One Shot or Video CCD Camera??? I have a question to all, I am looking to get a replacement CCD Color Camera. My Celestron Nightscape took a dive. I have been looking at the QHY 10MP...

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

I have a question to all, I am looking to get a replacement CCD Color Camera.
My Celestron Nightscape took a dive. I have been looking at the QHY 10MP CCD
one shot color Camera and the ZWO ASI1600MC 16MP color Camera.
Craig

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Way above my pay grade.
I've seen where a lot of folks have the ASI 1600 ?? (Many have the cool version, which is cooled.)
But I've also seen Brian's work with his QHY 12

I wish I had your dilemma.
(Well, not the broken camera, but the tough decision.)

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

SonnyE wrote:

Way above my pay grade.
I've seen where a lot of folks have the ASI 1600 ?? (Many have the cool version, which is cooled.)
But I've also seen Brian's work with his QHY 12

I wish I had your dilemma.
(Well, not the broken camera, but the tough decision.)

Yeah Annette not only gave me permission but is kicking in 1/2.
I'll PM Brian and see what he thinks of the QHY sensors. Thanks Sonny.
Craig

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

CraigFair wrote:

Yeah Annette not only gave me permission but is kicking in 1/2.
I'll PM Brian and see what he thinks of the QHY sensors. Thanks Sonny.
Craig

What happened to the Celestron? You may want to contact them to see if they will do anything about it. I broke mine, 100% my fault, and they refunded me purchase price. I know you got yours used, but who knows if they will try to do something for you.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

CraigFair wrote:

I have a question to all, I am looking to get a replacement CCD Color Camera.
My Celestron Nightscape took a dive. I have been looking at the QHY 10MP CCD
one shot color Camera and the ZWO ASI1600MC 16MP color Camera.
Craig

I've owned the older QHY 8C (sold), the QHY 8Pro (sold), the QHY 9C (sold) and most recently the QHY 183C. All have been pretty reasonable cameras. I have a problem with the mechanical shutter on the QHY 9C but there was a relatively easy fix. I looked at the QHY 10 but ultimately went the ATIK route.

The QHY 183C, with its 2.4um pixels, is a great camera for solar, planetary and lunar. After testing the QHY 183C I sold three other cameras I'd been using for this purpose. It is, however, not a "fast" camera for DSO's but is nicely cooled and works well for longer exposures.

I've read some good reviews on the ASI1600MC which is newer tech. than the older QHY 10. This might be a consideration in your decision process?

bwa

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

bwana wrote:

I've owned the older QHY 8C (sold), the QHY 8Pro (... (show quote)

Thanks Boss (bwana) Do you think the CMOS has finally surpassed the CCD???
I will be using the Hyperstar setup most of the time for now. More Prime Focus in the future.
That's why I want the most versatile of the 2.

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

Europa wrote:

What happened to the Celestron? You may want to contact them to see if they will do anything about it. I broke mine, 100% my fault, and they refunded me purchase price. I know you got yours used, but who knows if they will try to do something for you.

Hi Brian I pulled the USB connector out of the Camera. I will contact Celestron about fixing it.
But I am going to get either the OHY CCD 10MP or the ZWO ASI1600MC CMOS 16 MP.
Craig

Europa Loc: West Hills, CA

That's what I did to mine. Keep it in mind for the new one. My QHY has an additional attachment that secures the wires to the camera. It's a life saver. At least life saving for the camera.

Also, you have a very similar setup to mine, take a look at some of my photos and keep in mind that I live on the border of a white/gray skies. I do have a light pollution filter tho. Probably the photos prior to November 2016 where without the filter.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

CraigFair wrote:

Thanks Boss (bwana) Do you think the CMOS has finally surpassed the CCD???
I will be using the Hyperstar setup most of the time for now. More Prime Focus in the future.
That's why I want the most versatile of the 2.

I think CMOS surpassed CCD about the time the Sony A7S hit the market; late 2003+/-. At least it did for me; sold all my color CCD cameras at that point since the A7S outperformed all of them!

When I look at the QHY 183C, reviews on cameras like the cooled ASI's and the performance of my Sony RX10 III, I know CCD's are either on the way out or already dinosaurs!

bwa

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

CraigFair wrote:

I have a question to all, I am looking to get a replacement CCD Color Camera.
My Celestron Nightscape took a dive. I have been looking at the QHY 10MP CCD
one shot color Camera and the ZWO ASI1600MC 16MP color Camera.
Craig

Craig,

Have you looked at the write up on the ZWO ASI 1600MC in the April edition of Sky & Telescope? Pages 58-62.

There are many things about this camera that they like including the ability to do hi-res video of the moon and planets as well as DSO. They suggest a PC with an USB 3.0 port, lots of hard drive space and fast write speeds. One point they caution on is the small pixel size (good for high resolution, but poor dynamic range). Also, the camera can output 8, 10 or 12 bit outputs but 16-bit happens to be the standard for other cameras. The person testing this camera noted the difficulty doing objects with a wide range of brightness.

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

JimH123 wrote:

Craig, br br Have you looked at the write up on t... (show quote)

I'm surprised at the max. of 12 bit output!? Normal for a good astronomy camera is 16 bit AND it really does make a difference. An example is the ATIK infinity vs. my Sony RX10 III. The ATIK will capture the Orion nebula in one shot. I have to do HDR processing with the RX 10 III to get a similar result. Dynamic range is very important!!

bwa

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

bwana wrote:

I'm surprised at the max. of 12 bit output!? Normal for a good astronomy camera is 16 bit AND it really does make a difference. An example is the ATIK infinity vs. my Sony RX10 III. The ATIK will capture the Orion nebula in one shot. I have to do HDR processing with the RX 10 III to get a similar result. Dynamic range is very important!!

bwa

The QHY10 is ADC Resolution: 16 bit with CDS and Preamp. (bought it will be delivered Fri 10th)
The ZWO ASI1600MC Cooled is ADC: 12bit.
And the equivalent ATIK is just out of my price bracket.
Craig

bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada

CraigFair wrote:

The QHY10 is ADC Resolution: 16 bit with CDS and Preamp. (bought it will be delivered Fri 10th)
The ZWO ASI1600MC Cooled is ADC: 12bit.
And the equivalent ATIK is just out of my price bracket.
Craig

You'll like the QHY10

bwa

JimH123 Loc: Morgan Hill, CA

CraigFair wrote:

The QHY10 is ADC Resolution: 16 bit with CDS and Preamp. (bought it will be delivered Fri 10th)
The ZWO ASI1600MC Cooled is ADC: 12bit.
And the equivalent ATIK is just out of my price bracket.
Craig

A great camera. Here is what Craig Stark, creator of Nebulosity has to say about it:

http://www.stark-labs.com/craig/resources/Articles-&-Reviews/QHY10-On-the-Bench.pdf

CraigFair Loc: Santa Maria, CA.

JimH123 wrote:

A great camera. Here is what Craig Stark, creator of Nebulosity has to say about it:

http://www.stark-labs.com/craig/resources/Articles-&-Reviews/QHY10-On-the-Bench.pdf

Thank you very much Jim H. It is quite informative.
I think I'm going to love this Camera. There is going
to be a real learning curve on adjustments. The old
Camera had basically only exposure.
Craig