Trying to choose a mono camera

[wimvb]

All QHY equivalents have buffer and anti dew window as standard. Plus QHY reported that they have very low amp glow in their cameras. Otoh, when I was researching cmos cameras, I found more reports of software issues with qhy cameras than zwo. But that's at least half a year ago, and cmos is a fast changing area.

[mikey2000]

Thanks Alex for pointing that out.  I've definitely ordered the -Pro Cooled version.

 

Naturally, the most expensive !!!

 

I also went for the 7-slot wheel for 36mm filters.  Yep, the most expensive.   And LRGB + Ha.

 

Truly eye watering and I've busted my budget by a fair margin.  Hey ho, that's AP!   Hopefully none of this stuff will need any upgrading any time soon....

[mikey2000]

Wim - I have a QHY guide camera and to brutally honest, it was a 100% royal pain to get set up and running.  I felt like a beta-tester....   I've read some good reports of ZWO so I'm happy.

 

 

I'll report back when all this stuff arrives...

[alexbb]

There is a guy, named Don Goldman... before considering buying OIII and SII filters, search the internet for him. 36mm, eyes, rivers.

[mikey2000]

Thanks Alex for pointing that out.  I've definitely ordered the -Pro Cooled version.

 

Naturally, the most expensive !!!

 

I also went for the 7-slot wheel for 36mm filters.  Yep, the most expensive.   And LRGB + Ha.

 

Truly eye watering and I've busted my budget by a fair margin.  Hey ho, that's AP!   Hopefully none of this stuff will need any upgrading any time soon....

[mikey2000]

I just got my DHL tracking reference from FLO!  

 

I think I'm about to smack into a new, steep learning curve.    Can anyone point me to a 'dummies guide' to get me going in terms of Gain, Offset and all the other stuff I need to know but have never heard of?  I've got a long DSLR history and I am rather used to having just one sensor parameter (ISO) to fiddle with.

 

Which astro/capture app is the best?  APT or SGP?  One is cheap, one is not.  But then PHD2 and EQMOD are free, so price is no guarantee of quality sometimes...

[alexbb]

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/559771-asi1600mm-c-cheat-sheet-no-math/
https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/573886-sub-exposure-tables-for-asi-1600-and-maybe-qhy163/
https://stargazerslounge.com/topic/268797-asi1600mm-cool/

Some starting links above.

I usually expose 5 minutes @unity gain (139, offset 21) when imaging in narrowband.

For broadband I expose 60s @unity gain or 180s @76 gain and offset 15.

All my imaging scopes/lenses are F/4-F/5, but I think I would keep the same settings even for something slower like F/6.

When I overexpose something, I shoot another round of shorter exposures and combine in postprocessing.

Both APT and SGP have some sort of trial evaluation, give both a try.

 

[billyharris72]

22 hours ago, mikey2000 said:

Thanks Alex for pointing that out.  I've definitely ordered the -Pro Cooled version.

I think the memory buffer may be useful for planetary imaging but won't be so relevant for DSOs. It only makes a difference if your file transfer rate becomes an issue - with exposures of more than a few seconds this is no longer a problem. Even at 10s per sub and USB 2 the 1200MM never drops frames. Still, it's nice to have.

36 minutes ago, mikey2000 said:

I also went for the 7-slot wheel for 36mm filters.  Yep, the most expensive.   And LRGB + Ha.

Think you made the right decision on filters. I went for 31mm unmounted and they work pretty well, but would expect the 36mm to give you an improvement over those as I do think I still get some vignetting.

What software are you planning on using? I like Astro Art as an "all in one" package, as it handles imaging, guiding and post-processing and is easy to use, but must admit to being tempted by SGP.

Billy.