Camera advice needed

[Starflyer]

I have a Coronado SolarMax II 60 / BF10, and have imaged on and off with an old USB 2 CCD camera for a few years. I want to make the most of the sun's activity building up and so I'm in the market for a new camera.

What are people using these days, I have my eye on a 174MM, but is this the best solution? Also what tilt adapter are people using, I haven't needed one with the CCD, but with the move to CMOS I guess I'll need one?

I have a fast mini PC with an m2 nvme drive so I should be able to capture at decent speeds.

 

Cheers,

Ian 

[Dave Smith]

I would certainly recommend the 174MM camera. It has a large chip which gives the full solar disc in one with my Lunt 80 and runs at just over 100 fps provided you use USB3 leads. A tilt adapter is effective to stop the interference bands.

Dave

[Starflyer]

10 hours ago, Dave Smith said:

I would certainly recommend the 174MM camera. It has a large chip which gives the full solar disc in one with my Lunt 80 and runs at just over 100 fps provided you use USB3 leads. A tilt adapter is effective to stop the interference bands.

Dave

Thanks Dave, so the following should get me going, anything else I'll need?

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/zwo-cameras/zwo-asi174mm-usb-3-mono-camera.html

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/adapters/astro-essentials-m42t-female-to-m42t-male-tilt-adjuster.html

 

Ian

[Dave Smith]

Looks OK. I use a Rowan tilt adapter but see no reason why the FLO one should not be alright,

Dave

[Bilco]

another  option is Player one  Apollo -M with a built in tilt adaptor.

 

[Rusted]

The ASI174MM is well respected and features in many successful solar imager's equipment list.

Emphasis on the USB3 and large capacity internal SSDs for fast frame rates with the '174.
Otherwise you will be constantly erasing old data to find room for the next batch.
Samsung external T5s are not as fast as internal NVMe. [IME]

Banding is not always the case with the '174. I bought a T2 tilter but don't need it.
It all depends on the individual set-up.
 

[Zakalwe]

The pixel size on the 174 is a bit too large for the 80mm, although it works extremely well with setups using a longer focal length (such as when using a Quark). Perhaps one with smaller pixel will work better. I pair an ASI 178MM with my Lunt L60 and it does nicely.

[Starflyer]

Thanks for all the replies, I've been away so only just catching up.

Due to the pixel size I'm considering the 178MM now, does the rolling shutter make a difference compared to the global shutter of the 174MM?

Also do people shoot at 10bit to get 60fps at full resolution? @Ibbo! I see you're imaging with the Lunt 60 double stacked with this camera, any comments on camera choice from you?  Your images are outstanding btw, if I can achieve anything close to them I'll be happy.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Starflyer

[Ibbo!]

I like the 178 for my setup but it is tight to get full disc.

To get 60fps with my pc I have a PCIe drive, with ROI I can get well over 100fps when doing planets.

[Starflyer]

53 minutes ago, Ibbo! said:

I like the 178 for my setup but it is tight to get full disc.

To get 60fps with my pc I have a PCIe drive, with ROI I can get well over 100fps when doing planets.

Thanks for the fast reply Steve.

I think my SMII 60 is a bit shorter focal length than your Lunt so I should get a full disk with no problems, do you need a tilt adapter?

The 178MM looks a better fit than the 174MM which would be well undersampled, thanks for pointing that out @Zakalwe.

[Ibbo!]

29 minutes ago, Starflyer said:

do you need a tilt adapter?

Not for single stack but yes for double stack.

[Ibbo!]

3 hours ago, Ibbo! said:

Not for single stack but yes for double stack.

I forgot also for when I tried the powermate.