ZWO ASI120MC-S or QHY5L-II

[belfieldi]

Hi All,

After struggling to get decent images of Jupiter with my Mak 150 Pro and a Canon 550d, I'm toying with the idea of getting a planetary camera. After lots of reading through SGL and a bit of googling I think I've narrowed down my search to either;

1) ZWO ASI120MC-S or

2) QHY5L-II colour

Both look like they have the same CMOS sensor, so in theory the same QE, is there any reason why I should chose one rather than the other? I am leaning towards the ZWO as it has USB3.0 and so in theory has a greater frame rate. I'd also like to be able to use the camera for guiding, I appreciate that for guiding mono would be better than colour, but I'm not ready (and don't have the imaging time) for playing around with filters (yet).

Budget would be about £250 max (as that is £500 with the SWMBO handbag tax)

Thanks for reading.

Ian

[kalasinman]

If your com supports USB3, get the ZWO. I have a QHY, but mono. I find QHY drivers quirky.

[glowingturnip]

I think I'd agree with that - I've used both (mine is a QHY, the kids' school's is a ZWO).

I like that you can set up the QHY to be parfocal which is a real help (I just wrote about that in another thread), but as said, the drivers are quirky and seem to be a common source of confusion.

Plus you get a free fish-eye lens with the ZWO !

I guide with a colour cam and have no issues with it at all.

[belfieldi]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'd heard that the QHY drivers could be a bit of a pain. Looks like the ZWO should go to the top of my list.

[kalasinman]

A major free pass for the QHY drivers is that PHD2 includes it's own driver for it, apparently. Only rough spots have been when trying to use it as a planetary cam.

[mikeskor]

I've seen some amazing planetary images taken with a color Zwo camera and a manual 10-inch Dobsonian. Here's a link to some of the best I've seen:

Cheers

Mike

[mikeskor]

A link to some great images taken with a color Zwo and a 10-inch manual dobsonian:

[belfieldi]

Well I've pressed the button on the ZWO ASI120MC-S. Clear sky forecast for Saturday, so the delivery will be delayed or the forecast will be wrong

[belfieldi]

Well the ZWO ASI120MC-S has arrived, great service from Tring Astronmomy!!

Unfortunately the clouds arrived with the camera, next forecast clear night is 10 days away, why am I surprised!!

[kalasinman]

*..Dons fireproof suit....I don't understand why anyone in this hobby would choose to hobble themselves with a Mac. Why have to pass on great hardware and software because it doesn't run on one? Look at me talking. I have a Nikon and a Newtonian!  ;-)

[belfieldi]

I have enough trouble with my iPhone, couldn't possibly cope with a Mac. Besides, I'd rather spend my money on astro gear!!

[prusling]

Slightly OT - have you tried the movie crop mode of the 550d? I have done a brief test on mine and was quite impressed after stacking.

[belfieldi]

I did have a go with the movie crop mode, but couldn't get it above 20fps. I probably should have tried harder, but fancied buying a new toy.