Looking for some camera advice

[chris285]

Ok my equipment that I have myself is a skywatcher explorer 130m scope, i am currently in temporary possesion of a celestron xlt 150 and a phillips SPC 880 and i am attempting some basic imaging but i haven't linked it to my motorised scope just yet

I have done some investigation and it looks like the webcam for lunar imaging is not going to really fit with what I want, as the FOV is limited plus i did try to train it on M42 last night as well and i'm not sure if its a case of it not being sensitive enough to pickup but had no joy

I'm planning on getting a better mount and scope in future but i'd like to get a camera to do deep sky stuff, i'm going to get a webcam in the mean time for planetary imaging but it seems quite limiting for other things due to sensitivity

What i'd like to know is would i be better off with a DSLR camera for the deep sky stuff, or look at something like a DMK 21AU04.AS Mono or better model for the best results? The DSLR has the advantage of course of being able to be used for other things as well, but i'm looking to know what will give the better results for the money

[Jessun]

Hello chris285, not many responses here so far, I believe that is because the question is perhaps rather broad, but mostly because you seem to be totally clear about what the different choises might mean. You certainly investigated :-)

People here use pretty much every thinkable combination with fantastic results. Some require lots of work, some require lots of money. Some both :-) Meaning budget and personal preference play big rolls.

A used DSLR is cheap though, easy to use, has a very generous FOV and I think it's tremendous fun to use too. And unbeatable as an everyday camera too outside this hobby as a welcome bonus. Might you be able to borrow one to get started?

Many here use your scopes, and can advice more precisely for type specific issues if any , such as if focusing a DSLR in them might need some modification etc

Good luck with your decision

[ollypenrice]

First look at the chip size. Webcam type chips are tiny so can only fit fragments of the larger objects into the frame. DSLR chips are gargantuan.

Then webcam devices are not cooled so they can't do long exposures very well.

There is no doubt at all that for deep sky astro imaging the cooled CCD camera is way ahead, but way ahead also on price. For twice or three times the price a small chip CCD costs what you'd pay for a large chip DSLR. I would pay it but that's because I'm an addict with no hope of rehab!

If you check out CCD Calculator via Google you'll find a programme (free) which allows you to model chip size and focal length on a map of the sky. This will show you what fits on what.

Olly

[chris285]

Thanks for the replies, i'm possily going back to looking at th DSLR route with the larger sensor and also its ability to to be used for other things as well plus the larger FOV as well. I think from what i have seen as well that you would probably do shorter exposures with a DSLR as well, and i have still seem some v impressive images with DSLR's as well