Canon 1200D or ZWO ASI178MM-Cooled

[04Stefan07]

Hello everyone!

Just made myself an account and this is my first post. Have been on the forum before reading a lot of content.

Bit about myself. I have been into Astronomy and Astrophotograhy for more than 7 years and I am currently looking at upgrading some of my imaging equipment. Currently use:

Canon 1200D modded - Deep Sky
Flea3 Mono - Sun
ZWO ASI224MC - Planets and Lunar

I had more success with my unmodifed 1200D and sort of wish I didn't modify it. The Flea3 I am looking to get rid of soon as well.

I have been eyeing off the ZWO ASI178MM - Cooled as a possible replacement for my 1200D modded. Advantages include that is cooled and a dedicated CMOS camera. I will also be able to double it for the Sun too.
In future I will definitely get the EFW and filters to go with it.

 

What are everyone's thoughts? Am I better off getting the ZWO since I want to go down the mono path?

Telescopes I have (will be using the Z61 primarily with the camera as the SCT is more for planets and DSO that require a high focal length):
Celestron 8" SCT C8 XLT
WO Zenithstar 61

 

Thanks!

[AstroCava]

I'm not sure if you are aware of the different field of view (FOV) that the two cameras have. If you don't mind to lose FOV, the small pixels of the 178 will give you more resolution (almost 2x) with the Z61. Yo can buy instead the ASI183 to have more FOV with the same small pixels, but will never reach the FOV of the CANON. Another advantage is the cooling, the best thing you can do to reduce noise and go deeper.

When trying to select a new camera (and I am in the same process as you) I first select the resolution I want (deeply interconnected with the kind of objects I want to frame) and buy the wider FOV I can afford.

Have fun!

Sergio

[04Stefan07]

37 minutes ago, AstroCava said:

I'm not sure if you are aware of the different field of view (FOV) that the two cameras have. If you don't mind to lose FOV, the small pixels of the 178 will give you more resolution (almost 2x) with the Z61. Yo can buy instead the ASI183 to have more FOV with the same small pixels, but will never reach the FOV of the CANON. Another advantage is the cooling, the best thing you can do to reduce noise and go deeper.

When trying to select a new camera (and I am in the same process as you) I first select the resolution I want (deeply interconnected with the kind of objects I want to frame) and buy the wider FOV I can afford.

Have fun!

Sergio

Thanks for the reply!

ASI183 does look good but it is an extra $400 AUS. The 178 is $980 whereas the 183 is $1,400. Need to stick to a budget otherwise at that rate I am better off getting the 1600MM!

Good to know the important features to note:
- FOV
- Resolution
- Cooling

[Adam J]

I would say that you will get a low FOV with the 178m and the Z61.....but it will be sufficient for many targets.

The image quality will easily exceed the 1200D

Adam

[04Stefan07]

Ended up pulling the trigger on the 178MM cool. Very happy with the purchase and great for it's price to get started with cooled cameras!

[Adam J]

2 hours ago, 04Stefan07 said:

Ended up pulling the trigger on the 178MM cool. Very happy with the purchase and great for it's price to get started with cooled cameras!

Hope you enjoy it, be sure to post a first light image here

I think you did the right thing.

What filters are you going for?

I know someone who is selling a set suitable for a beginner on a budget.

Adam

[04Stefan07]

6 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Hope you enjoy it, be sure to post a first light image here

I think you did the right thing.

What filters are you going for?

I know someone who is selling a set suitable for a beginner on a budget.

Adam

For now just using the ZWO LRGB 31mm (revised set) filters with an electronic filter wheel. Pretty pleased with them, especially since I am new to cooled mono imaging.

The 174MM was tempting but it was more expensive and I need to draw the line somewhere otherwise I would have ended up with the 1600!

Yes, will definitely post the image here once done. I am having issues with Deep Sky Stacker (started a thread about it) but once they are sorted I will post it up

[Adam J]

24 minutes ago, 04Stefan07 said:

For now just using the ZWO LRGB 31mm (revised set) filters with an electronic filter wheel. Pretty pleased with them, especially since I am new to cooled mono imaging.

The 174MM was tempting but it was more expensive and I need to draw the line somewhere otherwise I would have ended up with the 1600!

Yes, will definitely post the image here once done. I am having issues with Deep Sky Stacker (started a thread about it) but once they are sorted I will post it up

The 174 is quite high noise so glad you did not go for that. Its not best know for DSO imaging.