Time spent shooting mono vs colour

[newbie alert]

If  I lived in bortle 8 then I'd go mono and narrowband,  yes you can use OSC and the new filters and yes you will get an image but you will get a better image with mono, no question 

A few things regarding Trevor,  my own opinion of course..he only uses equipment that he's either been given, or given to test.. he's a professional u-tuber, that's his job and looks like he's making a decent living from it.. I stopped watching him when celestron gave him a c11 to put on his CGX that they had also given to him, but he found it really difficult to use as he couldn't star align it, all that experience and he can't even star align?? So celestron sent him a starsense so it could star align for him... in the same video he was trying to frame a target in APT and moving it with the handset.. what the eck..really!.. Also Trevor can't leave his old DSLR days, so loves a OSC, .. so I unfollowed him and just watch Cuiv,  Dylan.. at least they're entertaining.. I see Trevor's snooping around  on here now..

Remember the u tubers are paid to promote items and what suits their needs might not suit yours.. and if you choose to buy items that they've been given ,the price that you pay will be higher as the suppliers have to fund the u tubers somehow..certainly for Trevor.. 

 

[nfotis]

Adding my own thoughts as well (going to experiment with planetary and lunar imaging in the near future for now):

- I live in Athens, at quite bad light pollution (Bortle 8 or worse), so monochrome seems to be the best route

- Prices for NB filters and filter wheel are higher than the camera (oops...), putting a damper on my enthusiasm

- OSC sensors like the imx571 offer impressive quality, combined with a two band or three band filter work also well with an SCT and Hyperstar (or a RASA). A filter wheel is not required there

Both approaches will need quite some time on post processing on order to attain a visually nice image, though.

Cheers,

N.F.

 

[seemoreStars]

I hear the new backlit sony sensors do a great job on RGB targets, I won't debate that. In an area with limited clear skies narrowband imaging is rewarding when the Moon is an influence. There are filters to isolate NB with OCS cameras but when Ha and Sii are both in the red channel (25% of pixels) it can't be ideal.

Here are some of my NB images.

Edited January 19, 2021 by seemoreStars
add info

[rnobleeddy]

The only thing I'd have to add is that there are things you can do with a mono camera that you can't do with a OSC. Having tried a dual band filter + OSC for a number of targets this year, it's fair to say that you get some good  bi-colour results (like the veil) and lots of high contrast red nebula, but it doesn't come close to what can be achieved with the false color narrowband images (if you like that kind of thing). So I'd probably take the convenience of OSC if I was imaging a galaxy or a cluster or reflection nebula, but mono for emission nebula.

I've chopped and changed, but I do think it's worth asking yourself how useful that 30 minutes of OSC data really is - it certainly feels better on the night, but in my experience, those aren't making the cut when I choose my top X targets of the year.

[smr]

On 23/12/2020 at 09:42, kirkster501 said:

My thoughts on this..... 

I don't think anyone questions that mono is better, 100% of course it is. With mono you dedicate the whole sensor to that channel alone so the full resolution is available for each channel.  So the results in an ideal world will always be better and you will build a better final image.  Period.

Ideal worlds, eh????  Wouldn't that be nice......  Covid all gone, conflict all gone, live to be 150 with my super-model girlfriend on my super yacht harboured off Cannes.....  Oh, and clear and reliable skies for astronomy.  Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? 

Alas, we don't live in ideal worlds folks.  Most of us on this forum live in a cloud infested country in the path of Atlantic weather systems with three major global air-masses converging directly above the UK with the jet stream snaking all over the place.   So, I'd suggest the question should be what quality pictures *CAN* you take from these cloudy shores with the minimum amount of frustration and that keeps your interest alive in this fascinating subject?  I asked my self that question many times whilst I was doing mono with my Atik460 and 8300 chip cameras (both superb btw).  And I have a mountain of unfinished data sets and a heap of frustration to go with it.  This year I have been working on M76 in LRGB - The Little Dumbell nebula - for months and only have two colours in the can due to the UK permacloud.  In the same time I have grabbed several complete images with my OSC camera, one of them below from my QHY268C on the FSQ85.  OSC is now so much better than it used to be. 

My strategic direction is now OSC. Although I will continue with mono I will be making no further investments in it.  If I lived in a sunnier, kinder climate my answer may be different.  But I don't. I live in Nottingham, UK.

Merry Christmas,

Steve

Excellent post. Superb image as well

[fwm891]

I made that decision too, sold the mono gear and invested in an ASi533 OSC. Looking out at a drab grey sky now...

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by fwm891
Wrong image

[kirkster501]

I never did compete my M76.  Clouded out for DSO since I added that post.  It's been diabolical for astro.