Atik ATK-1C vs ToUcam?

[iceman]

Seeker, I know you have this CCD webcam, yah?

http://www.perseu.pt/index.html?target=p_995.html&lang=en-us

It's listed at 279 Euro on that site.. how much did you pay for it?

It equates to around $450 Aussie.. damn exchange rate! :)

How would it compare to a ToUcam pro? I can pick up the Toucam with 1.25" adapter and IR filter for around $300Au from that shop in South Aus.. The long-exposure mod for it costs another $140 or so, which then equals the cost of the Atik..

But I can't do long exposures because I don't have a tracking mount so I don't need the long exposure mod..

Thoughts?

[mch62]

Hi Iceman , I have a Toucam and those specs look similar to the Toucam chip . That unit is only aircooled ?
I love my Toucam and find it gives great results unmodified for planetary . Have toyed with getting a SAC7 peltier cooled for deep sky , similar specs . Also have been looking at that new Meade unit but have had bad experiences in the Past with Meade.
Yep , bugger those exchange rates when compared with the bananna OZ$ . Makes any of the larger CCD units very expensive !

[Saturn%5]

Hey Iceman, Let me know what you end up getting,I leaning towards The Toucam myself but you just never know might get an extra as well:rolleyes:

[seeker372011]

The short answer to your question is that the Atik is the toucam pro, with the Steve Chambers modification for long exposure

http://www.pmdo.com/wwhich.htm

In fact K3CCD recognises the Atik as a Toucam

I think Atik have recently hiked prices a little bit -I thought I paid a bit less but am not 100% sure. However the price includes postage and handling.


Once I decided to go with a webcam-after doing some trials with a cheap CMOS camera from the markets which showed me the potential-I checked out all the sites that described how to do the mod and decided it wasn't within my capabilities. I was really keen on long exposures and trying my hand at deepspace objects.


I considered the SAC 7, the Atik 1 c and buying the Toucam (from scopetronics in the US and from Adelaide) and modifying it, before finally going with the Atik.

the Atik is heaps cheaper compared to the SAC 7 , people generally seem to have an easier time dealing with the Perseu company compared to SAC, and it would have cost as much to buy a Toucam from South Australia and get it modified.

It comes quite professionally encased with a fan to provide air cooling and with the adapter-dont forget you have to pay $$$ for the adapter , the price Scopetronics etal quote you is for the webcam you still need to get the adapter. You could use the old cut off film canister technique but...

The TouCam is certainly superior to the Logitech from all accounts

However since you dont have tracking the long exposure won't be all that useful- so you are paying a bit extra for something you won't use -at least not immediately- so that is something you need to consider.

For planets-you can use the atik with the long exposure turned off and you dont need tracking, just let the planet drift across as you capture video and then stack frames in registax. (i have done this with my 5 inch Newtonian.) The attached photo was taken on my first night out with the atik with no tracking.

Anyway check out these if you have not already done so:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/atik_instruments/

and of course the QCUIAG site:

http://www.qcuiag.uk.co/

[iceman]

Thanks for the indepth reply, just the information I was after!

It looks like I'll head down the ToUcam path - while I <b>do</b> want to do deepspace photography, it's simply impossible with my setup so I'm not going to bang my head against the brick wall over it.

I'll stick to Luna and the Planets for now and when I save up enough for a good solid Atlas EQ mount or something, then i'll get a Meade DSI or send the ToUcam off to get modified or something.

Great first shot of Jupiter too! That's the sort of progression i'm hoping to get because my digicam efforts severely limit the number of frames I can capture to stack! Especially without a steadypix adapter. Moving the tripod in and out is almost as bad as banging my head against a brick wall.

Thanks again, now I just gotta sell this Nikon that I don't need anymore and buy the webcam from adelaide. I've compared prices of Adelaide vs scopetronix (incl postage etc) and they work out about the same, so I may as well buy local and it should arrive sooner.

[iceman]

Is an IR filter worth the extra $$$ with the ToUcam for imaging the moon and planets?

From that shop in SA it's like an extra $60 and is it worth it?

What benefits does it give?

[mch62]

The CCD is quite sensitive to IR and the original lens has an IR filter built in . As you remove this lens you should to replace it with something else . You will find on bright objects ect there will be a bleeding of IR in the picture. It won't be as sharp as with out the filter. There is a web site some where which shows the difference with and with out on various objects. Also keeps the dirt off the CCD chip. One grain of dust is like a bolder in a picture.

[iceman]

Thanks, that's enough to convince me.

[seeker372011]

I suppose I should get one of these IR filters too, just haven't got around to buying it yet.

That website you mentioned-mhodson- any chance you can track it down???

[iceman]

Seeker is your Atik adapter threaded for filters?

[mch62]

I have been trying to remeber the site but it was over 18 months ago . I also got the IR filter after reading about this .
Will try some more searches and see what come up.

[iceman]

Seeker, here's the site with the modified ToUcam's and the IR filters.

http://www.telescopes-astronomy.com.au/toucam_philips.htm

They've got expensive ones @ $120AU and cheaper ones @ $60AU.