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Which KAF 8300 camera?

Cordulegaster

By Cordulegaster
in Discussions - Cameras

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Cordulegaster

Cordulegaster

Posted
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Am leaning towards ATIK but there has been some rumblings on various fora about shutter reliability. Is this an issue or just a reflection on numbers sold? Feel some affinity towards Starlight Express as I live in Maidenhead! but is costs more. Do I need double peltier cooling in the UK? While I am ambidextrous I prefer using Macs and have a spare macbook that could be used for image capture/control but some cameras have better mac support than others. So key questions are:

Which is optimum KADF 8300 camera for DSO?

Is it best to get Camera and Filter wheel from same manufacturer?

Is mac OSX software up to it or should I use the dark side's OS?

Glyn

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buzz

buzz

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Hi Glyn, I have just bought the H18 and SE Filter wheel. I use powerbooks. The combination works perfectly with Nebulosity and PHD. I haven't any other imaging software just now. The shipped PC software with the H18 is not that great, but Nebulosity seems to be very popular and cross platform, as is the free PHD. In an ambient of 10C, (my fridge) without any airflow, I can get it down to -15C easily. I would say you could take it down to -20 or 25 on a chill evening with a little airflow. The filterwheel is especially cute, since it does not require a separate power supply. I now have 4 usb devices, lodestar, H18, filter wheel and mount, going into a 4 way hub extender. The extender sends USB2 info over cat6e cable and then back into USB. My cable is over 150 feet. It should go to 300 feet. My main issue right now is getting reliable communication between the mount and the computer. I have only just realised that the Synscan instructions are misleading. If all else fails, use bootcamp, which is where I started off when I just had the Meade LX200, DSI and Envisage.

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AndyKeogh

AndyKeogh

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Well I have one and will try it out on dark skies in Madeira next week.

My immediate observation is that they are heavy compared to the starlight express.

I tried it with the starlight AO unit + OAG and it broke the WO SCT DDG twice :glasses2:

I will be using it with Canon lenses and it was the only one I could find that would provide a canon fitting and allow a filter wheel as well.

Andy

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Coco

Coco

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No Issues with my ATIK 8300 and no of none on here, Vince (Atik) is the man on this forum to talk to, his service is second to none, he's UK based and service turn around times are fast.

The other reason I would choose Atik is the capture software.. its fantastic..

I use Astronomik 1.25 filters wheel with ATIK MK1 USB wheel

.

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RobH

RobH

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I use an H18 and have no real issues with 1.25 inch filters.

I wouldn't buy an H18 again though, as, although Terry Platt has been really great at helping out with the issues I've had, there have been too many of them.

In retrospect I'd have gone for a QSI and paid a bit more.

Cheers

Rob

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Deneb

Deneb

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mmmmmm, Let me stick my oar in !:p

I can't talk to you about SX Cameras since i've never had one & only reading RobH's ramblings about his H18 - If I was considering buying a 8300 chip & not knowing better as a 1st time buyer I would avoid the H18 like a plague, Sorry to anyone who's got a H18, but it's personal preference really....

Regarding QSI, i've never heard anything bad about them, they do come with the filterwheel enclosed within their builds which is quite handy, but your looking to pay a little more & possibly buy a better focuser to hang the gear off as well...Something like a Moonlite or a Feathertouch.

I have an Atik 383L+ Mono, now when initially they were released there was a shutter issue (if i've got this right) but thats all old news now & Atik were very quick to sort the issue out, from what I know everyone who bought a 383L+ Atik were very quick to sort out the issues with the respected owners. The Atik Software is very intuitive, I think NickK is working on some MAC OS drivers for Atik, so there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Regarding the Myth of usage of 1.25" Filters, you can use them with very little vignetting on the corners down to f/6. I've even used them down to f/4.9, im sure by taken some decent flats you can deal with the vignetting, unless you want to go down the route of 2" filters & a 2" filterwheel.... Well thats your choice & down to how much you want to spend....

Nadeem.

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RobH

RobH

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I can't talk to you about SX Cameras since i've never had one & only reading RobH's ramblings about his H18

Nadeem.

'Ramblings' Nadeem ....don't know how to take that but I'll give the benefit of the doubt.

Re. Atik 383's....I was dead set against them at the time they came out, due to the the issues with the shutter, and what looked very much like they'd expanded too quickly, but they seem to have got their act very much together very quickly and one never hears any complaints now.

Cheers

Rob

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buzz

buzz

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What were your issues with the H18 - I had some blooming on one edge and then the opposite, but it was fixed with a replacement unit. They were pretty obvious issues, even to a novice like me. I'm more concerned about other issues which I might not detect for a while.

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RobH

RobH

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What were your issues with the H18 - I had some blooming on one edge and then the opposite, but it was fixed with a replacement unit. They were pretty obvious issues, even to a novice like me. I'm more concerned about other issues which I might not detect for a while.

Irregular cooling, lots of noise, antiblooming gate too harsh giving black lines on the stars, moisture on the chip causing icing so flats were impossible to get correct.

I've had a replacement camera and fitted a fan, which has reduced the noise, and then this replacement was sent back to have the moisture issue sorted out.

Rob.

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r3i

r3i

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Fascinating thread - I'm toying with the idea of an 8300 mono system maybe next year, if I can justify the outlay.

Have any 8300 owners experienced any issues with CCD tilt? I've been plagued with that on my QHY8 and if I move to an 8300 I'd like to be confident that either the manufacturer's quality control has ensured an orthogonal chip or there is a straighforward way of collimating the chip.

I understand that Starlight Xpress cameras have such a mechanism but wondered if any other cameras have anything similar or they're built well enough in the first place so they're not necessary.

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Cordulegaster

Cordulegaster

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So , the summary seems to be that the early SX and ATIk's had some teething problems that have been sorted out. A hint that paying more gets better quality . More people have ATIKs and SX's than QSI, SBIG.

Some issues with 1.25" filters, unless the fw is really close to the chip. Mac support is OK on SX, QSI, SBIG and coming to the ATIK. Howbver the ATIK PC software gets positive reviews.

Looks like there are no overwhelming preferences.

Glyn

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NickK

NickK

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High Speed device @ 1 (0xFA000000): .............................................   Hub device: "EHCI Root Hub Simulation"
High Speed device @ 2 (0xFA100000): .............................................   Hub device from SMSC
High Speed device @ 3 (0xFA200000): .............................................   FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) (Device is suspended)
Full Speed device @ 4 (0xFA110000): .............................................   BRCM2070 Hub (Device is suspended)
Full Speed device @ 5 (0xFA120000): .............................................   Composite device: "Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad"
Full Speed device @ 7 (0xFA113000): .............................................   Bluetooth USB Host Controller (did not respond to inquiry - kIOUSBPipeStalled (0xe000404f))
High Speed device @ 1 (0xFD000000): .............................................   Hub device: "EHCI Root Hub Simulation"
High Speed device @ 2 (0xFD100000): .............................................   Hub device from SMSC
Low Speed device @ 3 (0xFD110000): .............................................   IR Receiver (Device is suspended)
High Speed device @ 4 (0xFD120000): .............................................   Vendor-specific device: "ATIK-383L+"

Woo 383 sitting on my mac :)

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