Following on from the thread in 'Astrophotography and Imaging Equipment and Discussion' concerning the new large format CMOS cameras, I have posted up some test images as I continue to work with these cameras on different instruments i.e lenses and different telescopes.
Well, for a single 15/20 minute image the camera is vastly superior in its capability to a CCD camera, which is to be expected given the specifications.
Calibration with this particular calibration I would say has become easier now that all of the bugs I submitted have been fixed. Unlike the ZWO version, this camera has 3 readout modes, soon to be 8, each requiring their own calibration frames, so it can become very confusing unless you end up settling on one particular setting.
The files are 120Mb in size, when combined and you save it into the 32bit space they become 240Mb. Worse still, if you have the OSC and use PI, the output files from PI are 722Mb each.
Yes, processing is painful and you will certainly need to upgrade everything to use the camera to its full potential...including the PC used to control it and the one you use to process the data.
They’ve come out well there Martin, been eyeing off the QHY600
As for dealing with 60mp files, it’s not that bad. Although I haven’t played with data from this sensor I’ve long been drizzling files from the QHY163M/ASI1600 which produce 60mp images. Drizzle integrating from my Nikon D810 and ASI094 and editing 870mb files. It slows things down a bit but other than that, it’s not really that different.
The one caveat to this is during integration and having to be careful of computer crashes if you don’t pay attention to the size of your stacks I mean, my newer desktop has 128mb of RAM but when integrating 300+ debayered 36.3MP files in PI, if you have it integrate all 4800 pixel stacks at once you’re asking for trouble
Calibration with this particular calibration I would say has become easier now that all of the bugs I submitted have been fixed. Unlike the ZWO version, this camera has 3 readout modes, soon to be 8, each requiring their own calibration frames, so it can become very confusing unless you end up settling on one particular setting.
The files are 120Mb in size, when combined and you save it into the 32bit space they become 240Mb. Worse still, if you have the OSC and use PI, the output files from PI are 722Mb each.
Yes, processing is painful and you will certainly need to upgrade everything to use the camera to its full potential...including the PC used to control it and the one you use to process the data.
Yes the different modes are yet another variable but as you say if you end up using one, say the photographic mode, then that calms it down.
I found standardising the gain and leaving offset at default on a ZWO 183mm helped. Also adding the gain setting to the name of the files was useful as using Sky X the gain is not recorded in the file details. Then there were times when I programmed to do a HaRGB run when the RGB should be at gain 53 and the Ha at gain 111 but in Sky X you can't program the gain level in the take a series tab. So it becomes guess work which gain was used and I could only tell by trying out different darks as a gain 53 dark will not clean up a gain 111 image (at least it does not get rid of the amp glow).
8 modes is silly but I suppose they are trying to appease various users.
Although different modes could be handy say for example imaging the Horsehead and Alnitak, a mode that has deeper wells may prove valuable.
I was going to comment on what a classy image that was of such an oft-imaged target... and then I saw that it was a single sub. Insane! That's awesome, Martin.
Amazing images. The mono panorama is looks "not shot on earth".
I am looking to upgrade to a mono camera with the IMX455. I am torn between the QHY600 and the ASI6200. My impression from reading on forums is that the QHY600 is the better hardware and the ASI6200 has the more stable drivers.
What is your experience, Martin? What is the software stack you have been using?
I would wait until you see some real results from the ZWO camera. The QHY has some fundamental issues still unresolved. But yes, QHY hardware is better and their software has finally come on leaps and bounds with a single universal installer now, but it still has problems of sorts.
The camera has an ASCOM driver so you can use it with whatever program you like.
I would wait until you see some real results from the ZWO camera. The QHY has some fundamental issues still unresolved. But yes, QHY hardware is better and their software has finally come on leaps and bounds with a single universal installer now, but it still has problems of sorts.
The camera has an ASCOM driver so you can use it with whatever program you like.
I would wait until you see some real results from the ZWO camera. The QHY has some fundamental issues still unresolved. But yes, QHY hardware is better and their software has finally come on leaps and bounds with a single universal installer now, but it still has problems of sorts.
The camera has an ASCOM driver so you can use it with whatever program you like.
Martin
Here's a result from my ASI6200MM taken last week over 3 nights :-
Ha 4hrs (600 sec subs)
Oiii 4hrs 40mins (300 sec subs)
Sii 5hrs (600sec subs)
Sensor temp -10C
Gain 0 Offset 50
Bin 1x1
Acquisition done via ASIAir Pro so minimal/no incompatibility issues were encountered. OTA is a Takahashi µ250CRS on a Vixen AXD mount.
Not sure what you mean by ‘acquisition done via ASIAir Pro’. That device is purely a USB and power distribution unit right?
And what is a Takahashi 250CRS?
Thanks
Martin
Acquisition: used ZWO’s RaspberryPi implementation instead of SGP/N.I.N.A/Voyager. So the ASIAir Pro fully compatible with the ASI cameras. I.e. no driver problems encountered.
Edit: I should probably expand a little more. The software is a ZWO proprietary which works only with ZWO cameras/EFW/focuser. The acquisition software runs on the Rasberry Pi itself. The iOS/Android client connects to it via the ASIAir Pro WiFi for configuring the parameters. It’s more a client/server approach rather than a complete RDP-styled protocol.
The Takahashi Mewlon 250CRS is a modified Dall-Kirkham based OTA (FL 2500mm F10 scope). It’s flat-field corrected up to a 40mm image circle. So it’s a little smaller than the ASI6200MM 43mm.
I would wait until you see some real results from the ZWO camera. The QHY has some fundamental issues still unresolved. But yes, QHY hardware is better and their software has finally come on leaps and bounds with a single universal installer now, but it still has problems of sorts.
Thanks, Martin and AnakChan. Exciting times for astrophotographers!
I mean, my newer desktop has 128mb of RAM but when integrating 300+ debayered 36.3MP files in PI, if you have it integrate all 4800 pixel stacks at once you’re asking for trouble 
