Help me pick a camera.....

[paul mc c]

Hi all, I am now in a position to get a dedicated astro camera to use with a 102 f7 Ed, I am a light polluted area, and with our lack of clear nights was looking at a osc camera like zwo 533mc,i know mono is mostly the preferred choice, but to be honest I don't know what think. 

Obviously I would rather buy used, but I have found these are around 10-15% cheaper than new and that seem rather expensive for a used bit of kit, so new is an option. Budget around £1400.

Any help would be much appreciated. 

Paul. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by paul mc c

[Shimonu]

Mono certainly brings a lot of extra costs with filters and related equipment. I don't have a lot of experience with avoiding light pollution but from what I hear it's quite possible with OSC and correct filters.

I was also interested in the 533 but also had my eye on 294 as they're in the same price range. You'll have to consider how you feel about the sensor format and amp glow. I believe those are the big differences. I don't remember the pixel sizes.

 

Personally I made my choice about 3 weeks ago and went for mono. It's certainly put a strain on my wallet but I would really like to try playing the the narrow band filters and I feel that I'll be doing this for some time and I'm willing to put the time into it to learn and feel that I'm able to get as good results as possible.

Edited July 26, 2021 by Shimonu

[paul mc c]

Any one else.... 😬

[PeterCPC]

Depends if you want the extra faff of using mono. I use the 533mc with an IR filter (sometimes an IDAS D2) and am pleased with the results. I would be the first to admit that mono would be better but I like to keep it simple if I can.

[geeklee]

19 minutes ago, paul mc c said:

Any one else.... 😬

It must be in the top 10 questions on SGL and I think all the arguments given always come down to what the person will be most comfortable with - given their equipment, skies, goals, skills, patience etc.

I owned and (regrettably) sold my ASI533.  In my view, it was an exceptional camera with it's small chip size the only negative.  You still have the OSC ASI94MC-Pro very similarly priced - bigger pixels, bigger FOV (with amp glow but that'll calibrate out). 

I've used my mono equipment without automation and with automation - the key for me being auto focus - and it could be a pain planning and checking focus across filters (even parfocal) without the additional automation.  The options for narrow band are greater with mono but OSC cameras aren't lacking in that department now with the L-eXtreme/NBX/NBZ etc 

Pre-processing can be a little more complicated and time consuming but I've never found this to be a substantial difference - just a little more care in approach.

With your budget you're almost knocking on the door of the esteemed ASI2600MC-Pro sale price but certainly have enough to look at a mono ASI1600/294MM-Pro while perhaps starting out with less filters and a filter drawer on the 294MM (if the budget is a hard stop).

With my ASI533 nothing beat the simplicity but with mono, my options can be more varied.

I hope that's muddied the water further for you  

[Lee_P]

In case it's useful, I've just made a website all about OSC from a city. Link is in my signature below.

[paul mc c]

This is so hard... the 533 was my first choice, for an easy life, if there is such a thing in this hobby, but why am I swaying towards the 1600 mm with the filter and EFW package Flo have... am I mad. 

[Lee_P]

They're both valid options. Which do you think you'd find more fun to use?

[paul mc c]

After long deliberations i decided to go for the zwo 533mc pro for now,took the easy way out as maybe the mono route would just be too much.

So went on to FLO to order only to see its out of stock............and not back till 7-10 days,ah well will just have to wait but think i made the right decision for me anyway.

[tooth_dr]

7 minutes ago, paul mc c said:

After long deliberations i decided to go for the zwo 533mc pro for now,took the easy way out as maybe the mono route would just be too much.

So went on to FLO to order only to see its out of stock............and not back till 7-10 days,ah well will just have to wait but think i made the right decision for me anyway.

Just sent you a message!  Sorry was slow getting back to you. 

[nfotis]

Another possibility would be to buy an IMX571 cooled camera from the likes of Touptek/RisingCam maybe?

Same technology and pixel pitch as the IMX533, but a quite larger sensor.

 

N.F.

 

[paul mc c]

Deed is done.. Hopefully delivered with in the next week. 

[Lee_P]

@paul mc c Congrats! I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice.

[CCD-Freak]

I have not regretted getting an ASI-533MCp.  It is an amazing camera for the price. 

 

[paul mc c]

Got 533 mc pro delivered today,now just trying to get to grips with it.