Upgrade from my 600D

[SAW]

Hi,

I would like to upgrade my camera (600D) but not sure what to get although I would like to stick with ZWO as I have a 120MM. I've read the sticky but still not sure :-) I nearly bought a 1600 colour at IAS but wasn't sure if a mono was going to be better so,

Would a non cooled colour be a waste of time upgrading to from my 600D ?

Is a cooled colour going to make a lot of difference to my 600D ?

The 1600 sensor is a bit smaller than my 600D so should I go for something that has a much smaller sensor and keep the dslr for wider view objects ? I noticed the 071MC-C is the same size sensor as a cropped dslr. Basically I'm not sure what size sensor to go for lol.

[geordie85]

I'd recommend having a play around with a fov calculator. I like this one because it shows DSO's well and you can pan around to see what else is out there http://www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/imaging-toolbox/

I used to use a modded 600d too so when I upgraded to a ccd I went for the atik 383l+ mono and also upgraded my scope to a Mk1 WO star71, so I've got a nice wide-field set-up. But now I find myself looking at getting another new scope as I'm wanting to have a smaller fov to go deeper and have more detailed images.

Mono imaging also has its benefits due to being able to help cut through light pollution and when the moon is out due to narrowband imaging. 

A cooled OSC ccd/ cmos camera would help with noise reduction. Unfortunately I can't give you more info on OSC ccd/ cmos cameras as I've not used one. 

[John78]

I went through this decision making process for the past month.

I couldn't justify the expense of a 1600mm after factoring in bigger filters and wheels, I didn't want a ccd because getting long subs would be lots of wasted subs based in my location, many planes.

I think you really need cooled for noise reduction and reuse of calibration frames to be a significant upgrade over a SLR.

So a smaller sensor imx174 seemed like the win, I ordered a qhy174m which seems like the best DSO, not a Panasonic 4/3rds sensored cmos camera.  ZWO have a imx174 variant too.

I see qhy are releasing a qhy183m later this month that looks good.

http://www.qhyccd.com/QHY183.html