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Beginners Imaging Camera? - Ideas and help please!

Bizibilder

By Bizibilder
in Discussions - Cameras

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Bizibilder

Bizibilder

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Currently I'm using a Canon 1000D (unmodded and it will have to stay that way as I use it for general photography!) but need to look into a "proper" Astro-imaging camera.

Usual requirements - does everything and is dead cheap!!

Any ideas as to where best to start so I don't waste money by having to "upgrade" too soon? Imaging is usually now done with a SW ED80 PRO (and maybe the 200P from time to time?).

I suspect the Atik 314l (colour) to start with?

All suggestions graetfully received.

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swag72

swag72

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Do you have a budget in mind? You say cheap, but the Atik 314L doesn't really fit in that description in my mind.

The Atik is the one for me when I have got a few thousand pennies, until that time I'm sticking with my DSLR. There's no way I have reached the limit of that yet. Why do you feel the need to move on?

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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There's no way I have reached the limit of that yet.

Few do... but many look to take the easy route and you can't blame them really.. :)

I know I could probably get more nights in using a cooled Mono CCD and narrowband filters but that side of things just isn't floating my boat anymore.. I haven't used the obs for imaging at all since last September... The further I went down the remote automated route the less I enjoyed it... for me the first year or so when i used to cat nap in the obs with the temp well below freezing and an alarm going every 45 mins to tweak the dome were the most enjoyable..

What I am enjoying and cant wait for the summer milkway.. is widefield imaging with Camera lenses from the clifftops of the Gower Peninsula or maybe even further afield......

The Lenses I bought instead of the mono setup get used most days... The 500D with the 24-105L goes with me in the car

Good luck with your desicion...

Peter...

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NickK

NickK

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A secondhand ATIK 16ic would be both cheap and perfect.

You can use it for guiding as it's actually designed for guiding, however it makes a good beginner CCD for imaging unguided.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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A 1000D is not a bad astro camera so you need to pitch into to CCD at 314L level in my view. This is a truly great CCD camera but has a small, though not tiny, chip.

Why colour? I really don't think it is easier and it robs you of one of the killer CCD benefits, efficient H alpha. This transforms many images and opens up moonlit nights, an extreme example of the need for Ha being show below...

1182344610_T6hNK-L.jpg

Note also that RobH did not rate the colour 16HR all that highly. Maybe the Bayer Matrix takes too high a toll on the small chip? I like the 4000 OSC but if I had to choose I would keep the mono version. (I have both here.)

With a 314L you can take 100 percent world class images. It's only money!

Olly

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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Or grab a second hand Art285 mono chip and an HA filter...although the 314l+ would be better.

I wouldn't go for a smaller atik camera (atik ic16 or 16s) unless you dont already have a guide camera...then you could buy one of those to start with and keep it for guiding when you move up to a 314l+.

In my opinion if you have a 285 chip you don't need a larger ccd and you have your dslr for big targets. Mine does for all the targets i want, mainly because i have no interest (at the moment) in the really large targets like the pelican.

If you get the HA filter its great during a full moon!

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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I've been looking for a s/h ATiK 16ic for almost 6 months....nothing available.... now considering the ATik Titan.

They are rare as rocking horse wotsit at the moment...great little cameras though i regreted selling my 16ic-s within a day of it going.

I noticed a lot of people upgraded from 285 chips to 8300 chips when they came out, why would anyone get rid of a 285 based camera? But there are not so many around of those either.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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There must be second hand 16HRs around from time to time? The only difference is USB2 and set point cooling, neither of which is vital on this chip. (Low noise, moderate pixel count. USB 1 download is about 15 seconds, from memory.)

I'm a widefield junkie so I do like the biggest chip possible but you can easily work round the targets with a 285.

Olly

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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There must be second hand 16HRs around from time to time? The only difference is USB2 and set point cooling, neither of which is vital on this chip. (Low noise, moderate pixel count. USB 1 download is about 15 seconds, from memory.)

I'm a widefield junkie so I do like the biggest chip possible but you can easily work round the targets with a 285.

Olly

I forgot about the HRs....and your memory is good!..I think the quoted for mine is 11 seconds but you just bin it for focusing or locating targets.

Part of me still wants that setpoint cooling though! My ART285 has also been a pain to keep dust off the sensor possibly the 314 would be easier in this respect?

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lukebl

lukebl

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There must be second hand 16HRs around from time to time?....

There's an Atik 16HR here. I know it's still available as I was going to buy it myself this week, till the family finances took an unexpected and catastophic hit!

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I forgot about the HRs....and your memory is good!..I think the quoted for mine is 11 seconds but you just bin it for focusing or locating targets.

Part of me still wants that setpoint cooling though! My ART285 has also been a pain to keep dust off the sensor possibly the 314 would be easier in this respect?

I wouldn't focus in Bin 2! It is far less accurate than Bin 1. I have looked at this carefully having accidentally focused in Bin 2 after final framing. When I spot the error and switch to Bin 1 I can significantly refine the FWHM over the Bin 2 focus.

Olly

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