Best bang fo the buck?

What CCD camera in todays market has the best value for the money in your opinion?
1)Color one shot
2)Monochromatic

Floyd, your question would be much easier to answer if we KNEW what is the budget... then we would answer accordingly...

Without a budget, well, we could send you to "the best of the best"... but it could set you back a FEW thousands... (make it more like a LOT!) 8)

It depends on what sort of images you want. If you
like high megapixel images, some of these modified
DSLR cameras can provide alot of pixels/$. If you
want a deep image of some very faint fuzzy and don't
plan to make poster-sized images, then a cooled
camera with low megapixels might be a better
option.

Hi Floyd:

You are asking for opinions of course. The following is only my opinion!

I went through this mental exercise two years ago. I determined that for me, the best bang for the buck was a Starlight Xpress SXV-H9 (monochrome). It is extremely low noise, and has small pixels that match well with my refractor. The cost was/is about $2800.00. That is plenty of ouch of course, but a lot less that the large format cameras from SBIG, Finger Lakes etc. that I lust over.

What really sold me were Adrian Oradean's images taken with this camera. They are in the Anacortes Gallery here:

http://www.buytelescopes.com/gallery/customer_home.asp?c=27279

I think Adrian's images are about as good as it gets with moderately priced equipment. Talent really does matter in this hobby. His skills allow super bang for the buck.

I am happy with the SXV-H9. Some of my better images are linked to my profile. (I'm working on a couple of good ones right now.) Still working up the learning curve!

Some day I will own a large format camera though. I'm just waiting for those prices to come down even more!

Jim

Well, these are always fun threads. But I definitely am in the camp that you really do have to know what your budget is first, then determine the right camera for you within that amount. Even just a couple of years from when I started, the choices in both size and companies has mushroomed.

One thing to consider very strongly, however, is the support you'll get from both the company and the user community of the camera. You will definitely have questions and concerns and confusion no matter which camera you go with, and getting quick answers can make the differnce in imaging or losing a few rare good nights. I can't say enough positive things about both on the Starlight Xpress side. But I can only imagine that's just as true of others, and not so true of some. So hang around the Yahoo groups of SX, SBIG, Atik, Meade, and those dedicated to DSLRs for a while. Ask a few questions there, and just get a sense for where you like hanging out.
Hope this makes some sense,
Larry

OK, If I had nothing, and wanted to buy something to get as much as I could for as little as possible, I would get a modified Canon DSLR. You can use it for one shot color. You can control most of the noise with stacking multiple exposures, dark framing, and using it mostly during colder nights. I would guide with a webcam.

Alex