CCD around the $1000 mark

Comment

Comment by Kevin Galka on January 12, 2012 at 2:20pm

I know what you mean, the $$$ figure can go up soooo quickly. I'm trying to keep it from going over $1000 but the more Iook, the harder it's becoming!!! I do know what you mean about the osc... A friend of mine had the DSI II Pro color and I had the mono and the mono always produced better images, though it was more work. I think it's a combination of better resolution and higher efficiency. I may end up for the time being grab that $500 Orion camera (it's the same chip as the DSI II pro was) and just wait till next year and get a nice camera in the 2-3k range. :)

Comment by Marc Basti on January 12, 2012 at 1:42pm

I went through buying a ccd (1st from dslr) last year about this time. Since I didn't have 10+k to spend, specific #'s didn't matter much to me (except chip sz.). Mostly budget was the main factor and I used word of mouth and pics taken w/similar setups as mine as a guide. I ruled out Orion, not based on anything about the quality, more that I didn't feel (from exp.) their tec support would be any good if I needed it. Oh to mention, I was shooting for $1500. So I looked at the qhy9c. I knew some people who had it and were happy w/it. So when I started looking at them the feeling I got from the website (s) was I'm not sure this
company is going to be around in a year (still are I think). Then I went to sbig st8300c (add another $500). I got the clearance from cfo/wife and attempted to purchase one (couldn't find one) but Woodland had some mono's. So back to the cfo and got (as a compromise) it and an Orion manual filter wheel and rgb filts (more$), knowing I would upgrade to the sbig whl and baader filts at some point, which I did, and will sell the Orion setup. Funny how the $'s keep creeping up. I had (originally) been leaning towards the osc, but I kept seeing people with them either buying monos or saying they wished they had. It is more work and I'm still a ways off from feeling real comfortable w/the processing, but I enjoy it. Marc

Comment by Kevin Galka on January 12, 2012 at 10:05am

I think I'd rather go monochrome to be honest, though this limits my options even more. My old DSI II pro was mono and even though it was more work I really liked it.

Comment by Marc Basti on January 10, 2012 at 12:37pm

Me no, Yoeri and Franco Basti have it, but in mono. Marc

Comment by Kevin Galka on January 10, 2012 at 11:32am

I did get it thanks Mark. I'm going to send him an email as he states he'll only ship in the US and I'm in Canada. Have you had any experince with this camera?

Comment by Marc Basti on January 10, 2012 at 8:59am

Kevin, don't know if this link went through that I sent in message. Marc
http://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=538...

Comment by Kevin Galka on January 6, 2012 at 8:46pm

Hey guys,
I'm starting this group because I'm going to be in the market for a ccd fairly soon and my budget is around $1000. I've been looking at, so far, the ATIK 314L, Orion Star shoot III and the Orion StarShoot Pro V2. My needs/wants are something with a larger pixel size as this is going to be used with a 12" SCT with a 6.3 reducer. I have no issues with a mono chip, but of course then I need to get filters and a filter wheel. Anyone that uses or has used one of the ccds your input would be most appreciated.

Kevin