[C8er (Chris)]

Hi All,

An imaging beginner here (imaging for last few months done with a Canon 60D DSLR) confused by the range of options on offer, looking for thoughts/options for a suitable mid range, one shot colour, cooled CCD cam for deep space imaging that would be suitable to use through a range of scopes, primarily on an 8 inch SCT (F10/2032mm focal length, and with reducer at f6.3), but also at times for wider angle imaging on a 5.1 inch reflector (F5, 650mm focal length) and perhaps with 80mm refractors (from F4 - F7). I would be using it on a Celestron CG5-GT goto Eq mount with an Orion SSAG autoguider, so it probably can't be too big and heavy.

If it was suitable for use with Hyperstar on the SCT at some stage if I went that way that would be great too.

My main targets for the device would be nebulae and galaxies I think, as my DSLR does a pretty decent job on Star clusters.

Currently I use DSS for stacking etc of my DSLR images, which works just fine, but if any of the brands of CCD cams come with exceptionally good, easy to use image processing software then that could be a factor in what I buy.

I have a ZWO Optical CMOS camera for solar system imaging, and also a modified Samsung SCB-2000 for video/several seconds integration viewing and imaging.

I think my price range (excluding shipping costs, import taxes etc) is in the USD $1200 - $2000 range and I am happy to buy from outside my own country (NZ) where there is a very limited range of astronomy dealers, to get the best price.

So far some of the options I can see seem to be the ones below, but there are so many choices I have no idea which might be better/most easy to use/ most suitable for my particular scopes and mount. (Prices below I have found are in USD, mostly from US dealer websites)

ATIK. (314L+ at $1628 or 383L+ at $1790)

Celestron. Nightscape or Nightscape 8300.

QHY. 8L, 8Pro, or 9C.

Tucsen. 6MP cooled TCC-6.1ICE. Sseems unproven and only 12 bit, but very cheap direct from Tucsen.

Opticstar. DS-616C XL (I think possibly a rebadged Tucsen?)

SBIG. STF-8300C (on special at $1795 currently)

Starlight Express. SXVR-H9.

I'd be interested in your thoughts on advantages/disadvantages of those and other options for use with the scopes I have.

Also, I see Atik and others suggest on their websites that their latest CCD cams, even just mid range ones, remove the need for taking dark frames in most situations. Is that really true?

Cheers and Thanks.