Starlight Express advice

[canuck]

I had two whole stars to my name, but now they're gone...sniff...

...that should take care of it.

I'm currently contemplating taking a shaky step into ccd's...

Can anyone who has a little experience with Starlight Express give me some idea on how much I should spend for a used MX7C?

Also, is there a quick way (other than actual imaging), to determine whether the camera is getting power and functioning?

Just to keep me from buying a paperweight....y'see...

Thanks for any advice.

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Hi Canuck, do you mean checking that it works in daylight? You should be able to 'scope a tree or a pylon if you can get the thing on a 'scope, or just set it going and cover the inlet end with something. As you uncover it the whole screen image should go white, and black as you cover it again.

I know nowt about the MX7C specifically.

Captain Chaos

[canuck]

Thanks.

This is probably real obvious, but I'm assuming I'll need to load software first?

Does the camera come with it, or is it something I would download in advance?

Any idea of their financial worth?

Thanks for any input.

[anthony]

Hi Canuck,

I used to have one. Had a great time with it too! I thought it was a lovely camera. It is a one shot colour with a Bayer matrix. A load of little individual filters overlaying the ccd chip. It records an image in black and white, but within that there is the information allowing you to use software to decode it to colour.

I found the starlight express, (SE), software essential to get the camera working on any computer - specific drivers etc - but useless for image acquisition and processing. At that stage I used astro art 2 to acquire the images and "plug ins" written for astro art to decode to colour. AAv4 is now available.

I am heavily light polluted and I think that this had the effect in making my colour images at times a little strange. I used a Lumicon LPR filter to good effect though. My Mx7c was quite early on in my ccd days and I think that my current knowledge would have allowed me to get a lot more out of it.

For a good condition usb version I would expect it to be around £450. It is difficult to be very precise or definite though. They are an older camera now and there is a lot on offer on the S/H market at times. I'd always recommend usb over parallel versions. It is extremely useful for centering your target, checking and rechecking focus as well as reducing download times when imaging.

You will need to load the SE software specific to the camera on to your pc first. Read and re-read the instructions first. They are quite specific and following the right order is critical. As a newbie I always found it confusing and as I got more experienced I was still a bit hazy about it. If you are familair with computers and their mystery you will probably be fine. I always found it easier loading it from the SE software disc rather than downloading it from the SE webstite.

I always found that the camera would not work properly if I used a usb mouse. Using a PS/2 connection and I never had any trouble at all. I cannot remember a problem with my laptop touch pad.

Once the software is loaded, the camera connected and the camera recognised you should be able to use the SE software to take a basic image - crtl + z opens the camera control panel. Vary the exposure time. Lens cap on will give a dark screen and lens cap off will show a light screen. A small hole made with a pin in the lens cap will give you a grainy image of whatever the camera is pointed at. It may not be very clear, it may not be focussed, but it would demonstrate that the camera is working and that it is being read ok by the computer.

No-one wants it as a paper weight - quite ugly really. So, ask to see piccies taken with the camera. Even post them here and let us have a look.

Overall - great camera, SE software poor, you'll need another package. Bit of a learning curve, (not unique though to this camera)

Any other Q's I'll try to help.

All the best

Anthony

[canuck]

Hi Anthony

Very, very informative, thank you for taking so much time.

You've answered all my questions, and some I didn't know I had.

After digesting it, I do wonder if I have the patience and the technical head for ccd's...

I'll give it some further thought.

Thanks again,

Richard

[anthony]

After digesting it, I do wonder if I have the patience and the technical head for ccd's...

I hope so! It is a great activity, as enjoyable as visual astronomy in my opinion. I don't have a technical head, and it has been frustrating at times, but delightful too!

Anthony

[canuck]

OK, me again.

I went for the MX7C...actually, I went for the LX200 12" monster that currently resides in my living room. :nono:

The ccd came with it. Turns out it was pretty well equipped, with USB connections, and the Star 2000 autoguider. It is unused.

In the coming weeks/months, I'm planning to do some comparisons between the Starlight Xpress ccd, and my D70, to see if I should to keep the ccd. So, I'm after any input from anyone who may have some thoughts on either of these? I've used my D70, but not with a SCT...so I think I may get some vignetting? I wasn't planning on getting a guider, but as I now have one, can Star 2000 control an LX200 GPS? The manuals speak often of the LX200, but given the dates, I presume this would have been the Classic.

Will I get more inherent magnification from a ccd? My London skies are poor, and while the D70 has been excellent in a small refractor from a dark site, I think planetaries, and other small objects are what I'm going to concentrate on in London...

Ultimately, I need to decide whether there's justification in keeping a ccd camera when the D70 is already here??

I'm sorry for the vague nature of my queries, but would appreciate any input.

Thanks.

By the way, I saw a bright yellow thing low in the southern sky this morning...it looked familiar...

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Canuck, if its planetaries you're after you will need the CCD as the D70 will struggle big time, especially if you have light pollution.

Super long exposures with a DSLR suffer because the amplifier on the imaging chip leaves a nasty mark after a minute or so, and the noise is much worse than a CCD because the DSLR is uncooled.

Also I would expect the MX7C to be more sensitive than a DSLR as well, so you will need shorter exposures for the same result, or more useable frames, or just more frames, for the same available time.

And another thing, the autoguiding stuff that would go away if the CCD was sold means that you could no longer use the D70 anyway, unless you get another guide camera.

WRT the LX200, no idea mate, never even seen one.

HTH

Captain Chaos

[anthony]

The mx7c has a smaller sensor and so you will have a more narrow field of view. However, it has greater sensitivity and it is cooled to 'bout 30 degrees below ambient temperature so has great advantage there. It will guide the lx200, but again your D70 will quickly show artefacts in the image that the mx7c wont. The local light pollution will affect longer exposure D70 images.

My 8" Lx200 had a 2 metre focal length. This gives a narrow field of view/large image scale and so highlights tracking errors. Personally I found it difficult to do long exposures due to this long focal length. USing a focal reducer will help - F6.3 is a good one. Your 12" is going to have at least a 2 1/2 m focal length so be more demanding.

You are certainly at the start of a learning curve. You need to get on with it, get as much use as you can and keep asking questions as you hit the stumbling blocks.

Ant