Altair Hypercam 183c Pro or ZWO ASI183MC, how do you decide ?

[Newforestgimp]

Good Morning All,

As the title suggests how do I decide between the Altair Hypercam 183C Pro (mouthful) and the ZWO ASI183MC Pro fan cooled cameras ? to my uneducated eyes one is approx £280 more expensive but without buying both to compare is it a case of picking by price and anodise colour ?

Has anybody owned both and binned one for the other ?

[PeterCPC]

The ZWO will allow set point cooling. I don't think that the Altair will do that - it's just fan cooled.

[Newforestgimp]

Ah ok my mistake I can see looking closer the ZWO is TEC cooled, so the Pro Tec cooled ZWO version aside....

ZWO have a non cooled version at £519, the ZWO ASI183MC vs the ALtair Hypercam 183c Fan cooled £499 is the real comparison £20 price difference.

[PeterCPC]

Check what adapters are included with the Altair camera. ZWO include all adapters required and I'm not sure that Altair do.

[Budgie1]

Having gone through a similar thought process in the last 8 months, my advice would be to either stick with your DSLR's or save up and get a TEC cooled camera. 

I was also looking at the Altair Hypercam 183C to replace my standard Canon DSLR. For starters, the 183 was too small for my Evostar 100ED and I actually needed the 294, but that aside I was advised to go for the TEC cooled version because it produces less read noise and allows you to use the set point cooling for both subs & darks.

You will need darks with the 183 due to the Amp Glow produced by the sensor and this may not calibrate out as well without the set point cooling to make sure the subs & darks are at the same temperature.

The TEC cooling also means you can take your darks, flats & dark-flats in the comfort of the house, when you want. You don't have to spend precious imaging time taking darks at the end of a session to try & get the same temperature as the subs. You can also build a Dark Library with master darks for the gain & temperature settings you use regularly and simply keep using them.

I ended up going with a modded DSLR, instead of a dedicated astro camera due to the cost of the TEC cooled versions. I then managed to get a second hand ZWO ASI294MC Pro Cooled camera from a member on here and it's like night & day between them with the read noise levels, the stacked images are so much cleaner from the ASI294.

If you're going to spend £500 on a camera, make sure it's going to do what you want it too and that you're not going to be looking to upgrade 6 months down the line.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Budgie1
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[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I have been using the uncooled ASI183MC for DSO imaging for a while, and it does have an edge over my modded Canon EOS 550D in terms of sensitivity, but the set-point cooling of my new (second-hand) ASI183MM-Pro makes life a lot easier. I am not sure the fan cooling of the Altair adds anything useful. 

[Adam J]

On 22/02/2021 at 20:00, michael.h.f.wilkinson said:

I have been using the uncooled ASI183MC for DSO imaging for a while, and it does have an edge over my modded Canon EOS 550D in terms of sensitivity, but the set-point cooling of my new (second-hand) ASI183MM-Pro makes life a lot easier. I am not sure the fan cooling of the Altair adds anything useful. 

It tends to lower the temps about 7 degrees or so when imaging continually. That's enough to half dark current but it's nothing like as good as set point cooling. 

[Gmx76]

Hi I'm also looking at this. Are we saying the the ZWO 183 MC would be a better buy at £519 (FLO) rather than equivalent AA 183C at £499 due to set point cooling? 

[Budgie1]

22 minutes ago, Gmx76 said:

Hi I'm also looking at this. Are we saying the the ZWO 183 MC would be a better buy at £519 (FLO) rather than equivalent AA 183C at £499 due to set point cooling? 

Neither of those have the set point cooling.

The ZWO ASI183MC Pro has the set point cooling and that is £781 from FLO. The equivalent from Altair is £865.

[Gmx76]

Ah I see,  thanks

[Gmx76]

So given the above 2 models I mentioned,  which would be the best buy? 

[Budgie1]

Personally, now I have a TEC Cooled ASI294MC, my advice is the same as I posted further up this thread.

TEC cooled cameras do come up for sale on the second hand market, there's an Altair Hypercam 183C Pro TEC in the For Sale section at the moment. If you can wait then I would go second hand, if you can't wait then possibly the Altair has the edge over the ZWO because of the fan but the sensor is the same on both cameras. So it's really down to the fan and the firmware/software in the cameras.

As I said above; If you're planning on spending £500+ on a camera, make sure it's going to do what you want it too. Research the results others have had with the camera you're planning to get and read the real life reviews.

[Gmx76]

Fair enough and good advice,  thanks