SBIG camera

[adrian]

Hi, could I get a bit of advice from someone? I am thinking of buying my first dedicated astro CCD. camera (moving up from a DSLR). I am considering the SBIG STF-8300 Mono. With the SBIG-FW5 filter wheel. It is tempting to go for the cheaper Starlight USB filter wheel but, as far as I can make out, to fully automate the capture process I would also need to purchase something like Maxim DL, (pro). The Starlight software looks fine as long as you are at, or near the scope but seems quite basic. SBIG’s bundled CCDOps looks more comprehensive running both the camera and the filter-wheel together. The other SBIG advantage being one less USB cable. The price difference is about £340 but I think it might be worth it, good compatibility, with it all coming from the same manufacturer.
My second question is, I have pretty clear skies but suffer from a little light pollution and poor seeing. Would it initially be worth buying an H-Alpha filter to compliment the LRGB set? I have no problem with the longer exposures needed for the narrowband filter.
Thanks. Adrian

[Dennis]

That is a superb camera but then I am an SBIG fan. I believe that you can see many good reasons for buying this rather than other versions of the 8300 chip if you look in the small print. CCD Ops will definitely get you started but MaxIm really rules the roost if you want an all-in-one package that does absolutely everythin. Except post processing that is. You generally don't need to update MaxIm so buy it once and it will last a lifetime.

Dennis

[GrahamM]

You certainly won't go wrong with SBIG however there are others and you might benefit from a chat with Ian King. SBIG have lost ground to their once pole position to the likes of QSI and FLI who are producing excellent cameras with very low fault and complaint rates.

Graham.

[adrian]

Thanks Dennis and Graham, for the quick helpful response. I asked Ian King about the filter-wheel but he only came back to me with the prices and said he usually bundled the Starlight FW. with the SBIG. He did not actually recommend one or the other, and at the moment I am favouring the SBIG FW.
Regarding my second question about the H-Alpha filter, any comments?
Regards. Adrian

[Dennis]

Before much time goes by you will want an Ha filter more than you want to breathe in. It will dispense with pretty much all light pollution and is esential for photographing emission nebulae.

Dennis

[adrian]

Hi Dennis
I much appreciate your help.
Adrian

[Whirlwind]

Hi, hope you are having fun choosing! I have a QSI (540 not 583) wsg and can vouch for it being a very good camera. Can't compare with an sbig though as haven't used one. QSI's are nice neat little packages and if you get the filter wheel version and OAG version you get almost everything wrapped up in one. A lot of people seemt o be upgrading to the 600 versions at the moment so it may be worth checking the astro buy and sell sites - last time i looked there were two QSI583s around which may save some hard earned cash. The only thing you don't get is any software compared to the sbig.

Ian

[adrian]

Hi Ian,
Thanks for that. I did consider the QSI but decided the SBIG was more affordable taking into account the complete package. It would be nice to see a review of the new SBIG but I can not find one.
Regards. Adrian

[perfrej]

I'll pitch into the SBIG chime. They know their stuff, in particular the read-out electronics.

As for wheel, well, I have the 2" SX on mine and have no problems as there is an ASCOM driver, even for 64-bit systems.

Nebulosity is far superior to ccdops and is dirt cheap. It handles any ASCOM wheel you throw at it and is fully scriptable.

/p

[adrian]

Thanks Perfrej.
I downloaded a trial copy of Nebulosity to have a look at it. It seems very comprehensive and has a good set of help files to get started with. I will have a play around with it over the next few days.
Regards. Adrian