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Old 15-05-2010, 12:39 PM
bigbod (Rod)
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Starlight Xpress SXVF-M25C vs. QHY8 Pro

Hi all,

I'm considering the purchase of one of these OSCs for AP using a Celestron EdgeHD 800 + CGEM + HyperStar.

I've found plenty of chatter in the forums on the QHY8 Pro, but not a lot of comment for the SXVF-M25C.

Does anyone have any experience with both? It's a reasonable investment, and I'd love to hear from experienced users of these (or other similar) OSCs.

I've previously dabbled in AP with an Meade 8" LX-90 and SBIG ST-237a.

Thanks
Rod
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  #2  
Old 22-05-2010, 08:53 PM
Hagar (Doug)
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I can only comment on the QHY8Pro, I have found it to be a very capable camera with good temprature control being a big plus for the Sony chip in this camera. The narrow profile is a big plus for a hyperstar setup The front filter does seem to suffer frosting when used at very low tempratures but this can be fixed with either the heater ring or a dew strap. I would have no hesitation reccommending this camera.
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Old 22-05-2010, 11:08 PM
bigbod (Rod)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hagar View Post
I can only comment on the QHY8Pro, I have found it to be a very capable camera with good temprature control being a big plus for the Sony chip in this camera. The narrow profile is a big plus for a hyperstar setup The front filter does seem to suffer frosting when used at very low tempratures but this can be fixed with either the heater ring or a dew strap. I would have no hesitation reccommending this camera.
Thanks for your thoughts Doug. I imagine they echo the experience of most QHY8Pro owners. With th $A taking a bashing this week I might be hard pressed to afford either of these models

Cheers
Rod
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Old 23-05-2010, 07:02 AM
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bert (Brett)
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Hi Rod,

Perhaps you should contact Louie (atalas). He first bought a qhy8 (not pro) and was not happy with it and sold it. He then bought the 25c and loves it. He got an apod with the starlight as well. It really seems counter intuitive that they are different because they run the same chip, but there are differences.

Louie also has his starlight for sale. If you want his details pm me.

Brett

Last edited by bert; 23-05-2010 at 08:24 AM.
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Old 23-05-2010, 08:39 AM
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multiweb (Marc)
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If you're going to use the hyperstar I'd suggest the Starlight gear. You can't go wrong. I have an older QHY8 so I can't vouch for the Pro version. They're good cameras but not straight forward to get working out of the box. On the other hand Starlight Xpress gear is plug'n'play, painless. I've installed a SX Lodestar the other night and got it running in less than a minute in PHD. It just works. Don't get me wrong, I have a QHY8 and I love it but it's fiddly to start with.

Last edited by multiweb; 23-05-2010 at 08:56 AM. Reason: spelling
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Old 23-05-2010, 12:26 PM
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mldee (Mike)
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The 25C seems like a nice camera, but appears to be at a significant price differential (~2K+ extra?) to the QHY8 Pro. Is the extra amount justified unless price is no object?

I'm just commenting because I've got a QHY8 Pro in my sights.....
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Old 23-05-2010, 04:25 PM
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peter_4059 (Peter)
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After a couple of minor teething issues with the QHY8 pro (faulty power cable and trouble installing the drivers) mine is now working well. Theo was very helpful in getting the cable resolved although I had to send the camera and cable back to him the day it arrived .

I agree with Mike - there is a big cost difference between the SX and the QHY8 - I guess that is in the quality control department.

I'm now happy with the choice I made.
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Old 23-05-2010, 07:36 PM
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I've had cameras from both manufactures. In defense of why cameras, the starlight cameras had exactly the same types of glitches when they first came on the Market. My first starlight camera gave stars like little pacmen, needed a resistor soldered into the circuit board. Luckily the electonics guys where I worked could do it for me. It was a known fault but the Aust distributor never sent the back and continued to blithely sell them. It's a more mature seller now. I own a qhy8 and have found that after the confusion over drivers it delivers and is a great camera for the price.
Just my 2 cents.
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Old 28-11-2010, 07:22 AM
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pmrid (Peter)
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SXVF-M25C and the new QHY10 and 11 models

Some months back there was a comparison between the SX and the QHY8Pro that generally seemed to lean towards the SX camera. I am not happy with my QHY8 in my HyperStar setup and am considering moving to a camera that does not overlap the shadow of the HyperStar itself (no corners sticking out and no lumps of cable in particular on one side. I was wondering whether anyone else had recent experience with these cameras in a HyperStar setup and what reactions were.
Peter
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