Zwo 294 mc pro settings.

[paul71]

Hi folks just wondering if anybody else out there is using the zwo294mc pro
camera and what gain settings and exposure times you are using.
I have paired this camera with an 80mm APO and am not sure where to start as far as gain is concerned.
Do i do short subs with high gain or longer subs with lower gain please let me know what works for you guys on objects like Triffid and Lagoon nebs.

[The_bluester]

I have one. First thing, if mine (using an ED72) is anything to go by, get a UV-IR filter in there, the difference that made on mine was insane.

Secondly. I have done ten minute (and a few 20 minute) subs at zero gain but mostly I have been doing 5 minutes at 120 gain. Once I get an adapter back that is being modified to mount my UV-IR filter nicely I will have to start again to see what is what sub length wise. But 300 seconds at 120 gain is a good place to start.

[tileys]

I am using it with a 200mm f/4 (fast) scope with a Baader MPCC and a SVBony LPS filter (trying that out) and I have so far standardised on just a little above unity gain - 140, and am exposing for 60 sec subs - live stacking into Sharpcap - at zero degrees temp setting - it looks to be a good general setting for brighter objects but I feel I need longer subs or a higher gain (and maybe a better LPS filter or an additional IR cut or Lum filter) for dimmer objects like M83. It's still early days for me with this cam and I am now holding off for a little while until the moon rises a bit later to get rid of some of the skyglow.

I watched a great vid on YTube by the Sharpcap creator where he discussed the key variables for noise, temp etc. The sensor on these is not very noisy at all and can I think be pushed into higher gain without too much noticeable noise and it seems that you really will not notice much improvement if you drag the temp much below 5 degrees and indeed, if you try and pull it down to e.g. -5, -10, -15 you are probably just creating problems for yourself with icing.

Be keen to hear of other peoples experiences with it.

Cannot upload images from here easily - might do so later...

[The_bluester]

I normally run mine at -15 degrees and have not had any ice issues so far.

I found I did not like the look of higher gain long subs as much so I settled on the F4.9 setup at 5 minutes and 120 gain. As I said. Having added the filter I will need to re evaluate that as issues I was seeing were probably more related to the IR than to anything else.