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Old 11-11-2013, 03:15 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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Camera quality and Telescope quality

Just something I thought of which would be good to discuss.

I wanted to know when imaging whether it would be planets, deep sky, solar, etc how much of the image quality comes down to the camera or telescope or a combination of both?

Example.

- High-end telescope/good optics and low-end camera
- Low-end telescope/decent optics and high-end camera

Just curious...
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Old 11-11-2013, 03:18 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 04Stefan07 View Post
Just something I thought of which would be good to discuss.

I wanted to know when imaging whether it would be planets, deep sky, solar, etc how much of the image quality comes down to the camera or telescope or a combination of both?

Example.

- High-end telescope/good optics and low-end camera
- Low-end telescope/decent optics and high-end camera

Just curious...
Interesting question. I would rate the camera slightly higher than the telescope. But then the larger chipped cameras require a higher end telescope to work properly.

But you can get good images with a good camera on a modest telescope. Its harder the other way round.

Ideally of course both are matched well. There's ways of matching scope and optics to be ideal.

Greg.
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Old 11-11-2013, 07:27 PM
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I would agree.... and then the mount trumps both.... (for DSOs anyway)
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Old 11-11-2013, 07:52 PM
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AstroJunk (Jonathan)
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A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and in astrophotography, that link is me

But if you want to know where to invest your money first, remember that a good telescope lasts forever whilst cameras are superseded by the next big thing every few months...
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Old 11-11-2013, 08:50 PM
04Stefan07 (Stefan)
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A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and in astrophotography, that link is me
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Old 11-11-2013, 11:27 PM
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cometcatcher (Kevin)
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I could put my unmodded Pentax DSLR on a Tak and not get much better pics than I am now. A better camera would go a lot further in my case as my enemy is noise from the heat in the tropics and insensitivity to Ha from the inbuilt filter.
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Old 12-11-2013, 05:23 PM
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lazjen (Chris)
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I think there's basic minimums to be met by both camera and scope. If you're past those, then the inadequacies of one may be shown up by the other.

So for me as I'm reducing the number of errors I do (I'm probably the weak link in my system like others have mentioned for themselves ), I'm finding the limitations in my system. For me, the biggest is the camera (well, actually location but I can't do anything realistic about that). The 6D is an awesome camera, but being an unmodded DSLR it's got limitations that even I'm starting to hit. Some of my enemies are like those of Kevin's - noise from heat and the insensitivity to Ha.

Still, the camera is "good enough" for now. I spent the money on the mount and scope and eventually I'll improve the camera system to match.

If I could have foreseen where I am now from where I started, PLUS I had the benefit of all the learning I've had so far, AND I was buying from scratch again - I'd be even more broke because I would have spent a heap more on a CCD camera as well.
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Old 12-11-2013, 05:37 PM
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Cam is way ahead of scope IMO. Put a hi QE astro cam (smallish chip) on an ED80 and you can make magic. An unmoded DSLR on a 12" wonder tube, world of pain. Assuming a reasonable mount, in all cases. If you really want to go cheap , and have the time, megadata and decon just about buries any gear deficiencies.
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Old 12-11-2013, 06:43 PM
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Shiraz (Ray)
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cam is way ahead of scope imo. Put a hi qe astro cam (smallish chip) on an ed80 and you can make magic. An unmoded dslr on a 12" wonder tube, world of pain. Assuming a reasonable mount, in all cases. If you really want to go cheap , and have the time, megadata and decon just about buries any gear deficiencies.
+1

also, much of the time, the atmosphere is the ultimate limiting factor - for example, if the seeing is 3 arc secs, that's the best resolution you get with a 6inch Newt, a 20inch RC or the 3.9m AAT.

Last edited by Shiraz; 12-11-2013 at 07:21 PM.
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Old 13-11-2013, 04:52 PM
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I assuming you have a good mount, but in this order I would put things:
  1. Mount - number one priority
  2. Camera - buy the best one you can afford.
  3. Telescope - good optics make good images.
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