[Startrek (Martin)]

Trev,

I’m no technical geek but the specs don’t lie ….. ,

Can’t really compare the individual performance of these cameras as it’s chalk and cheese

The QHY268C camera has the latest generation Sony IMX571 back illuminated sensor ( same as my ZWO2600MC and ZWO2600MM ) with a 16bit ADC and a Quantum Efficiency ( QE ) of over 80% and 90% respectively.

The ZWO1600MM camera has the older technology Panasonic MN34230 sensor with a 12bit ADC and QE of around 60%.

Read noise for the QHY268C is significantly lower due to the High Conversion Gain HCG technology at Gain 100.

Dark current for the 1600MM at -5C is 0.01600
Dark current for the QHY268C at -5C is 0.00010 which is a huge difference !!

Without factoring in imaging conditions ( Skyglow , Moon glare , seeing conditions etc… ) or imaging parameters ( Gain , offset , cooling temperature, exposure length etc… ) between OSC and Mono , the QHY268C has the wood over the 1600MM in regard to camera performance , efficiency and inherent noise from the operation of the camera itself.
Thats not to say that the QHY268C is a better camera than the 1600MM , they both are excellent cameras within their own right.

Provided your 1600MM is functioning correctly including cooling , your taking advantage of Calibration ( Darks to calibrate your Lights , Flat darks / Bias to calibrate your Flats ) and your dithering your frames, I personally think and suggest your 1600MM needs some decent integration time to optimise it’s performance in regards to SNR. Most of your images posted lately have been only around a couple of hours or so , quite short. I’d like to see what 8 to 12 hours of data or longer can do. I’m confident you will be pleasantly surprised.
Since using my Mono for the past 18 months , I initially thought that I could get away with shortish integration times compared to my OSC. I found it’s actually the opposite, the more data I gather the better the Mono ( 2600MM ) shines with reduced noise and image fidelity.
For me under my B8 skies , Broadband is 12 hours minimum and Narrowband is 6hrs minimum integration to produce a half decent low noise image. From memory your imaging under B6 skies in suburban Perth which is not exactly darkish skies , so integration time together with calibration and cooling is a big factor in improving SNR ( obviously a higher QE camera will yield better results too )

Cheers
Martin