#21  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:34 PM
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This is a fun thread alright.

So far, the vibe seems to be:
For dedicated astro imaging, get a QHY8.
For astro imaging and occasional terrestrial photography, get a modded 40d.
For terrestrial photography and start-up astro imaging, get a standard 40d.

Soooo... Which way are we going to jump?
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  #22  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:40 PM
Alchemy (Clive)
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Quote:
Others just reduce the current to the peltier cooling and this also prevents any dewing within the spacer/reducer.
On the subject of reducers and field flatteners i take it attatching a mpcc is a simple affair..... probably should refer to the website but will pose it here anyway.

by way of 40d as a beginner entry camera, i think its way more than that, its a great camera good for all but the limited Ha targets, just i think the q8 has the edge for purely astro work ,cooling and pretty much modded response as standard., we are spoilt for choices these days 20 years ago this was only dreamt of.
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  #23  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by iceman View Post
Why do you need a baader mod on the QHY8? it's already allowing in h-a, right?

No dark frames is a big plus!

Watching this thread with interest..

Mike, like you said, no darks are a big plus.
How many times has anyone that has a camera with high noise, thought, hmmm, a nice night for imaging. Then thought, Oh poo, i have tosetup then setup bias, dark, LRGB (For mono sensors). Then thought, too mush trouble, leave it for now...
Gees, sounds like a "Set of Steak knives" commercial !.

But wait, theres more !!!!.

Seriously, all you do, is turn on the camera, while its cooling, setup your scope, pick what you want to image, connect the camera, run your software to focus the camera, then take a 2 minute exposure. Hmmm, looks good, but i will change the exposure to 5 minutes, click, click, time now set to 5 minutes and click to start exposing. 5 minutes later, theres your image. No re doing darks, no taking darks, no waiting a certain time to stabilize the sensor temp.
10 minutes later, move your scope to a very bright object, thats ok, change time to 30 seconds, click click, exposure ready in 30 seconds.

This is what i like about cameras that have low noise. I loved the Starlight Xpress SXVH-9 when i got it many years ago, for that reason.


Theo
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  #24  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Alchemy View Post
On the subject of reducers and field flatteners i take it attatching a mpcc is a simple affair..... probably should refer to the website but will pose it here anyway.

Yes, i use a MPCC and a 50mm spacer for my 22" reflector. Screws straight on. The camera has "T" threads as standard on the Filter/nosepiece.

Theo.
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  #25  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:55 PM
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seeker372011 (Narayan)
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I am still waiting for the skies to clear folks so I can post a first light report

I set up Saturday night-clear as anything, but by the time I had aligned the scope -bang completely clouded over

but if you want to se some great work with a Canon owner who has converted to a Qhy 8 look at

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/
Narayan
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  #26  
Old 14-04-2008, 08:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Astrod00d View Post
This is a fun thread alright.

So far, the vibe seems to be:
For dedicated astro imaging, get a QHY8.
For astro imaging and occasional terrestrial photography, get a modded 40d.
For terrestrial photography and start-up astro imaging, get a standard 40d.

Soooo... Which way are we going to jump?

Doesnt have to be a QHY camera. Starlight Xpress have Sony sensors, as do some of the newer Meade units, etc.
Basically, Sony have the low noise CCD's.
Dont knock the DSLR as well, the chip in the Starlight and QHY are the same as the Nikon sensors used recently in their DSLR's.
Then theres the Canon CMOS sensors, here again, it has very very low noise and are just as good for imaging (Less cooling and dynamic range of course).

Theo
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  #27  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:03 PM
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Originally Posted by seeker372011 View Post
I am still waiting for the skies to clear folks so I can post a first light report

I set up Saturday night-clear as anything, but by the time I had aligned the scope -bang completely clouded over

but if you want to se some great work with a Canon owner who has converted to a Qhy 8 look at

http://astroanarchy.blogspot.com/
Narayan

Very nice work, and as you know, you get better and better at it. Just because you have a great camera, doesnt mean you get great images.
This is an art, and has a learning curve. The junk i didnt save !.

Theo
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  #28  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:31 PM
Alchemy (Clive)
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darn im so convinced im working out how to get the cash asap... just about sold the vixen vc200l thats $800 closer- tidy up a few loose ends and im going to have to have a chat with mr Gama ....soon i hope.

just in case you dont think ive done any research.....
The QHY8 seems to be that rare thing amongst astro cooled CCD cameras - a bargain. At under £1500 it is well under half the price of an SXV M25 which has the same 6megapixel Sony ICX413AQ super HAD chip. Of course the M25 has additional features such as a guideport but the cameras share the same engine. I know from the H9 how well these Sony chips perform - extremely sensitive for a non blooming chip - max QE of 60% with sensitivity remaining good in the critical HA part of the spectrum. Plus very low noise. On paper at least, their performance is a level higher than ABG Kodak chips.

a quote i found.....
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  #29  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:35 PM
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What's the AU price of the QHY8? I could go looking but i'm uploading a large file so my internet is extremely slow right now
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  #30  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Gama View Post
You guys arent doing much looking, and really should. If you guys did, then you would have found out that the QHY-8 comes with Maxim DL, Astroart, CCDsoft, Video capture and streaming, and Linux drivers. We couldnt get the kitchen sink in there. We hope to on the next version !.

Theo.
Hi Theo,
I saw all the drivers provided on your website, quite a list! But, my real question is what more will we have to spend on top of a QHY8 before we start imaging?
Do we need to purchase third party camera control and image capture software such as CCDSoft (USD349), AstroArt (USD185), MaximDL (USD399) or is there a simple and free image capture utility available? Perhaps I'm missing something obvious but I want to ask on this forum for the benefit of all. Bearing in mind that the 40d comes with great control/capture utilities included in the package.
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  #31  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:41 PM
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2425 inc the government sanctioned theft.

box 55 nosepiece 40 odd plus couple cables etc

im hoping for a discount if i give it much more promo

Quote:
What's the AU price of the QHY8? I could go looking but i'm uploading a large file so my internet is extremely slow right now
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  #32  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Alchemy View Post
2425 inc the government sanctioned theft.

box 55 nosepiece 40 odd plus couple cables etc

im hoping for a discount if i give it much more promo
...I wonder about a group discount... An IIS QHY8 user group? Is that a silly idea?
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  #33  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Astrod00d View Post
Do we need to purchase third party camera control and image capture software such as CCDSoft (USD349), AstroArt (USD185), MaximDL (USD399) or is there a simple and free image capture utility available? .
Yes, there is 2 imaging programs.

The first is the factory (QHY) "AstroWin", which actually is a great imaging program.
It sets up the number of images, exposure times, Binning, etc.
For just taking images for processing later, this is a great program.

Then there is the software from Astrosoft ( www.astrosoft.com.be ), it also comes with a Capturing program that has many features. Including focusing to a bees %$^# accurate.
So there is no software you need to buy to start imaging.
Once you have the files, lets say all Fit files, you could use one of the free programs out there that create you images into what you want it to be.
Many of them have stacking, filtering, etc..

Theo
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  #34  
Old 14-04-2008, 09:58 PM
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Hi Iceman / others,

Apologies if my last post was confusing.

I wasnt suggesting you would hutech modify a QHY8. It really pulls in the H-alpha well.

I was was trying to suggest that, based on my friends research that the cost of a:
40D+hutech mod+40D power supply for use in the field was roughly equivalent with the price of a QHY8.

Cheers
David
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  #35  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:09 PM
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Prices vary according to what you want included.
I personally dont use a Sealed air box, but many do.
Do you need 2 filters ?, well i do, but some dont.
Do you need very long cables ?, i do, but some dont.
Do you need a power supply ?, some dont, some do.
So it sort of adds up, but i do keep prices realistic, so its affordable by many people.

http://web.aanet.com.au/gama/qhy8%20prices.html

But if you have your own supply, Its only $2425.50 inc GST (Plus $22.00 overnight Express delivery) for the basic camera, and your off !.

Theo
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  #36  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:24 PM
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O.K watched this thread with interest. Can anyone explain how a HAD sensor and differentiate a thermally liberated electron from one freed by a photon?

My understanding on this is: you can't.

A high QE sensor is rather like a high power amplifier. Crank it up and you'll hear a "hum". HAD sensors bleed charge all the time...O.K. low noise...but the signal is being bled as well.... in short they never really hum as the gain is being suppressed.

Yes, it does take some work to separate the signal from dark current in various sensors, but the results are worth it.
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  #37  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:34 PM
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Hi,

Taking darks with a regulated camera is not so much of a chore. After setting the temp, basically you can take them whenever you like, on the kitchen table on a rainy afternoon for example.

Once you have built up a good library of darks then its a simple processing step to callibrate your images, which generally you must do anyway to apply a flat frame.

Paul
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  #38  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:37 PM
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Originally Posted by Peter Ward View Post

A high QE sensor is rather like a high power amplifier. Crank it up and you'll hear a "hum".
Buy a vavle amp !. Even less hum.

Theo.
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  #39  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:45 PM
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Theo, LOL, nice try, but hum has to do with gain/circuit layout/pwr supplies, not valve/solid state. Valves saturate with pleasing distortion characteristics, thats why they use em.
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  #40  
Old 14-04-2008, 10:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Bassnut View Post
Theo, LOL, nice try, but hum has to do with gain/circuit layout/pwr supplies, not valve/solid state. Valves saturate with pleasing distortion characteristics, thats why they use em.
Hmmmm... Valves and Vinyl... Material for a new thread!
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