Qsi ccd

[cohiba]

Hi Guys
I am looking at updating my CCD equipment, have been looking at the QSI583WSG has anybody any experience with them. From the specifications I have read they appear to be good value for money against similar SBIG models would appreciate any feedback

[madwayne]

Hi Robert

I was fortunate enough to see a brand new one get first light at SPSP on Saturday night. It is a superb instrument that just wreaks of quality - I can't put it any other way. It was installed in the dark, drivers loaded in the dark and worked superbly, you guessed it in the dark ;). The built in filter wheel and factory installed 1.25" filters worked a charm as did Maxim with it's filter changes.

The images that were being taken with it were 5 minute exposures of Tarantula through an 8" LX200 at F10 mounted on an NEQ6 and the data looked exceptionally good as it came up on the laptop.

Hopefully Fred (bassnut) and Marc (multiweb) will come along and vouch for the quality of what was produced both in L, HA as well as RGB as they were there with Mark (not sure of his id on here) the owner of this equipment.

The one that Mark has does not have the off axis guider. He was guiding with an ST80 and an Orion Star Shoot Autoguider (from memory).

I hope this run down gives you an insight as to how well it functioned and hopefully the others will come along with their perspective as well.

Good luck with your decision and from my perspective you could do a darn sight worse than this camera and filter wheel combination.

Wayne

[dugnsuz]

Paul Haese has one of these CCDs and takes fantastic images...
http://paulhaese.net/ThorsHelmetHaRGB.html
http://paulhaese.net/HorseheadLRGB.html
http://paulhaese.net/IC2944RunningChicken.html

[multiweb]

Yeah that was very impressive what Mark was doing that night. First intall, first light and bang! Top shelf shots. Painlessly. :thumbsup:

[cohiba]

Hi Guys
Thanks for the feed back the images Doug posted look great I would like to see what Mark finished up with straight out of the box

[dugnsuz]

PM Paul - he'll give you the in-depth about this camera.
Cheers
Doug:thumbsup:

ps...I really like the fact that the guiding models have the prism before the filters so that the guidestar isn't acquired through a NB filter - very smart. And, the design allows the use of 1.25" filters - cost effective.
Unfortunately $4899 (at Bintel) for the flagship model is way to rich for me right now.

[allan gould]

Sorry, as I appear to have missed this thread.
Have bought the QSI583wsg and can vouch for it being top gear. Straight out of the box it worked perfectly. The OAG component - may need to check that your setup can cover the prism properly and that stars will come to focus with your setup, otherwise you are up for another $240 to bring it to focus with a new spacer plate. Some have to go down this road, me being one.
Workmanship is second to none and I use CCDSoft with it and it is perfect.

[Paul Haese]

Hi there, just found this thread too.

QSI583WSG is a superb camera. Great data too and low noise. Guiding with the off axis guider is really great, but like Allan said I had to get a spacer to focus correctly. The size of the unit means it is very light and easy for balance.

Being light though does present one issue. Cooling during summer can only really reach -15C but with a water unit you can get another 10 degrees C. This means that you have to take a lot more subs to get that smooth image.

Overall, I really like this camera. I got one the first ones in Australia and was instantly impressed with it. It took some time to work out how to use the guider properly but now I am really happy with the unit.

There are lots of images on my site that are taken with this camera as Doug has pointed out.

[Bassnut]

Ditto, I was supprised by the no fuss install and results, despite the distractions ;).

[Vanda]

Whats the approx damage to the pocket?

[Paul Haese]

Ian the camera starts from 3900 but that does not include WSG components and filters. With WSG it looks like it is around 5300 and then filters are around 400 on top.

[allan gould]

Unfortunately, now you will be hit with the falling AUD. Was significantly cheaper a few weeks ago.
Just got hit for the new price for the spacer mentioned above.