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Old 12-10-2015, 11:29 AM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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help with mono cam selection

hi IIS'ers,

yep another which camera thread. looking very likely to FINALLY push the button and buy a mono cam. This will be for my 12" f4 scope. the decision is easier after deciding to leave mono dslr's alone for now. i'm pretty much down to a few options with 2 favourites (option 1 and 2).

Option 1: QHY9
pro's, wider fov, COST, better well depth than sonys.
con's, not as high qe as other options. binning.

Option 2: Atik 460ex
benefits, hi qe, very clean, faster imaging, binning potential (esp with barlow)
cons, smaller fov = mosaics, atik cooling?

Option 3: Atik 490ex
pros; hi qe, high res in good seeing (rare! here but perhaps good when I go away).
cons; smaller pixels than 460 (and Melbourne seeing) and slightly lower well depth, cost, atik cooling?

Will also want to do the occasional galaxy or PN with a 2x barlow.
eventually I plan to use another scope with a similar FL and a OSC to collect colour and mostly use this for L and NB.

pretty 50-50 on the 8300 v 694 chip, i'll probably be happy with any of them. Perhaps the $500-$600 saving will be more useful going to the 'colour scope' setup.

Russ
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Old 12-10-2015, 07:16 PM
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Atmos (Colin)
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There is a review on IIS of the Atik 490 and 460 that I read a while back. Basically the 460 performs better than 490. Cannot remember the exact details but it was an interacting thread.
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Old 12-10-2015, 08:26 PM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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There is a review on IIS of the Atik 490 and 460 that I read a while back. Basically the 460 performs better than 490. Cannot remember the exact details but it was an interacting thread.
thanks Colin, yes that confirms what my thoughts were on the 490ex. struggling on the 460ex v qhy9 decision. i guess there is no 'right answer' both light years better than my dslr!
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Old 12-10-2015, 09:08 PM
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Slawomir (Suavi)
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Hi Russell,

Whatever camera you will decide to get - I am sure you will be delighted with higher detail and greater versatility of a mono camera.

If funds allow for it, I would probably look favourably at Atik One plus dedicated OAG - the one Atik sells as a package. Better cooling, Argon filled CCD chamber, and also integrated wheel and OAG means no issues with flex. Let's face it, you will need a filter wheel. Yes, with Atik cameras filters can be attached one at the time directly to the camera, but detaching the camera from the scope each time you would like to to change a filter is just too risky IMO.

Also, ICX 814 (Atik 490 or Atik One 9.0) is IMO a more interesting choice - at a cost of slightly lower sensitivity you get a higher resolution and if needed you can bin it 2x2 and create larger pixels and thus greater well depth and still have a decent resolution for imaging at longer fl.

Personally, I would not swap ICX 814 for ICX 694.

Cannot comment on QHY unfortunately.
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Old 13-10-2015, 04:32 PM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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Originally Posted by Slawomir View Post
Hi Russell,

Whatever camera you will decide to get - I am sure you will be delighted with higher detail and greater versatility of a mono camera.

If funds allow for it, I would probably look favourably at Atik One plus dedicated OAG - the one Atik sells as a package. Better cooling, Argon filled CCD chamber, and also integrated wheel and OAG means no issues with flex. Let's face it, you will need a filter wheel. Yes, with Atik cameras filters can be attached one at the time directly to the camera, but detaching the camera from the scope each time you would like to to change a filter is just too risky IMO.

Also, ICX 814 (Atik 490 or Atik One 9.0) is IMO a more interesting choice - at a cost of slightly lower sensitivity you get a higher resolution and if needed you can bin it 2x2 and create larger pixels and thus greater well depth and still have a decent resolution for imaging at longer fl.

Personally, I would not swap ICX 814 for ICX 694.

Cannot comment on QHY unfortunately.
thanks for the first hand experience on the chip Slawomir. That is interesting what you say about the 814. the idea of having a contained imaging unit with less cords / flexure etc makes sense too. my cord management is quite poor with my dslr/oag setup. these units maybe starting to head out of my price range perhaps not the 6.0 well maybe w/out the OAG and guider. I've currently got cls-ccd Ha Oiii and S2 in 2", so new additional purchases required. I'll have to mull over it a bit more, I currently use filter draws rather than a filter wheel which also reduce flexure but are more hands on. I probably only change them once a night, taking them in and out doesn't bother me, perhaps exposing them to humidity and the outside world does.
More food for thought.

Cheers
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Old 13-10-2015, 05:02 PM
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No worries Russell

Filter draws are certainly another good option, in particular with minimising pressure (weight) on the focuser and when back focus is limited and you already have a set of 2" filters.
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Old 18-10-2015, 10:29 AM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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Qhy22

Well as is often the case you end up with something different. Well different brand.
Have put an order in for a qhy22 woohoo! Will be nice to have a cooled cam for a change. Hot summer nights will be dslr noise free from now on Will have to stick to narrowband for a while though but that's ok. It's more expensive than the atik but has much better cooling etc.

Open to suggestions for first light it'll hopefully be here in a couple of weeks (full moon).
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Old 18-10-2015, 11:16 AM
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Congratulations Russell
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  #9  
Old 18-10-2015, 11:38 AM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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Originally Posted by Slawomir View Post
Congratulations Russell
thanks Slawomir pretty excited, it has been a slow process in being able to upgrade the equipment as i go - my aim this year was to get a cooled cam/mono. i couldn't go through another summer of noise. i think i started buying the nb filters back in feb - didn't want to end up with a mono cam and no filters for 9 months. will probably now get my 600d cooled at central ds. my current aim is running two scopes on capturing colour the other L and NB as i don't manage to get much imaging time.

cheers
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Old 18-10-2015, 06:21 PM
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RickS (Rick)
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Should be a nice camera, Russ, with high QE and low read noise. If only Sony would make some bigger chips!

Cheers,
Rick.
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Old 18-10-2015, 07:56 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rustigsmed View Post
thanks Slawomir pretty excited, it has been a slow process in being able to upgrade the equipment as i go - my aim this year was to get a cooled cam/mono. i couldn't go through another summer of noise. i think i started buying the nb filters back in feb - didn't want to end up with a mono cam and no filters for 9 months. will probably now get my 600d cooled at central ds. my current aim is running two scopes on capturing colour the other L and NB as i don't manage to get much imaging time.

cheers

I am confident you will be delighted with your new mono camera Russell. Effective cooling, light weight and low read noise - beautiful!
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  #12  
Old 19-10-2015, 01:34 PM
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rustigsmed (Russell)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RickS View Post
Should be a nice camera, Russ, with high QE and low read noise. If only Sony would make some bigger chips!

Cheers,
Rick.
Hi Rick, yeah I know ... that is why I was considering a mono cooled dslr for a while there, i'll just have to live with the smaller fov/less pixels and maybe do the occasional mosaic. the big sensor can wait some more years yet ... haha, next big purchase no doubt the purchases will continue

Quote:
Originally Posted by Slawomir View Post
I am confident you will be delighted with your new mono camera Russell. Effective cooling, light weight and low read noise - beautiful!
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