Sensor size?

[aGreyarea]

Hi all,

I know there is a lot of info on this about but I struggled to make sense of it before.

What I would like to know is how sensor size affects the field of view in frame. I think I understand that smaller sensor, in the same scope, equals smaller/narrower FOV?

If it doesn't get to complicated, how does pixel size affect the frame?

Many thanks

[narrowbandpaul]

The sensor size solely sets the FOV. The pixel size sets the resolution, ie the arcsec/pix.

Whilst it may be nice to have a very high resolution you will be limited by the atmosphere. I estimate that there would be little resolution increase for a sampling of less than 1"/pix

the following equations are useful

"/pix= 206.265*p(um)/f(mm) where p is the size of the pixel in microns and f is the focal length in mm

and FOV(')=3438*L(mm)/f(mm) where FOV(') is the FOV in one dimension in arcminutes, L is the sensor length in mm.

Small pixels gather less light but have higher resolution...but too much resolution is wasted.

its all a trade off...

[Auntystatic]

This link form canon shows you in pictures much better than I can explain it.

Danielle

[ollypenrice]

Many of us use the free CCD calculator to model what a particular scope-sensor size will show on the sky. It will 'google' easily.

Olly

[Freddie]

Field of view Calculator<script src="title2.js"></script>

This link is also very useful.

[Tim]

Yep, here you go, The New CCD Astronomy Home Page

Very easy to use, you just pick a scope and camera, or add your own custom ones to the list, and it tells you what FOV you will be working with, along with giving a visual clue with a rectangle around a selection of pictures.

Crucially, for your question, you can edit the pixel size and see the differences if any.

Cheers

Tim