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Need advise on SPC900 upgrade.. QHY5v, DMK21??

Revs

By Revs
in Discussions - Cameras

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Revs

Revs

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Hey all,

I'm currently using an SPC900NC for imaging planets, but I'm thinking of upgrading to something better, with a view to maybe using it as a guide cam in the future.

This is a bit of a minefield for the inexperienced so I call on you, my SGL buddies, to help me out :p

For the time being this will be being used in my Mak and, having read Paul's 'Choosing a CCD Camera' page, a mono camera seems the best option for image quality. So please gimmi some suggestions on what might be best!

Budget wise I'd say the limit is £450-500, but of course if I choose a mono cam, this will have to include filters, filter wheel and whatever adapter bits required.

Thanks in advance :D

EDIT: So far the DMK21 is looking best to me, but I don't really know.. http://www.firstlightoptics.com/proddetail.php?prod=DMK_21AU04.AS_mono

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malc-c

malc-c

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Just to throw another option into the mix, how about modifying your SPC900NC for long exposure... agreed you probably won't get better resolution than the 640 x 480 VGA spec of the camera, but it's a cheaper option.

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cgarry

cgarry

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For the time being this will be being used in my Mak and, having read Paul's 'Choosing a CCD Camera' page, a mono camera seems the best option for image quality.

Is a mono camera really the best way to go for planetary imaging? You would need to take 4 AVIs (LRGB) very quickly to prevent the planet rotation from spoiling your image. I would have thought that less frames stacked would lead to more noise in the final image.

This is of interest for me as I too am considering moving on from the SPC900.

Cheers,

Chris

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Revs

Revs

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Is a mono camera really the best way to go for planetary imaging? You would need to take 4 AVIs (LRGB) very quickly to prevent the planet rotation from spoiling your image. I would have thought that less frames stacked would lead to more noise in the final image.

This is of interest for me as I too am considering moving on from the SPC900.

Cheers,

Chris

Yes, you'd have to get organised and be very fast at changing the filters and moving to the next exposure. I know an electric filter wheel is best for planetary imaging with a mono camera, but they're expensive. From what I read, colour CCD's are less sensitive and have more noise.

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Revs

Revs

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Cheers for the feedback guys. Are there any contenders other than these two?

revs, how about going dslr route, would work out cheaper than other option and looks like dslr`s can do some excellent planet /lunar work

I've got a 1000D, which is my camera of choice for the Moon due to the sensor size, but it's not a patch on the 900NC for planetary detail (see pics in my profile). The 1000D is 12bit vs 24bit on the 900NC, plus collecting frames on the DSLR is a pain compared to the 900NC.

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AstroManDan

AstroManDan

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I went from an SPC900 to a DMK21 Mono. Best move ever.

You get so much more control of the driver settings, whereas on the Philips you only had about 6 moves of a slider for each parameter now on the DMK you get lots of small increments.

You can mono image the Sun and give it false colour in PS. The moon is mono anyway, when it comes to planets I have only imaged in mono, but I do now have a SX USB filter wheel with Astronomik LRGB filters, so I'll be trying that on Saturn soon.

Daniel

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Revs

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Webcams use 8-bit A/D, but you may save the stack as 24-bit color image.

It registers as 24bit in Properties and it says it's 24bit on the Morgan website. Does it output 24bit files but with a 8bit adc?

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Revs

Revs

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DMK21 it is :D

So the next question is; mono or colour?? Going for a colour one will save me £200 ish on filters/wheel, but will the resulting image be £200 worse??

If anyone knows of any comparison shots, please post a link :)

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riklaunim

riklaunim

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Mono will give you more flexibility (ease of using infrared or other filter). Color won't be that much worse - it will work very well if the conditions will be very good.

If you alredy have SPC experience and you aren't in a hurry - wait a bit for the new TIS cameras - color or mono with new sensor ICX618 (and fixes) - it will be a noticable improvement over the SPC and current DMK/DFK/DBK sensor.

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Revs

Revs

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Cheers for that, riklaunim :)

I think the best thing to do for now is to wait... I hate waiting :), but it's the logical thing to do for the time being.

Bern at MA says he can do a modded DMK21 with a ICX618 sensor and a noise reduction mod, but obviously that's more money again. I'll wait to see what people think of this newer version, if it ever comes out. It'll give me time to save more cash, too :D

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