Lodestar X2 w/NB Ha Filter

[Dom543]

Rock Mallin is very devoted to his video cameras. He deserves all credit for his commitment and for producing a very successful line of astronomical video cameras. Below are just a few comments on some issues mentioned in the above discussion.

1. There are various technologies and tricks to eliminate or reduce the disturbing effects of amp glow in astronomical video cameras. One is to turn off the readout amplifier between readouts. This reduces the heat produced by the amplifier circuitry that is the source of the glow. More can be found about this technology by googling "no-amp-glow". A completely different trick is to simply paint the glow area over with black pixels. I believe that the Miloslick software for Mallincam cameras includes a feature that can do this.

2. I have recently read posts about a new camera by Mallincam that will use the ICX828/829 sensor. In those posts it is suggested to use the new camera with gain set to zero to reduce amp glow. It is explained that the improved sensitivity of the sensor allows to operate the video camera essentially as a CCD imager. Interestingly, this proposition seems to originate from Rock Mallin himself.

3. The fast download speed of the Mallincam Universe is achieved, in part, by reducing the bit depth to 12 bits in the AD converter. After the download the 12 bit image is padded with four zeros and saved in a 16 bit format. So comparing the Mallincam Universe to fully 16 bit cameras, like the Lodestar is somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison.

--Dom

[HiloDon]

Thanks Chris, Rock and Dom for your responses. It may take a while for me to digest everything, but I appreciate the explanations. This technology is advancing at a quick pace and forums like this help to keep track. Whether it be MC, Samsung, Lodestar or other brands, I find the NRTV concept fascinating and the products innovative. It will only get better.

Best regards,

Don

[Astrogate]

I completely agree with you Don and the main thing is get out and have fun no matter what camera one is using.

Cheers,

Chris A

[nytecam]

Yes - a very interesting discussion and lots of info to digest.  As Don says - Rock is very dedicated to video and his products as to be expected.  He will inevitably demote CCD via USB as second rate but I think there are black-holes-in-his-argument. 

However from what I've seen of posted images of the same DSO via similar equipment and exposures [similar conditions are near impossible to match !] , the stellar penetration and detail from both video and CCD is much the same so I can't see how video is more sensitive - in practice.  As Chris says - as long as it's fun