Quote:
Originally Posted by baj
CCD cameras although still available are slowly being phased out and being replaced with small pixel cmos cameras with software binning. I am wondering what owners of larger longer focal length instruments are doing or planning to do in the future to achieve reasonable image scales.
I have a 300mm f4 newtonian and my main interest is imaging asteroids and comets so my preference is to image around 2 arcseconds per pixel. CCD cameras with hardware binning meet my requirements but cmos cameras are with large pixels are very hard to come by. The ultra expensive QHY42 (11 micron pixels) is suitable. The IMX432 sensor with 9 micron pixels is the only cheaper option which is used in Toup Tek cameras.
To achieve the image scale that I want with cmos cameras I have purchased a hyperstar for my EdgeHD 11. This combined with a QHY174 (5.86 micron pixels) gives me an image scale that I am happy with and allows me to image without autoguiding. The newtonian is basically moth balled.
So are owners of larger instruments with longer focal lengths using ccd cameras with hardware binning or going down the path of higher resolution imaging with cmos cameras? I would be interested to hear what approaches are being used.
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Hi Brad,
If you want
LARGE pixels,
and are OK with colour you could always try an early Canon or Nikon DSLR which would put you in the 7-9 µm pixel range for a full frame sensor. If you go to very early models you can get close to 12µm pixels, but they are in smaller APSc type sensors. Even by current DSLR standards the earlier full frame DSLRs still have reasonably good noise performance.
Examples of some early Full Frame DSLRs with large pixels...
Canon 1Ds - 11 Megapixel sensor (Y2002) has 8.8µm pixels
Nikon D3 - 12 Megapixel sensor (Y2007) has 8.5µm pixels
Nikon D4 - 16 Megapixel sensor (Y2012) has 7.3µm pixels
Best
JA