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Old 31-05-2013, 03:47 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Comparisons and opinions on different astro cameras

Afternoon everyone!

Here is a basic history of my journey through Astrophotography. In a nutshell:
- I started off using my iPhone capturing pictures.
- I then moved on to using my digital camera.
- Purchased a DSLR but was not suited for my type of telescope therefore I kept the camera and took up photography and other astrophotography with it.
- Purchased a used webcam to modify it but didn't end up working in the end.
- Purchased the Celestron NexImage 5 and still use it to this current day.

Since I am running Mac I had to resort to using a VM with XP to run my camera and works fine. However I am one who likes to experiment around with different equipment, software, etc.

I have been eyeing off these Imaging Source Cameras on the Bintel website and been reading about them on IIS and other forums. These are the ones I am eyeing off the:
- DMK 21AU04.AS
- DBK 21AU618.AS
- DMK 21AU618.AS (new model which is $100 more)

Also I have been looking at the:
- ASI120MC
- ASI120MM

For people that own any of the above cameras could you explain to me your experiences using these cameras and how they would compare to my current NexImage 5? I primary do Planets and the Moon imaging.

My experiences using the NexImage 5 have been very good. It can capture very high resolutions however at a sacrifice of frames. I thought higher resolution was better but obviously the FPS are better.

The only reason I am eyeing off the Imaging Source ones is because I know that they are top quality for the price and have a very good chip. However I am a little put off that the max resolution is only 640x480 (which made me lean more towards the NexImage 5 but the highest resolution I use is 1280x768, around there). To get one with the resolution I use would be in excess of $600.

Any experiences, comments, feedback or advise on these cameras would greatly be appreciated! Also would there be a big change in getting one of them over the NexImage 5?

Thanks!
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Old 01-06-2013, 06:34 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Anyone want to share their experiences?
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Old 01-06-2013, 11:15 PM
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Paul Haese
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I have used DMK21 for planetary imaging about 6 years ago but moved onto various cameras since then. The newer versions are quite good but you will need to consider the use of a colour camera if you are not using a filters.

The 618 version is similar to the camera I am using now (flea 3). The colour version produces great results and Asimov (John) produces fine images with it. Fast and reliable.

The ASI cameras are new to the scene and have a very similar sensor to the flea 3 camera. Some manipulation of the frame rates produces high frame rates but I note that many images made with these cameras have speckle all over the planets despite 3-4000 frame being used for stacking. That should not occur. It is most likely a result of read noise and that is electronic dependant. However, the camera is good value for money and any short comings of read noise will be forgotten with the increase in imaging ability over your current camera.

Personally I have resisted the need for another camera other than the flea3. When something comes along in USB3 that suits my needs I will consider a change.

Best of luck with your choices. Feel free to look through my site for images taken with the DMK (2006) and the flea3. The 618 will produce similar imaging.
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Old 02-06-2013, 12:11 AM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Haese View Post
I have used DMK21 for planetary imaging about 6 years ago but moved onto various cameras since then. The newer versions are quite good but you will need to consider the use of a colour camera if you are not using a filters.

The 618 version is similar to the camera I am using now (flea 3). The colour version produces great results and Asimov (John) produces fine images with it. Fast and reliable.

The ASI cameras are new to the scene and have a very similar sensor to the flea 3 camera. Some manipulation of the frame rates produces high frame rates but I note that many images made with these cameras have speckle all over the planets despite 3-4000 frame being used for stacking. That should not occur. It is most likely a result of read noise and that is electronic dependant. However, the camera is good value for money and any short comings of read noise will be forgotten with the increase in imaging ability over your current camera.

Personally I have resisted the need for another camera other than the flea3. When something comes along in USB3 that suits my needs I will consider a change.

Best of luck with your choices. Feel free to look through my site for images taken with the DMK (2006) and the flea3. The 618 will produce similar imaging.

Thanks Paul. Great website and pictures!

Do you think it's worth changing from my Neximage 5 to a DMK?
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Old 02-06-2013, 02:06 PM
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Absolutely. It will be a step up from what you are accustomed.
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Old 02-06-2013, 04:23 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Absolutely. It will be a step up from what you are accustomed.
I have been looking at the lower end ones as listed in the first post.

How do they perform?
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Old 02-06-2013, 04:33 PM
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Larryp (Laurie)
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QHY make a colour lunar/planetary camera , the IMG132E. Might be worth a look.
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Old 02-06-2013, 04:40 PM
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Stefan are you looking to use one shot colour or monochrome? If you want to use the one shot colour then the DBK is what you should look at if you are concerned about cost.
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Old 02-06-2013, 04:45 PM
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Yes first you must ascertain if you want to go OSC or mono. Unfortunately all of us cannot go mono due to local conditions. In the sub tropics where I am it'll be clear skies & then 2 mins later you'll be clouded out, so mono/3X filter imaging for me was sadly intensely frustrating & I've just stuck with OSC imaging for that reason.

IMO the best OSC camera out there is still the DBK618.
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Old 02-06-2013, 05:02 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Would like to stick with colour. I understand you get a more detailed image with mono but you need to buy filters to add colour and that's more cash.

Eventually I would like to venture into mono.

Last edited by 04Stefan07; 02-06-2013 at 05:20 PM.
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Old 02-06-2013, 06:24 PM
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Shiraz (Ray)
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Hi Stefan. Not sure I understand why you want to change. Your camera has a modern chip with quite high QE - the same as the DMK72. Aptina put almost all of the camera on chip, so its unlikely that Celestron has mucked it up - its should be a sensitive, (probably) low noise camera. Provided the software allows you to select out part of the frame as a region of interest (ROI), you should be able to retain full resolution but at 640x480, which will give you a good framerate for planetary imaging. Having 5mp is great for lunar imaging and the 16 bit data stream might even add some limited possibilities for deep space imaging.

Have you found some problems with the Neximage5?
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Old 02-06-2013, 06:38 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Hi Stefan. Not sure I understand why you want to change. Your camera has a modern chip with quite high QE - the same as the DMK72. Aptina put almost all of the camera on chip, so its unlikely that Celestron has mucked it up - its should be a sensitive, (probably) low noise camera. Provided the software allows you to select out part of the frame as a region of interest (ROI), you should be able to retain full resolution but at 640x480, which will give you a good framerate for planetary imaging. Having 5mp is great for lunar imaging and the 16 bit data stream might even add some limited possibilities for deep space imaging.

Have you found some problems with the Neximage5?
Nah not at all. I just wanted to get some opinions if it's worth moving to an Imaging Source Camera because I hear a lot of good things about them.

The imaging source camera has a slightly higher frame rate at say 640x480 (DMK at 60FPS with Neximage around 52).

The higher resolution is fantastic, I have used max before on the moon and the detail is fantastic but it's a shame it's only around 6 FPS.

Glad to see what different people think .
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