Anyone Tried A Firewire Camera??

[gbeal]

Hi all,
having used a ToUcam for quite a while now, I am wondering about trying a Firewire camera. I know of a few others who have overseas, but wondered if anyone within this group has, and if so, what their experiences, good and bad, have been.
I really need a "Seeing Adjustment Device" first, but in the interim maybe this new tack will help.

[iceman]

Paul Haese in SA bought one recently. By the time you get the camera (a mono one), filters, auto/manual filter wheel, you're looking at at least $2k-$3k.

So not cheap. But the results definitely seem worth it.

Increased sensitivity, higher frame rate, no compression.

All good things. It will most likely be my next imaging purchase (yes, even before an EQ6!), but at that cost, it's some time away.

[netwolf]

What do you guys think about using MiniDV cameras? You can get the video straight to you computer via Firewire on these.

[joe_smith]

Pauls work can be found here http://southcelestialpole.org/scpBB/viewforum.php?f=4

But as iceman said it exspenive setup, but you get the very good results with it.

[gbeal]

Thanks Mike, I have actually spoken to him about it, and his results certainly speak for themselves. I just wondered if anyone else had taken the plunge as well.
Like you, it could be a while away given the cost(s). Plus if Paul's results are anything to go by, it wasn't an instant transformation, rather a whole new learning curve. He certainly is on top of it now though.
More study needed.
Gary

[asimov]

I'm wondering what the colour cameras are like as opposed to the mono like Pauls....?

[iceman]

Easier to use, but less resolution, and no ability to manually focus each colour channel, or manually change the capture parameters (gain etc) for each colour channel.

It's certainly a next step up, and cheaper because you won't need colour filters, filter wheels etc, but if you're going to spend that sort of money, I reckon it's worth going the extra yards and going mono/RGB.