Hardware: Cameras
Three Canon DSLRs Hit the Bench
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 18:56.

Introduction
These days, while we many not be able to count on much in the economy, we can still count on three things: death, taxes, and the fact that technology marches on. The Canon Rebel XT I reviewed here last year and gave the nod to as the best bang for the buck in my talk at MWAIC 2007 is long-gone. The DIGIC III cameras have all-but replaced these DIGIC II-based cameras and we now have several examples of DIGIC 4 cameras on the market. Recently, I had a few days in which I had three current cameras here at the same time: my own Rebel XSi, a rented 50D from borrowlenses.com, and a loaner 5D Mk II from a local user (thanks LG!). The latter two were here for software development purposes, but it would have been a shame to not push through a test battery on them while here.
For those of you unfamiliar with these models, the XSi is a 12.2 megapixel camera sporting a DIGIC III processor. It's chip is APS-sized (22.3 x 14.9 mm) and has 4272 x 2848 pixels that are 5.2 μ square. It's currently near the low-end of Canon's EOS DSLR line. The 50D is higher up in the line, sporting a DIGIC 4 processor and 15.1 megapixels (4752 x 3168). It is also APS-sized, making the pixels a bit smaller at 4.7 μ to fit the extra 3 million pixels into the same space. The 5D Mk II is near the top of the line and also sports a DIGIC 4 processor. Unlike the other two, it uses a full-size 35 mm sensor (35 x 24 mm; 5616 x 3744 pixels). It also has the largest pixels at 6.4 μ. The three cameras differ in their maximum ISO which, at first blush, may seem like they will perform very differently in low-light situations. The XSi's top ISO value is 1600. The 50D pushes this to 3200 and the 5D Mk II pushes this to 6400. As we will see below, however, this difference will not affect their suitability for deep-sky astrophotography work.
Orion Starshoot II: In the Field
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 13:42.On the Bench: QSI 520ci
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Wed, 06/04/2008 - 12:48.On the Bench: Meade Deep Sky Imager III
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 16:43.

The DSI III cameras represent the top of Meade’s line of cameras and the latest in the evolving DSI series. The original DSI sported a 6 mm (diagonal) chip and 510x492 resolution and the DSI II that followed stepped up to an 8 mm (diagonal) chip and 748 x 577 resolution. The new DSI III cameras stet up to an 11 mm (diagonal) chip and enter the megapixel arena with 1360 x 1024 pixels. Here, we see the relative physical sizes of the three sensors. All of the cameras use Sony HAD CCDs, with the DSI II sensors (Sony ICX 429 series) and DSI III sensors (ICX 285 series) finding their way into numerous other cameras on the market. At time of this writing, the DSI III cost $1299 (color and monochrome without filters), while the DSI II cost $599.
Performance Testing a CCD Camera
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 16:11.

Capturing images from the sky is a complex process. Starlight passes through the atmosphere, through your telescope, through the filters in your camera, until it finally strikes your camera’s image sensor. In the controlled environment of the camera body, photoelectrons accumulate on a CCD image sensor, your camera’s electronics read out the CCD, digitize the signal, and pass data to the driver software in your computer, until it finally reaches the image acquisition software.
Testing QSI's 532ws Scientific Camera
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 15:42.

I wrote this story for savvy amateur astronomers who are looking for a top-notch CCD camera that is suitable for both imaging and science purposes, especially if you want a high-quality camera that seems to help you make great images. Since I’ve been involved with CCD cameras for quite some time, I’m amazed at the number of fine imaging cameras available to amateurs on the market today. But this story is about just one: Quantum Scientific Imaging’s 532ws CCD camera.
2007 Camera Buyer's Guide
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Mon, 02/25/2008 - 20:38.First Light with the Orion StarShoot
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 21:50.So you just got a brand new Orion StarShoot™ Deep-Space CCD Color Imaging Camera and you are looking to capture your first image but are not sure where to start? This is the article for you. For the sake of brevity, we will refer to the camera as the StarShoot and acknowledge the fact that the name is a trademark of Orion Telescopes and Binoculars. The intent of this article is not to make you a master astro-imager but to help you get started along that path.
First off, astrophotography is not easy, but it can and will be very rewarding with a little patience and some practice. If your first images do not look like something off of the Hubble web site, don’t get discouraged – you can and will get better with some patience, practice and a little diligence.
Quick Look: Two New Guiders
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Tue, 01/01/2008 - 03:58.

As the author of PHD Guiding, I am often asked by users for my opinion on various guide camera solutions. My advice is typically to favor cameras that are a) capable of exposures of several seconds, b) monochrome, and c) have a reasonable sized chip. Unfortunately, webcams, the cameras may want to use for guiding don't fit the bill. Most are limited to about 30 ms exposures and almost all use small color chips. The short exposures and presence of color filters over each pixel conspire to limit the choice of guide stars to bright stars (e.g., mag 4-5). Given the small swath of sky covered by a small chip, makes finding a suitable guide star even more challenging. When standing out in either a freezing cold or hot and mosquito-infested field, the last thing I want to be doing is hunting around for a suitable guide star.
First Look: Canon 40D
Submitted by AstroPhoto Insight on Wed, 12/19/2007 - 19:33.

If there has ever been a true revolution in astrophotography, it has been the rise of Digital Single Lens Reflex cameras (DSLR’s) as a viable alternative to film and expensive CCD cameras. Chemical emulsion based photography has pretty much died a slow death over the past decade with good astronomical films becoming rare. Specialized CCD cameras with their cooled sensors are optimal for astro work, but are very expensive compared to DSLR’s and require a high level of technical expertise to operate successfully. Being designed and manufactured for a huge worldwide market, the powers of mass production have brought us astrophotographers an affordable single-shot color camera with every bit of the sensitivity and resolution of film but with the all-digital ready-to-process output of CCD’s.
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