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The Mallincam is a PAL or NTSC video camera with a thermoelectric cooler and a long integration time up to 56 seconds. They are available in monochrome (greyscale) as well as Bayer mask colour. Advantages include very low noise images due to the cooling, and the ability to timestamp the output to millisecond accuracy (with extra video equipment). Disadvantages are those associated with video - 8 bit imaging, two A/D conversions - and small frame size (720 x 575 for PAL). They are used in both high speed (planetary, occultation) work and in deep sky imaging, where they are able to detect objects of tenth magnitude with ease.
The Imaging Source camera is an uncooled Firewire or USB connected camera. It also uses 8 - bit imaging, but has only one A/D conversion. Their use appears mainly in planetary imaging.
If I was to choose and had funding, I would spring for the Mallincam every time. The CCDs are binned (i.e. hand-chosen from a batch for minimum hot pixels) and the cooling will provide much better imaging for deep sky work.
Note - I don't have a Mallincam, but have used a GStar which is similar but uncooled and with a much higher hot pixel count.
Regards,
Tony Barry
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