Posts Made By: Derek Baker

To all imagers

I am looking at getting a CCD camera, and I must confess that the choices of camera and manufacturer is getting overwhelming! If you take just the KAF11000 chip, you have Finger Lakes, Sbig, Apogee(several models), Starlight Express all building a camera around that chip (and probably a few I have missed!) If 4MP or 6MP chips are included, then you add QSI, Trifid, and a few other reputable companies. Yikes!

I have read each manufacturer's stats for their cameras, and I understand the differences in cooling, weight, accessories, filter wheel choices etc, BUT I'd love to hear from some of you who have experience in the field with cameras from each manufacturer.

Are there unadvertised differences between manufacturers that affect the ease of use, reliability, and quality of images? For example, is one manufacturer putting in better coverslips, optical windows, AR coatings, etc? Does one manufacturer tend to need the chamber purged and desicant recharged more often? Are there quality control issues with any particular cameras?

I'm not wanting to ignite a flame-war between users of different makes of camera...we all can certainly agree that products from all of these reputable manufacturers can produce excellent results. Sometimes it's a matter of matching the good and bad for a particular model/manufacturer with our own priorities & tastes. Nevertheless I'd like to have some knowledge of the 'real world' pluses and minuses for each manufacturer's fundamental design/construction prior to shelling out some major cash for a new camera!

Any input from you experienced imagers would be greatly appreciated!

regards,

Derek

Thanks for posting the comparison Ivan. (Excellent pic BTW!!!)

I have an AP130EDFS as well (and the 0.75x reducer too), so this was a very valuable demonstration!

I couldn't connect to Dick's website (what is the URL?), but I did manage to find a few of yours in the Astromart photos folder.

A couple of questions:

1. Did you use the Live View Mode to focus, or a laptop/software? I am trying to decide whether it's worth it to get the 20Da or a just get a modded 20D (with even greater sensitivity in the Ha). :S

Of course, Klaus's pics have tempted me to consider the very expensive option of modding a 5D !!!

2. Do you have a website where I can view your other 20Da photos through your AP130ESDF?

3. I see that you have used the Vixen Sphinx mount. Were you happy with this mount? Do you think that it is capable of handling the AP130EDFS for astrophotography? Or, say, a NP101?

Thanks again for posting the comparison Ivan!

Derek

Wow! 8O

A gorgeous level of detail. Nicely processed...not overdone.

Looking forward to seeing more from you!

Derek

There was a ton of discussion about this on yahoo's digital_astro forum. It seems to be true. Apparently there is no talk of a 30Da or 5Da from Canon.

Beautiful shot Ivan! I have one with a Canon 10D with the AP130EDFS at f/4.5, and your shot has significantly less noise and more detail in the Ha portion of M20. Well done!

Derek
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If I recall correctly (it has been a while...)

a) A tungsten white balance gives you better star colours.

and

b) I don't think that there is a way to set the white balance when the camera captures in RAW format. Instead, convert your RAWS in Images Plus not the Canon Software. It's a great program and does Raw conversion better than Canon Software. When you do the conversion, you have a choice of colour temperature.

regards

Derek

Ivan and Chris

Nice work!

Derek

Jean-Denis

Une autre belle photo! Magnifique!

Derek