CMOS camera recomendations

[Adam J]

13 minutes ago, Rattler said:

Thanks for that Adam. Can you use 1.25" with the 183?

Yes

[DaveS]

10 minutes ago, Dragon_Astro said:

I don't know about the other 183 users on here, but my Altair version saves full res files at 40mb EACH.

Annoyingly have to work at 2736 x 1824 to keep the file sizes down, so a good laptop would be a plus. Strangely they recommend using USB 2 for Dso work as it's more stable.

Yes, the file size is a bit mad for the size of the sensor. My next camera is likely to be a much more sensible 16200 variant.

[Adam J]

24 minutes ago, Dragon_Astro said:

I don't know about the other 183 users on here, but my Altair version saves full res files at 40mb EACH.

Annoyingly have to work at 2736 x 1824 to keep the file sizes down, so a good laptop would be a plus. Strangely they recommend using USB 2 for Dso work as it's more stable.

To be honest with you, given the scope that the OP will be using then for narrow band software binning 2x2 is probably a good move anyway.

[rl]

Having limited time and patience I went against all the conventional wisdom with the "less hassle" route and bought the QHY183C colour about a year ago. I've been nothing less than pleased with it but the files are indeed massive....I invested an extra £200 on an ebay I7 laptop with 16 gigabytes of RAM which gets the stacking time down to reasonable levels. There is always the binning option.

The set point cooling does not work with all software...it sometimes works with Sharpcap but not with APT. Manual control always works with Sharpcap.

For high resolution work the small pixel size is a good match to both my scopes f-ratio at f/4 and f4.5.

I've actually got a FLI filter wheel with all the filters plus an atlas focuser , and a SXVR-26 camera sitting idle which I admit is something of an astro crime. What I get off the QHY183C might not be the absolute best but it is good enough to stop me getting motivated with all the more expensive kit. I'm sure I lose far more through incompetent processing technique than I do through the hardware. 

YMMV...

RL

 

[Rattler]

Well I've gone for a second hand (barely used) Altair Astro 183m V2. I know it's not cooled but for one I decided not to spend £1k on a mono camera when I have no idea whether mono is for me. I've also been given great advice on reducing noise and getting rid of the star burst without it being cooled and seen the images that show it.

I can always upgrade in the future if I decide to stick with mono. Looking forward to getting out with it.

[Yawning Angel]

That explains the bizarre weather today ?Congratulations on the new toy!

[Dragon_Astro]

3 hours ago, Rattler said:

Well I've gone for a second hand (barely used) Altair Astro 183m V2. I know it's not cooled but for one I decided not to spend £1k on a mono camera when I have no idea whether mono is for me. I've also been given great advice on reducing noise and getting rid of the star burst without it being cooled and seen the images that show it.

I can always upgrade in the future if I decide to stick with mono. Looking forward to getting out with it.

Congratulations on your new toy   took me a while to decide too, but went with the 183.

What capture software do you plan to use with it? AA's own Capture software is reliable and no nonsense.

Clear skies forecast for me tonight, hopefully you'll be lucky soon for your first light.

[Adam J]

7 hours ago, Rattler said:

Well I've gone for a second hand (barely used) Altair Astro 183m V2. I know it's not cooled but for one I decided not to spend £1k on a mono camera when I have no idea whether mono is for me. I've also been given great advice on reducing noise and getting rid of the star burst without it being cooled and seen the images that show it.

I can always upgrade in the future if I decide to stick with mono. Looking forward to getting out with it.

It will be harder to calibrate out the amp glow uncooled, best to take dark frames on the same night as the lights. But at least it's mono and the 183m is low dark current anyway. Make sure to dither your frames that will help loads. This will at least allow you to learn mono processing too. I expect a first light image in this thread, it's nice to round it off like that. ?

I recommend baader filters for price to performance ratio of you did not get a set with the camera. 

[Rattler]

4 hours ago, Dragon_Astro said:

Congratulations on your new toy   took me a while to decide too, but went with the 183.

What capture software do you plan to use with it? AA's own Capture software is reliable and no nonsense.

Clear skies forecast for me tonight, hopefully you'll be lucky soon for your first light.

Cheers. It's not arrived yet. Will be next week. I'll be using APT as that's what I'm used to.

[Rattler]

1 hour ago, Adam J said:

It will be harder to calibrate out the amp glow uncooled, best to take dark frames on the same night as the lights. But at least it's mono and the 183m is low dark current anyway. Make sure to dither your frames that will help loads. This will at least allow you to learn mono processing too. I expect a first light image in this thread, it's nice to round it off like that. ?

I recommend baader filters for price to performance ratio of you did not get a set with the camera. 

Yeah I always dither. I've got the Altair Astro filters coming. LRGB and narrowband.