Well, I have gone and taken the plunge with a cooled CCD.
MAN, what a difference!
After fiddle faddling with my unmodded DSLR and cooler box, cables, PSU, MPCC etc etc and still getting noise, what a joy it was to slot the new camera into the 1.25" adaptor, focus it, turn on the TEC to -5 deg C and in 2 mins I was guiding, the camera was stable and running and capturing photons.......wheeeeeeee!!!!
So, its not perfect by any means, but here is the first (brief) light from the new Atik 314L+
I originally bought the last 314E in stock, turned out to be mono, bummer....so I took it back and "upgraded" it to this one....more dosh, but a better complement to my scope due to the slightly larger FOV.
ITS SOOOO DAMN CLEAN!!!! I cant wait for a clearer night than last night, lots of low flying clouds meant I was shooting through sucker holes....anyhow, I am slightly happy...can you tell?
Here you go, I have only posted the reduced JPG version for now, it doesnt mess it up too much and the TIFF is only 6Mb anyway, what a joy it is to watch it stack 7 files on my SSD drive PC in about 30 secs (each sub is only 2MB)
Captured 6 x 30 sec and 1 x 180 sec, no darks/flats/bias, stacked in DSS and processed in PS CS3.
I can still use the DSLR when I want a wider field, but this one gets me sooooo close, cant wait to try it out on some planetary nebulae.....
After I took the boat anchor weighing DSLR and coolerbox off, the relative lightweight (350g - yes, thats GRAMS) of the camera meant my HEQ5 was tracking like a pro!
No balance issues at all AND at 18-20 degrees ambient, its sooooo cool (yes, another pun) to have the camera set point on -5 degrees C....
Its so easy, I am pinching myself. I think I may have to do a review once I get a bit more practice in.
Congrats Chris!! My jaw dropped when I shot my first CCD sub at 25 deg C recently... so little noise. Even more impressed to see how effective dark subtraction and median combine is compared to with DSLRs.
Very cool () Chris.
Your excitement and enthusiasm is contagious
I like the larger FOV it gives straight off the bat and it is showing some real promise. I look forward to seeing some images as they come.
Congrats Chris!! My jaw dropped when I shot my first CCD sub at 25 deg C recently... so little noise. Even more impressed to see how effective dark subtraction and median combine is compared to with DSLRs.
Thanks Dave, yeah, seeing virtually no noise at sub zero temperatures when the ambient is in the teens or twenties is very nice. I am loving the simplicity of just the camera into the focuser too, no box, power supply box etc etc. I will try some darks next time out too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stardust steve
Very cool () Chris.
Your excitement and enthusiasm is contagious
I like the larger FOV it gives straight off the bat and it is showing some real promise. I look forward to seeing some images as they come.
I am just a TAD excited with this camera, how could you tell?
The FOV is one reason I got this one, I was sick of a tiny dot on the DSLR for the M1 crab or Saturn Nebula, so I am hoping to get in nice and close with this one. Maybe even test out a barlowed shot or two on something REALLY small.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Larryp
Looks like a good camera, Chris!
During the holidays, I am thinking of an extensive test and a proper review on this one, stay tuned Laurie!
Quote:
Originally Posted by peeb61
What a great first light Chris..what a nice fit for M42!
paul
Its nice and personal on M42 hey Paul......so smooth too, the details it picked up on such short 30 sec subs was super cool. Easy to use too, Artemis Capture is straight forward and I have even used the generic Atik driver in Nebulosity which works fine too.
Thanks to all for your comments, here is hoping for some clear skies soon.
The second-best part of having set-point cooling is that you don't need to waste precious imaging time doing dark frames... just build up a dark library indoors or wherever's it's convenient. The only tricky part is making sure your ambient temperature can get you down low enough (easier if you have air conditioning at home).
You now can image on the hottest of nights and still only end up with a fraction of the disgusting noise that DSLRs leave you with.
Noise on hot summer nights was the reason I upped and got the STL, too. I still recall imaging with my modified 40D at JohnG's place. It was around Christmas time and it was 26 degrees at midnight. Horrible, horrible, horrible!
Yep, one reason I wanted this camera before I went on XMAS leave, simply so I can maximise the time outside when (or if) the sky is clear, regardless of the temperature.
Yes, I cant wait for some more photos, but as usual, the curse of the purchase monster has reared its ugly head and clouds/rain are the norm until NYE by the looks of it.
Its strange when you first look at a 3 min sub without stretching and think.....is that IT?
Yep, OSC all the way for a beginnerish noob like me....
This is quite a well put together camera for those wanting to start out with CCD imaging, as already mentioned, the sensitivity and low noise means darks are (or should be) optional, meaning its much easier to churn out images from the get go, without the black magic needed to make other larger chip cameras bring out the goods. (no offset or gain etc)
I am yet to get in a "proper" first light, ie something a little harder, like M1 or M57 etc, so with lots of subs and exposure, I will post a proper first light soon, hopefully. Once the rain buggers off.
Thanks Kevin, having -25+ degrees cooling and low noise AND set point cooling means this is quite a powerful little camera, so simple and easy to use its well worth a look for those beginning with CCDs. Looks like you have a few scopes you can try it out on too.....LOL....
Nice job!
) Chris.
