183mcpro vs 294mcpro

[KarlRudin]

Hey guys, new guy here. I have the cgemii, 9.25 edgeHD, .7 FR, and the 183mcpro and before my 30 day return policy expires I’m wondering if I should go with the 294mcpro. Keep in mind I JUST STARTED THE HOBBY this past summer 

this shot of the blue snowball nebula is the best I’ve gotten

Edited October 14, 2023 by KarlRudin

[Elp]

Personally I'd avoid the 294, and maybe get the 533, but the 183 is a capable camera as it's the one I use mainly (but mono) but the small pixels will take a while to saturate at long focal length imaging, this can be mitigated somewhat if you bin2 (halve the resolution in X and y, pixels combine effectively using nearest neighbour, can do it post process rather than at acquisition). The 294 suffers from a coloured pattern effect (look it up, it's a very common issue) in relation to non uniform bias which affects flats calibration, which when applied to your stack leaves a green red colour residue on your stack, by applying background extraction to remove any LP gradients from the image makes the issue worse. I definitely would not recommend the camera to a beginner.

[Budgie1]

As I have an ASI294MC Pro and have used it for the last 3 years, I can say that it's a very capable camera and you won't find another 4/3 sensor at the price.

Yes, it can have issues with the flats, but this is mainly when using the dual-band filters. I use a gain setting of 200 & 30 offset with no issues when using the L-eNhance or Askar Duo-Band filters. You do have use flat calibration frames which are longer than other sensors, 2-5 seconds is recommended, and these do work.

I dug out this thread which I posted, last year to show what this camera can do:

Having said this, the more modern sensors in the likes of the ASI533MC Pro & ASI2600MC Pro are more hassle-free when it comes to the calibration frames required. Also, if you check the Astronomy Tools CCD Suitability Calculator, the ASI294MC Pro is better suited sensor for you 9.25 Edge HD, but you may want to look at the 0.7x reducer to lessen the over-sampling.

These cameras are a big outlay, so don't rush in, make sure the one you get is the one you need.

[iapa]

On 15/10/2023 at 10:29, Elp said:

The 294 suffers from a coloured pattern effect

As I have a ZWO 294 MM and MC,  I did a search and found this supporting thread https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/792863-asi294mc-pro-strange-recurring-color-pattern/

 

Edited October 16, 2023 by iapa

[Elp]

1 hour ago, iapa said:

As I have a ZWO 294 MM and MC,  I did a search and found this supporting thread https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/792863-asi294mc-pro-strange-recurring-color-pattern/

 

Thanks for this, it brings up the issue being on the actual sensor so I'll take a look at mine. One thing I haven't tried is a "slow" system, but with an lextreme and even a luminence filter at F2 the issue is there, my flats also are a few seconds long and matched to dark flats. None of my other zwo cameras exhibit anything like this issue hence the recommendation not to purchase for a beginner, the size of the sensor is alluring, but you'll bang your head against a wall trying to get a decent image out of it so not worth the hassle in my opinion.