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New ZWO camera with built in guide chip?


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As I recall SBIG had / have something similar, so not a new idea.

 

Edit: After typing this I realised that it might sound like a put-down. It's not meant to be, I think it's a good idea.

Edited by DaveS
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24 minutes ago, powerlord said:

if not an april fool, not a bad idea?

Seems like launch date of April 12th at NEAF, and first of a new range of cameras. Not sure I can justify replacing what I have, but an interesting concept which would remove some issues such as spacing when using an OAG. 

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The main sensor looks pretty large, maybe a full frame. If so its going to be very expensive and most scopes wont be able to take it.

But if this is a range of new products then maybe there could be more wallet friendly options with 21-28mm diagonal sensors? Seems like a useful idea, one less imaging train trinket to worry about.

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I suppose it wouldn’t make sense to market a camera that’s out of step image circle wise with most OTAs that are out there. Like @DaveS, I remember the SBIG version, but it never really caught on.  If you are setting up a rig then it could be a cost effective and simpler alternative to an OAG/guide camera but if you already have the kit set up and working it might be hard to justify.

But all credit to ZWO for bringing new stuff to the market place.

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1 hour ago, DaveS said:

This is the back of my old 183 camera

 

From the photo it looks to be a bigger diameter.

Your camera has the same casing as my ASI533 - the render looks like a 2600 or 6200 size casing and if you compare with images on the FLO website you can see that the front of the camera looks like that of the 6200. That makes sense as it has to accommodate two sensors - as to which sensors I guess we'll have to wait until April 12th!

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I guess if they used a guide sensor with large pixels and high gain they could get fast guide speeds. I have to believe that ZWO would not have produced an in camera guide system that does not play well with their AM5 and its fast guide requirements. Also do ZWO not know that mirrors do not invert top to bottom? See how that knob moved from the top to the bottom? (Is that what Quroboros meant).

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19 hours ago, david_taurus83 said:

So 2" filters at a minimum. if you swung a 3nm filter in front of it with a 2 or 3 second guide exposure? Love the idea but perhaps ideal only for OSC?

There's the catch. You would be guiding through any filter, which limits the number of usable stars, especially when imaging away from our own galaxy. Even with an osc, using lp filters or dual band filters can be a problem.

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27 minutes ago, wimvb said:

There's the catch. You would be guiding through any filter, which limits the number of usable stars, especially when imaging away from our own galaxy. Even with an osc, using lp filters or dual band filters can be a problem.

May be they will have a new range of clip in style filters that cover the main sensor but not the guide sensor - after all it's a way to make more money!

And as it's fun to speculate, I'm going to guess the launch model is a combined ASI2600 and ASI220 - so IMX571 and SC2210 sensors.

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It is an old idea than never took off since it will be behind any filter. I agree with @wimvb, it would give you a lot a frustrating nights without finding a guide star when you have a NB filter in the optical path. Even with a OSC you want to put a dual or triple band filter in when the moon is up or the Bortle is high and then 3 s exposures for the guide camera would probably exclude it from picking up any stars.

Edited by gorann
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Struggling with the interaction with filters. If it’s mono then LRGB will be fine so maybe ok for galaxies but then problematic if you want the Ha. For OSC similar issue with dual narrowband which are now very good. can they have come up with some orientable drop in filters that only cover the larger sensor? 

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2 hours ago, Shimrod said:

May be they will have a new range of clip in style filters that cover the main sensor but not the guide sensor - after all it's a way to make more money!

And as it's fun to speculate, I'm going to guess the launch model is a combined ASI2600 and ASI220 - so IMX571 and SC2210 sensors.

 

48 minutes ago, UKAstroBill said:

Struggling with the interaction with filters. If it’s mono then LRGB will be fine so maybe ok for galaxies but then problematic if you want the Ha. For OSC similar issue with dual narrowband which are now very good. can they have come up with some orientable drop in filters that only cover the larger sensor? 

Any partial or clip in filters have edges that will create havoc in one way or other. In the end, OAG may just be simpler.

Btw, from their FaceBook page it looks like ZWO will also release a new line of APO telescopes and a smaller (?) version of their mount

Edited by wimvb
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Yes, any non-circular filter just covering the main sensor would likely be disastrous due to reflections so I doubt that ZWO would offer that. A set up like this would just limit your options for what you can do with your system. And why do it? Fitting in an OAG into your optical train is not a major problem in my experience, and many filter wheels (e.g. Starlight XPress) come with a built in OAG.

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