,000LY away.

I took this photo on the night of 19th February 2021 using my cooled and full spectrum modded Canon 40D DSLR attached to a 80mm f6.25 refractor on a CGEM equatorial mount.

Exposure time was 3 Hours and 50 minutes (6x600sec, 6x900sec and 4x1200 sec subs), using a 7nm Hydrogen Alpha filter.

I'm still working on the narrowband color image, but this image is quite possibly my last image that I'll produce using just the DSLR before my ZWO2600MM arrives.

CS,

MG 

Super imposing the QE graphs from few different types of camera states that the 2600MM should be a performer.... In theory exposure times should be 12 time shorter with the 2600MM than with my 40D for equivalent amount of photons captured... 3X the QE and another 4X the speed due to no bayer matrix...

Am I missing something?

Beautiful image... well done...

On 08/03/2021 at 09:30, Horwig said:

would buying a CMOS now be too soon, I hate being an early adopter

I don't think that you'd be a "early adopter" as CMOS technology has been around for ages in astro cams and even longer in DSLRs, and proved to be a very successful technology. 

I have been imaging using a 40D with a APS-C sized (OSC) CMOS sensor and love it... I'm very happy with the images it allows me to produce... and this is with a 13 or 14 year old camera tech/sensor.... and the 2600MM has a newer tech chip, is much more sensitive and mono, so it has to be an improvement.

Either way, I have one on the way, it'll be in my hands in 1-2 weeks and I'll do a full comparison and report between it and my full spectrum modded and active cooled DSLR, using the the same scopes imaging the same object, so this might help you in your decision.

Add to that.... I want to say, I wish that the camera would get here already so I can test, but as we all know... it's been mostly cloudy since I ordered it and when it arrives, it'll be solid cloud for another 2-3 months... and unlike now.. with no break in the weather what so ever... 

8 hours ago, SteveNickolls said:

Thanks for doing this comparison MarsG76 I am really interested in the practical improvements when compared to the theoretical advantages of the monochrome camera. I've never been quite sure of the QE of the Canon 700D at Ha wavelength either before or after modding except it improves the results dramatically compared to my unmodded Canon 600D which is all but useless for imaging DSO's under the light polluted conditions here. I still think the quantum efficiency at Ha wavelength for the ASI2600MM is low (compare the ASI294MM at around 76% at that wavelength and the older ASI183MM is around 78%), but in this hobby we get sensors reused for our purposes. The read noise of the ASI2600MM will also be a big improvement over that from a DSLR allowing shorter sub exposures.

May I ask what type of night sky you are able to image under?

Good luck.

Cheers,
Steve

 

Ultimately I'm hoping for a major improvement... There are reports (or opinions) that the 2600MM will "change the game" or "change everything" as stated by a fellow (Astro Backyard)  who reviews astro gear...  

Modding the DSLR is night and day to what it did to sensitivity, especially in HAlpha... and looking at the graph attached, taking the (deeper) cooling, read noise and no bayer filters, gives me hope....

Comparing these graphs... I should capture HAlpha signal 9.6X faster and SII 14X faster with the 2600MM compared to my 40D??

I imagine that DSLR QE would be similar across the board.... so your 700D should be similar.

My skies are around Bortle 4-5....

On 05/03/2021 at 19:19, SteveNickolls said:

At the Ha wavelength the QE drops to the mid-upper 50's, ok the OIII and Hb are much higher but the SII is even lower than for Ha.

You will also benefit from the lack of a Bayer array with the mono-sensor allowing more useful light to be captured by the sensor than your existing camera.

Good luck with the new acquisition. Look forward to your comparisons.

The QE is still higher on this graph than, in theory, on a full spectrum modded DSLR.... (by a factor or 3?) added with the lack of the bayer matrix, this theoretically should cut exposure times by 12X for equivalent subs brightness/photon collection.... but theory and practice hardly ever match up.  

On 05/03/2021 at 19:19, SteveNickolls said:

The difference between theory and practice-lovely.

Hi Steve... I'll definitely be doing a full comparison...

Currently I'm imaging NGC3603... the "Statue of Liberty" nebula in between cloudy & near full moon lit nights. I'm getting more than my fair share of cloud covered nights lately, but it's early in the season and if I get another two or three clear nights in the next 2 weeks than I'll complete this Cooled full spectrum DSLR version just as the 2600MM is due to arrive... than I'll still have enough time do the same image, using the same scope and filters with the new astro cam... this would be my first head to head comparison. 

On 23/02/2021 at 09:56, almcl said:

Can't give an identical comparison, but I recently acquired a ASI 2600 MC to replace my cooled Canon 700d.  I wasn't brave enough to insert cold fingers into the camera, so its cooling merely reduced the EXIF reported temperature by about 10 or 12 º  C.  

The few results the weather has allowed with the 2600 suggest that it's quite a marked improvement over the DSLR.  Cooling set to -10ºC , no misting.  No amp glow (my Canon suffered really badly from this), very low noise, lighter weight on the focuser.  

There were software problems initially; APT wouldn't download the image files, but a new driver from ZWO and updates from Ivo fixed that, I need a replacement focuser for the MN190, because although the 2600 is lighter than my Canon+cooler, the weight is further out and causes tilt.  The weather has also been awful and getting 20 lights on a target has been all but impossible so I can't post any comparable before and after shots, but a couple of early attempts are here:

 

 

My previous DSLR images with these targets were with a different scope, but were nothing like as good.  But then the processing software has changed, too.

 

The cooled camera seems to give you very clean images, but, even though a DSLR is rougher, overall, I think that a cooled DSLR is not that much worse... I'm now hoping that with the cleaner subs, I'll be able to capture the same about of photons in much less time due to being the camera being mono and has a QE of 91%... surely no bayer filters and 3X the QE should result in considerably faster captures.

Hello All,

Can I pick your brains for info?

After a long resistance, I finally bit the bullet and ordered a dedicated astro camera... the ZWO 2600MM-P.... which will be in my hands in around a month... But I have some reservations to whether I just spent a heap of cash for minimal or no improvement in my images.

Basically I have been using a full spectrum modded and peltier cooled Canon 40D, cooled using two peltiers on opposite sides of a cold finger, and the cooling works very well.... I have a temperature controller on the system with a thin temperature probe sitting between the cold finger and the sensor, this way reporting an accurate sensor temperature. I limit the cooling to 4 degrees C (it has reached -4.7C during a test, but the sensor hazed over)... I find that down to 4 degrees (with a heat strip wrapped around the front of the DSLR/Filter wheel connection) I do not have any condensation issues on most nights and at 8 degrees or lower, my ISO1600 subs are noise free, even if I'm exposing up to 1800 second subs.

Now to my dilemma, when I try to look up if anyone has compared a DSLR setup similar to mine to a dedicated astro cam such as the ZWO2600MM out on the field (as opposed to tech spec sheets), there aren't many comparisons and the two posts that I found that are the closest to comparisons show that there is not that much difference in the overall images... one camera was a cooled 40D compared to a QHY OSC camera and the images of the Rosette nebula (featured/tested/compared) were very similar and a image of M31 actually looked better taken with a modded Canon 5Dmk3 to the one imaged with a ZWO1600MM by the same imager, using the same scope!!!

Would anyone be able to answer whether I should be bracing for a disappointment?

Once I get it, I'll do a direct head to head comparison on the same object, same focal length, and compare both RGB and Narrowband imaging. (And I was having success in Hubble Palette style narrowband imaging with my DSLR so the statements, that are quite frequent or forums, that NB imaging with a DSLR is a waste of time are simply not true IMHO).

Thanks in advance.

MG

34 minutes ago, Nikodemuzz said:

Thanks for the compliment! To clarify a bit, I have gathered data on a few subjects over several nights. This was the first image I thought had enough data in it to be "final".

Still makes it the first completed image of the season....

Hello all,

I managed to bag another object, this time the reflection Nebula M78 in the constellation Orion.

I was planning to capture natural color subs than add some HAlpha and OIII narrowband data to emphesize the image details and reveal deeper matter, but after processing the OSC/RGB subs, I decided that adding the narrowband data is not necessary.

This image was taken across two nights (juggling clouds), 6th and 11th February, and I managed to capture 3 hours and 18 minutes worth of useful subs (21x60 sec, 19x120 sec, 18x180 and 17 x 300 second subs).

The telescope used was a 80mm refractor, at 500mm FL using my full spectrum modded and cooled 40D DSLR.

Clear Skies,

MG

First image of the season, and what a way to start a season.... well done.

Excellent image.. something to be proud of...

Looks nice and sharp...

I'd say start big and spend more than you're comfortable to spend (without bankrupting yourself) and start experimenting, researching as much as you can and basically become obsessed by the hobby until you're coming out with the kind of images that your hoping for.... my theory is that if you spend that much or complex gear, you'll be PUSHED into mastering the hardware because it COST YOU HEAPS, selling it will be a waste of a lot of money and once you have successes, you already have the bigger mount and scope without needing to upgrade....

I started with a 8" SCT at f10.. needless to say, it was a massive learning curve and it took a while but now I'm coming out with images that I'm happy with... and the big spend kept me hungry, outside almost every clear night and researching the hobby during the "cloudy nights"... to be honest I've also spent a lot of time at work on the hobby instead of doing actual work.... I did become (almost unhealthly) obsessive for a while.... until I produced my first decent image, the Horsehead nebula... now my obsession is more of the healthy nature.

On 07/02/2021 at 18:28, PeterCPC said:

You were lucky to be able to see it - totally clouded over here as usual.

I was lucky to have seen it too... it was cloudy and rain for at least the week before and during 21st Dec through to evening of 22nd December.

The "Clear Outside" app was showing that there was going to be around the 65% cloud cover mark toward the evening so I setup the scope and hoped for the best.. it wasn't until around 20:30 that I started to get breaks in the clouds in the west and luckily was able to catch a glimpse of the conjunction.

The view was a little shimmery as the planets were quite low in the western sky but there was some fine(ish) details punching through occasionally.... the view was almost surreal as both planets fit comfortably into the FOV using my 2X PM and the 17mm Ethos Eyepieces and were quite large in angular size, needless to say that I was very happy to have experienced that telescopic view. 

Sheeesh... Well done!!!!

I remember when I had to clean the corrector plate.. all I was thinking about it.. "Don't drop it!!!".. but the operation was successful.

What a beauty....