Planetary Camera

[Deeko]

Hi all. I currently use a ZWO 294MC-Pro for DSOs and very happy with it. Now I would like to start dabbling with planetary imaging and to cut a long story short - is the 294 any good for this or am I better opting for one of the cheaper (~£200) ZWO cameras to do planetary work? Any recommendations would be great, as well as software to go with it.

Cheers

D.

[Demonperformer]

I would think the main thing, if you use the 294, is to use the Region of Interest option - this will speed up frame acquisition. I would be inclined to "give it a go" and only go for a new camera if there is something wrong with the results. Remember, the image size is independant of the camera. You just want to make sure your pixel size matches your scope, which, if you are using the same one, it will.

[vlaiv]

Not the best choice, but you can start with 294 to practice planetary imaging (it's better than DSLR or like, but not quite as good as small sensor fast CMOS camera). You should be able to get very decent results with it.

I would recommend following parameters for planetary:

ROI 320x240

8Bit capture

(above should get you up to 170fps on USB3.0, depending on your computer speed)

Gain of 237

And for best resolution, you want to push your scope to F/18 or higher (this sensor has large pixels) so consider suitable barlow.

Again, you don't have to keep above to the letter - work with what you've got.