Choosing my first CCD

[The Jackal]

Hi Guys. I need some expert advice no my first CCD Mono camera. I have looked at the forum post which is pinned called "Choosing a CCD Camera" and although the details are very nice it is also very confusing. The studying I have done over the weekend has pointed me to the ATIK 383L+ MONO. The ATIK 313L is also a very nice option but the small pictures you get from it is just not for me. When comparing all these cameras in CCDCalc i was most impressed with the picture size the 383L+ delivers.

What I would also like to know is if there is a more affordable option with same resolution and pixel size over the 383L+ as it is quite over my budget. For the life of me I don't see why Filter Wheels are so expensive but the camera including a Atik Filter Wheel will set me back about $2500 and then adding filters which I haven't even looked at. My budget is very tight and the $1000/$1500 max was what I was aiming for.

Should I rather stick with my current setup and wait for prices do drop over the next year or two or save some extra money quick and splash out on the ATIK 383L, Atik Filter Wheel and Astronomic filters?

Current setup:

Mount: Celestron Advanced VX

Scope: GSO 8" F/5 (http://www.teleskop-express.de/shop/product_info.php/language/en/info/p49_GSO-200-mm-f-5-Newtonteleskop-Optischer-Tubus---2--Crayford-Okularauszug.html)

Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot

Camera: Canon 700d/T5i

Filters: Baadar MkIII Field Flatner, LP Filter

Software: Pixinsight, Photoshop

[swag72]

The Atik 383L uses the Kodak 8300 chip, so if you've decided that's the chip for you then I'm sorry to say that you won't find anything very much cheaper...... that is the price of the Kodak sensor CCD's ...........

You could wait and see if / when one comes up second hand - They certainly do from time to time. 

Atik aren't the most expensive of the bunch either, so you really will struggle to get much cheaper. I'm not sure what filter wheel you've looked at, but you could consider a cheaper manual wheel if you don't have any plans to automate your set up and you are happy to change the filters around yourself. 

[The Jackal]

The Atik 383L uses the Kodak 8300 chip, so if you've decided that's the chip for you then I'm sorry to say that you won't find anything very much cheaper...... that is the price of the Kodak sensor CCD's ...........

You could wait and see if / when one comes up second hand - They certainly do from time to time. 

Atik aren't the most expensive of the bunch either, so you really will struggle to get much cheaper. I'm not sure what filter wheel you've looked at, but you could consider a cheaper manual wheel if you don't have any plans to automate your set up and you are happy to change the filters around yourself. 

Yea that was my thoughts that the chip is the expensive part. I don't mind manual wheels at all but just don't know which one to look at that will fit the 383L. Do I have to worry about over and under exposing as described in the "Choosing a CCD Camera" section?

[johnrt]

As Sara says the Atik 383 is about the cheapest version of the Kodak 8300 chip. You see them come up 2nd hand a lot here in Europe, but I have no idea how easy it is to find one in SA.

My advice would be that if that is the camera you have set your heart on, and I have no arguments against it being an excellent camera to get stuck in to, then do not compromise on something else, you will just regret not having gone for the camera you really wanted, the galaxies and nebula aren't going anywhere in a hurry, take your time and get your set up right.

Are you all sorted for an imaging mount? What OTA do you plan to use the CCD with?

[The Jackal]

As Sara says the Atik 383 is about the cheapest version of the Kodak 8300 chip. You see them come up 2nd hand a lot here in Europe, but I have no idea how easy it is to find one in SA.

My advice would be that if that is the camera you have set your heart on, and I have no arguments against it being an excellent camera to get stuck in to, then do not compromise on something else, you will just regret not having gone for the camera you really wanted, the galaxies and nebula aren't going anywhere in a hurry, take your time and get your set up right.

Are you all sorted for an imaging mount? What OTA do you plan to use the CCD with?

I must agree I don't want to be disappointed when buying something else and not the thing I had my heart on. I just want to know that it is a good purchase as this CCD will almost cost what my hole setup cost. The Rand compared to dollar and pound is not in my favor at all with 1 Dollar at R15.00 and 1 Pound at R22.00 Here is my current equipment.

Current setup:

Mount: Celestron Advanced VX

Scope: GSO 8" F/5 (http://www.teleskop-...larauszug.html)

Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot

Camera: Canon 700d/T5i

Filters: Baadar MkIII Field Flatner, LP Filter

Software: Pixinsight, Photoshop

[swag72]

Just one word of caution which may or may not be appropriate. 

I live in Spain and in the summer months I regularly image in +20 degrees - I had an Atik 460 and the cooling on it was woeful, so bad in fact that sometimes I even struggled to cool down to zero degrees. Now this poor cooling COULD be because of the cylindrical design of the 460 (the 383L being square) and therefore the 383L will cool much better. Do please ask around the forum if you are going to be imaging in warmer weather. This is something that the UK folks don't really have to deal with, but in Spain it killed it for me. 

So I'm not slating your choice, but do some homework on the effectiveness of the cooling if you have warmer weather. I think it's something that if you image in the warmer weather you really need to know - Will the 383L cooling be better than the 460? I genuinely have no idea, so that's why I asked and hope that you can find out if necessary.

I changed from Atik to QSI - The cooling is superb and even in the summer months I have comfortably hit -15 degrees. For me the cooling is a major factor and so I would look very closely at that and make my purchase accordingly.

[The Jackal]

Thank you for the feedback Sub Giant. Weather will definitely be a factor for me as summers we have average temperature of 25deg/30deg and winters only go as low as deg during the night and early mornings but with 18deg/24deg winter days.