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Old 24-08-2018, 07:20 PM
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OneCosmos (Chris)
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Qhy/atik 16200

Currently I'm a very happy and long-time owner of a QHY 12 OSC camera and still think it is a great camera. The problem is though that even with a CLS filter I rarely bother to take images from my backyard observatory because I'm so close to the CBD the raw data is never as good as I know I can get. If I lived under dark skies I don't think I would change it, but I want to do more imaging than once a year at Astrofest. The effort of taking everything to dark skies is onerous.


I know there is a huge discussion these days about the death of CCD and the rise of CMOS and everyone is raging about the ASI 1600. I don't doubt the CMOS revolution is coming, but I'm not certain it has quite slayed the CCD just yet.


With that in mind, if you were buying a mono CCD camera today which would you buy? I'm open to suggestions but I like the look of the 16200 and both QHY and Atik make cameras using this chip. Does anyone actually own and use either of these? If so, I'd like to hear what you think of them.


How come the Atik one is physically so massive compared to the slim, sleek QHY?


The camera is to use on my APM 152mm f8 refractor reduced to f6.


Chris
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Old 24-08-2018, 07:58 PM
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RickS (Rick)
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Hi Chris,

With the QHY12 you are getting a FOV of about 89x59 arcmin at an image scale of 1.16 arcsec/pixel. The 16200 would give you a bigger FOV of approx 102x81 arcmin at an image scale of 1.36 arcsec/pixel and would be about 3 times as fast to get to the same SNR. Sounds like a great option assuming the image circle of the scope/reducer is adequate for the bigger sensor.

I have used a couple of 16200 cameras and I like the sensor a lot.

I'm also a recent convert to the ASI1600/CMOS. I just bought one for a specific task: very fast imaging with camera lenses. On your scope the FOV would be approx 67x50 arcmin at an image scale of 0.86 arcsec/pixel. It would be faster than your QHY12 but less than half the speed of the 16200. If you wanted to target smaller targets, like galaxies, and were willing to spend more time on them then this would be a reasonable choice as well.

Cheers,
Rick.
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Old 24-08-2018, 08:05 PM
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OneCosmos (Chris)
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Thanks Rick. I'll research both options more but I didn't quite understand the comment about being faster to achieve the same SNR. Do you mean simply because it is mono?
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Old 24-08-2018, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by OneCosmos View Post
Thanks Rick. I'll research both options more but I didn't quite understand the comment about being faster to achieve the same SNR. Do you mean simply because it is mono?
Hi Chris,

The OSC camera pays a significant penalty because of the Bayer matrix compared to a mono camera where you can collect luminance data much faster (though once you allow for collecting RGB data the improvement in speed is reduced somewhat) and the 16200 has slightly larger pixels, so you collect photons more quickly at the cost of a reduction in resolution.

Cheers,
Rick.
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Old 24-08-2018, 08:16 PM
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OneCosmos (Chris)
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OK, makes sense. I have to say the ASI1600 with filter wheel and a full set of 36mm LRGB and narrowband filters (no idea how good they are) is barely above $2k - incredibly cheap compared to the CCD cameras.


Chris
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Old 24-08-2018, 08:40 PM
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I have to say the ASI1600 with filter wheel and a full set of 36mm LRGB and narrowband filters (no idea how good they are) is barely above $2k - incredibly cheap compared to the CCD cameras.
A great deal, especially with the Astrofest discount if you're quick. It's a smaller chip and the pixels are small too, so it doesn't collect photons as quickly as the other cameras... but you get better resolution and great read noise.

All the options you presented are quite reasonable. Depends on what is most important to you (FOV size, resolution, imaging speed...)
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Old 28-08-2018, 02:54 PM
Star Catcher (Ted Dobosz)
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Yes I own a 16200A and the 50mm filter wheel. I like the sensor also. The filter wheel works nicely, the butterfly shutter does not leave any artefacts. It is a relatively light combination for your scope. Sensor is pretty clean looking. I haven't done as much imaging as I would like though. I also looked at the ATIK version but was particularly concerned about reported shutter issues in some of their products.


Ted
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Old 28-08-2018, 05:42 PM
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I have a FLI ML16 and its a great sensor. 6 micron pixels suits faster and shorter focal length scopes which are more common these days.

The chip has a nice FOV but not so much that you need a 4 inch focuser.

Greg.
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