Overview

What an incredible time to be involved in Astronomy, particularly if you're into taking pictures! The last ten years have seen dramatic developments in electronics, personal computers, and software. Applied to the astronomical field, they have given us computerized (and computer-controllable) domes, telescopes, and accessories. Dabblers can use just one or a few of these items and easily take nice pictures. Hard-core afficionados can use all of these items and build a robotic imaging system. Whether you are just sticking your toes into the water, or going off the deep end (don't under-estimate the power of the dark side!), everything required is off-the-shelf merchandise and it is more affordable than ever!

Choosing a Camera | SX Cameras Compared | Chip Sizes Compared

Choosing a Camera

If you are new to the CCD Universe, then probably the most confusing thing is the number of choices available! A few questions can help narrow the search:

1. What is your price range?

   If you have a pre-determined budget, then this can help narrow things down. A general rule of thumb is that the bigger the CCD chip, the more expensive the camera. The good news is that there are great Starlight Xpress cameras in every price range (don't forget about used cameras!). Keep in mind that pixel scale and optical quality considerations mean that you likely don't need a multi-megapixel monster camera to take great pictures anyway (worry not, there are plenty of other goodies you can spend that extra money on! :).

2. Do you want a one-shot colour or mono camera?

   This is one of those topics that can spark endless debate! The bottom line is that monochrome imaging is easiest. If you really want colour, a one-shot colour camera gives colour to you quickly, easily, inexpensively, and quite effectively. LRGB imaging with a filter wheel is considered best by the hard-core imagers, but comes at a cost -- both in terms of money and in increased complexity. Explore our image galleries for each camera to see what people are achieving with them.

3. What is the pixel scale with your equipment?

The rule of thumb for resolution in CCD imaging is this: aim for around 2 arcsec/pixel for deep sky imaging, and ½ arcsec/pixel for planetary imaging. Oversampling (going finer than these scales) doesn't give you any more detail in your images since atmospheric seeing is limiting it. Undersampling too much leads to loss of detail. The pixel scale for any camera can be changed by binning the camera or using a compressor lens on your scope (or both). Our pixel scale calculator can help you explore this further.

Naturally, there is no substitute for experience. If you can, get out to local astro club meetings and star parties and talk with the imagers there. The Internet offers some great resources too, like the Yahoo discussion groups.

Starlight Xpress Cameras Compared

* Divide by 2 for fast parallel interface download times.
**The fast interface module was not standard on "early" MX9's.
*** All SXV series cameras have T threads (not Pentax).