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I have a GStar-EX which has been my mainstay camera for over two years now. I use it for occultation work, and also at the local University Observatory on their open nights, where the club has a standing invite to help out with extra telescopes for the eager masses to view with.
I have used it with a Meade LX90-8" SCT on a Knight Owl 0.5 focal reducer. FOV is around 20 arc minutes.
The GStar-EX is greyscale, and very sensitive. For showing a number of people something in the field-of-view as the scope slews, it cannot be beat.
M83 (Souther Pinwheel Galaxy) can be seen in realtime, the spiral arms and the curious lumpy central region are quite see-able on the screen (whether laptop or TV monitor).
M104 (Sombrero Galaxy) is also visible in realtime, with the dust lane down the centre being quite easily seen.
M8 is quite spectacular and easily seen. M42 is awesome, and in fact requires some reduction in the settings because it is so bright.
I have also used a Watec 120N+ borrowed from Dave Gault, and it performs similarly to the GStar, although it is able to integrate to 256x instead of 128x as is the GStar-EX.
The new GStar-EX2 can apparently go to 256x as well, so this makes it a moot point as to which is better (GStar or Watec).
The Watec's handbox is a compelling advantage for an observer at the telescope; the GStar's serial control is a compelling advantage for an observer who wants remote control and titling ability.
The Mallincam is a colour camera and has both a stellar price and a stellar reputation. Since I don't have one and have not seen one in use, I can't say much more than this.
But in general, the viewing public are quite tolerant of greyscale as long as they can see structure. Fuzzy blobs do not excite them much at all. Your best bet is a camera which is easy to set up and does not require a computer to operate - and the GStar, Watec, and Mallincam all fit the bill.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Tony Barry
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