From: Milton Aupperle <milton@outcastsoft.com>
Date: September 26, 2007 12:45:58 PM MDT
To: Astro_IIDC@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Astro_IIDC] Congrats Milton on Pt Grey newsletter image
Hi Tim;
On 26-Sep-07, at 11:57 AM, Tim wrote:
Hi Milton.
I just got my Pt Grey newsletter email message! It's got your Dumbell
image featured.
Thanks. I sent it to them just to show them what you can do with their cameras when we were discussing various things.
I wish Pt Grey would advertise in S&T. After reading the review of
the DMK camera there, I was stricken by the realization that there
really isn't much in the way of a comparison between the two - at
least the Fleas versus the DMK described.
I have talked to PGR about increasing promotion of their cameras for Astronomy a few times. But it doesn't hurt to send them an e-mail and tell them what they think too.
1/3" chips versus 1/4"
16-bit versus 8-bit.
1.25" cube versus 2" cube
Yep. I'd love to see results from an EXHAD 2/3" CCD based grasshopper mounted in a HyperStar Celestron 8" or 14" configuration. The Camera has a smaller foot print than the secondary mirror does, so it would not block light any light at all. It would make a dandy wide field F1.9 camera for Asteroid / Nova hunting and for those big targets like M33, M31 or the Veil nebula.
And the Mono version of that camera with 16 bit and the sensitive CCD would be ideal for imaging Venus at high frame rates in UV or far IR. I think that 16 bit imaging of Venus would reveal a lot more fine detail than 8 bit will show, especially given the huge contrast you wind up with venus.
And so on.
Not that there' anything wrong with the DMKs, mind you folks!
The TIS DMK/DFK/DBK are great 8 bit cameras and price wise they beat PGR in almost all cases. The only PGR camera that beats TIS price wise is the FireFly MV (8/16 bit color or mono 1/3" CMOS sensor, exposures to 60 minutes and has hardware ROI for higher fps), which is about $250 USD for the cased version and $200 USD without the case. However the requirement that you need to buy the PGR $100 Kit for the first camera purchase drives the price up too much and makes them roughly equal in cost.
I had though about maybe becoming a re-seller of the FireFly MV cameras and bundling them with Astro IIDC (and maybe an accessories like a metal C-Mount 1.25" adapter etc.) which means that the $100 would not apply for each purchaser. At the time the difference and volatility in the US/CDN exchange rate was an issue, but is less so now.
TTYL..
Milton J. Aupperle
President
ASC - Aupperle Services and Contracting
Mac Software (Drivers, Components and Application) Specialist
#1005 - 815 14th Avenue. S.W.
Calgary Alberta T2R0N5
1-(403)-229-9456
www.outcastsoft.com
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http://www.partyofalberta.org/