CCD cam for around 800$

[Calzune]

I'm looking for a color  astro cam for around 800$.

On that budget there is 

ZWO asi 183mc pro 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi-183mc-pro-usb-3-cooled-colour-camera.html

 

Altair Hypercam 183C PRO 

https://www.altairastro.com/Altair-Hypercam-183C-PRO-TEC-COOLED-Camera.html

 

Which one is the best for that price point? Or is there a better cam for that money? 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Calzune

[Adam J]

10 minutes ago, Calzune said:

I'm looking for a color  CCD cam for around 800$.

On that budget there is 

ZWO asi 183mc pro 

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi-183mc-pro-usb-3-cooled-colour-camera.html

 

Altair Hypercam 183C PRO 

https://www.altairastro.com/Altair-Hypercam-183C-PRO-TEC-COOLED-Camera.html

 

Which one is the best for that price point? Or is there a better cam for that money? 

Stop and wait! The ASI533mc pro is coming out and unless you really really need the tiny pixels its likely to be much better than the ASI183mc pro and not very much more at all. 

Its better suited to your 72ED in terms of pixel scale as with the 183mc pro you will be working under the Daws limit. 

Read this thread:

Adam

Edited November 18, 2019 by Adam J

[Calzune]

9 minutes ago, Adam J said:

Stop and wait! The ASI533mc pro is coming out and unless you really really need the tiny pixels its likely to be much better than the ASI183mc pro and not very much more at all. 

Its better suited to your 72ED in terms of pixel scale as with the 183mc pro you will be working under the Daws limit. 

Read this thread:

Adam

 

Thanks! I will take a look at this one! 

Edited November 18, 2019 by Calzune

[Calzune]

3 hours ago, Adam J said:

Stop and wait! The ASI533mc pro is coming out and unless you really really need the tiny pixels its likely to be much better than the ASI183mc pro and not very much more at all. 

Its better suited to your 72ED in terms of pixel scale as with the 183mc pro you will be working under the Daws limit. 

Read this thread:

Adam

 

How do I see if the camera is good for my scope? If I use astronomy tools all I see is this : 

[Adam J]

41 minutes ago, Calzune said:

 

How do I see if the camera is good for my scope? If I use astronomy tools all I see is this : 

You need to make a custom camera as the ASI533mc pro is not in astronomy tools yet, put 3000 x 3000 pixels and set the pixel size to 3.76um then select your scope and target as normal. 

Here:

 

So you cant quite fit M31 into the FOV, but you cant really with the 183 either and your giving up a large amount of performance for just that target. Most targets will fit into your FOV and in that instance the 533 is just more sensitive. 

My FOV is similar in my case with a ASI1600mm pro, so in my case I would do a 2x1 and get M31 in two frames. 

I have to admit I was not a fan of the 183 even before the 533 was announced though, at least in OSC terms them mono is better. 

Adam

 

[Calzune]

4 hours ago, Adam J said:

You need to make a custom camera as the ASI533mc pro is not in astronomy tools yet, put 3000 x 3000 pixels and set the pixel size to 3.76um then select your scope and target as normal. 

Here:

 

So you cant quite fit M31 into the FOV, but you cant really with the 183 either and your giving up a large amount of performance for just that target. Most targets will fit into your FOV and in that instance the 533 is just more sensitive. 

My FOV is similar in my case with a ASI1600mm pro, so in my case I would do a 2x1 and get M31 in two frames. 

I have to admit I was not a fan of the 183 even before the 533 was announced though, at least in OSC terms them mono is better. 

Adam

 

This is a comperision between the new 553 and 294, the 294 is alittle more expensive than the 553 but it gives more fov... What should I go for?..... I could buy a reducer but that is not cheap either... I already have a flattener. 

[Adam J]

37 minutes ago, Calzune said:

This is a comperision between the new 553 and 294, the 294 is alittle more expensive than the 553 but it gives more fov... What should I go for?..... I could buy a reducer but that is not cheap either... I already have a flattener. 

Well forget comparisons to the 1100D unless you want to pay for a much larger sensor. In terms of the other two, I think that the 533 is clearly the better sensor going by the specifications, but you are correct the 294 is larger. If most of your targets will fit into the 533 then go for that if more than a handful will not then go for the 294. So thing like the heart nebula, m31 and the complex around the elephants trunk. I would buy the 533 myself, but that's because there are some things about the 294 I don't like including some issues reported on cloudy nights with uneven calibration when you go deep with it. For you the larger sensor might be right, but there is always a larger sensor so beware of price creep, the next thing you will ask is why not pay that little but more than the 294 still and go mono or maybe get the 071. The choice between the 533 and the 183 is an easier one for me but the choice between the 294 and the 533 is harder. 

Any reason you are no considering mono?

Adam

 

[Calzune]

4 hours ago, Adam J said:

Well forget comparisons to the 1100D unless you want to pay for a much larger sensor. In terms of the other two, I think that the 533 is clearly the better sensor going by the specifications, but you are correct the 294 is larger. If most of your targets will fit into the 533 then go for that if more than a handful will not then go for the 294. So thing like the heart nebula, m31 and the complex around the elephants trunk. I would buy the 533 myself, but that's because there are some things about the 294 I don't like including some issues reported on cloudy nights with uneven calibration when you go deep with it. For you the larger sensor might be right, but there is always a larger sensor so beware of price creep, the next thing you will ask is why not pay that little but more than the 294 still and go mono or maybe get the 071. The choice between the 533 and the 183 is an easier one for me but the choice between the 294 and the 533 is harder. 

Any reason you are no considering mono?

Adam

 

 

Maybe I can buy a 0.5 reducer if I wanna image large dsos? https://www.highpointscientific.com/2-focal-reducer-0-5x-by-high-point

That should work right? 

The reason I don't want mono is because of the price and the amount of clear nights is not that many where I am.. And I want just recently started with this hobby

Edited November 19, 2019 by Calzune

[Adam J]

15 hours ago, Calzune said:

 

Maybe I can buy a 0.5 reducer if I wanna image large dsos? https://www.highpointscientific.com/2-focal-reducer-0-5x-by-high-point

That should work right? 

The reason I don't want mono is because of the price and the amount of clear nights is not that many where I am.. And I want just recently started with this hobby

No a 0.5x reducer will not work, it would leave you at F3 which is way too fast to be pushing a doublet objective to without bad aberrations most notably CA. You would also be very unlikely to achieve a flat non-vignetted field over anything but an extremely small sensor and probably would not have sufficient back focus to allow you to focus the camera with the reducer in place. So you really cant do that. 

The most you can push your optics to is probably by using the SW 0.85x reducer which will work great with the 533 (from what I have read on here it will struggle to provide a fully flat field across the larger 94 though due to back focus issues). Personally I think that will leave you with a workable FOV and m31 will fit across the diagonal. I can only say what I would do if your heart says get the larger sensor then the 294 is not so bad, I would just rather not have the amp glow myself. 

Mono is faster in any situation you just have to get a filter wheel and set it to cycle through the filters but I do understand your thinking. 

Adam 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 19, 2019 by Adam J

[Calzune]

1 hour ago, Adam J said:

No a 0.5x reducer will not work, it would leave you at F3 which is way too fast to be pushing a doublet objective to without bad aberrations most notably CA. You would also be very unlikely to achieve a flat non-vignetted field over anything but an extremely small sensor and probably would not have sufficient back focus to allow you to focus the camera with the reducer in place. So you really cant do that. 

The most you can push your optics to is probably by using the SW 0.85x reducer which will work great with the 533 (from what I have read on here it will struggle to provide a fully flat field across the larger 94 though due to back focus issues). Personally I think that will leave you with a workable FOV and m31 will fit across the diagonal. I can only say what I would do if your heart says get the larger sensor then the 294 is not so bad, I would just rather not have the amp glow myself. 

Mono is faster in any situation you just have to get a filter wheel and set it to cycle through the filters but I do understand your thinking. 

Adam 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope that reviews and photos will come soon so I can decide... I just started this hobby 3-4 months ago 😅

[Adam J]

4 hours ago, Calzune said:

 

I hope that reviews and photos will come soon so I can decide... I just started this hobby 3-4 months ago 😅

It will be 3 months by the time you get serious reviews. Takes that long to take a couple of images and get a feel for it. Its the same technology as the ASI6200mm pro and that is looking good. Just less pixels.