FLI Microline 16803 on special

[gregbradley]

I thought I'd let those know who may be interested that OPT has the FLI
Microline 16803 (16.8 mp chip) on special for US$8875.

I know I know its a lot of money but not in the STL11000M, FLI Proline, Apogee U16M, SBIG STX band of cameras.

I have a Microline 8300 and I can tell you the Microline range of cameras is probably the sweet spot for camera performance. They have almost all the features of the Proline (it has slightly superior cooling but the Microline does -50C on the large 16803 chip and gets there in 5 minutes).

They are small and lightweight, fabulous electronics and low noise and fast download speeds.

I'd say this camera is most likely the best out there in that chip size and best bang for your buck.

When you consider you can sell a 2nd hand STL11000 for about US$6500 its not that much extra you'd have to put in to get one and it'd last for a long time before "needing" to upgrade.

Hell I am considering selling my Apogee U16M to get one but thats a little over the top (when did that ever stop me!!).

Greg.

[AlexN]

What are you doing hanging around here?? Go place an order!! :)

That is a great price for the ML 16803, however well out of my price range :( (I'd prefer an ML8300 anyhow..) :)

[gregbradley]

Hehehe, that's funny Alex.

At the end of the day its too similar and not enough gain plus the loss
from selling and rebuying + GST and then theres the filter wheel issue and my Apogee filter wheel probably can't be mated with a FLI.
All for better cooling which whilst valuable isn't enough of an incentive.

A better mount would be wiser.

The 8300 has its advantages over the wider field 16803 for sure. Depends on what type of image you prefer to make.
16803 for the widefields and the 8300 for the narrow field/galaxy type image again depending on your scope.

Greg.