first ccd

[wills]

hi all looking for my first ccd mono chrome cam to use on an f4.8 10" newt any recommendation?looking to image orion neb and some of the brighter stuff to start with, also any filter ideas would be great. thanks chris

[Marc1980]

Hi Chris, do you have a budget? This can be done for a couple hundred or a couple thousand, depends on how much you want to spend.

[Fordos Moon]

Please can I latch on to this post as I am considering a similar purchase?!

[Marc1980]

I will be to sometime in the next 12 months. until then the xbox cam will have to do. Some get good images with the qhy5, I think that sits at about £180, but that has a cmos sensor and not ccd. I have seen the dml's on flo http://www.firstlightoptics.com/imaging-source-cameras.html

Or the Atik Titan mono http://www.firstlightoptics.com/atik-cameras/atik-titan-dual-purpose-ccd-camera.html

I cant comment on these as I have no experience but I am sure others can.

[Marc1980]

Apologies on my last post I did not mean dml's I meant dmk's.

[RikM]

To fit the Orion nebula in with a 1200mm focal length you are looking for something like http://www.firstlightoptics.com/starlight-xpress-cameras/starlight-xpress-sxvr-h18.html or http://www.firstlightoptics.com/atik-cameras/atik-383l-plus.html and it will still be a tight fit. You mayhave an easier time getting something like an H9 or 314L+ and an ED80.

The Baader LRGB-CCD filters are very good value for money.

[wills]

hi all thanks for your comments got about 1500 to play with, ive got an 70mm f10 refractor would that be ok for a guide scope or would i need something quicker. i was lo

[wills]

sorry hit the wrong button on stupid ipad, was going to say i was looking at the imaging source cam but wonder why they were so much cheaper than anything else?

[ollypenrice]

Are we looking at tiny chip fast frame 'webcam' like cameras or deep sky CCD?

For large extended deep sky objects the webcam derivatives are not suitable. You need a decent sized chip and cooling. Personally I go for Atiks, which are high quality at mid price - a good deal. Then you choose between Sony chips, which are quieter but smaller, or Kodaks which are larger but noisier and need dark frame calibration (which is easy.)

Rob Hodgkinson is selling an SX camera with Kodak chip (the same size as basic DSLRs) on the classifieds board.

Since the chip is the expensive part of a camera large chips are more expensive but, obviously, cover more sky. You can go for one shot colour or mono with filters.

A good place to start would be at Steve Richards' book Making Every Photon Count which FLO stock. The whole business looks intimidating at first but it gradually falls into place.

Olly

[ollypenrice]

hi all thanks for your comments got about 1500 to play with, ive got an 70mm f10 refractor would that be ok for a guide scope or would i need something quicker. i was lo

Sorry, missed this. You could guide with this (I guess it's the Synta, branded this way or that?) I've done so myself. However it is a bit slow and long in FL so finding guide stars would be easier in an ST80. The slow scope would need a good sensitive guide camera.

Olly