Starting Astrophotography? Use this Sensor Size
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 ม.ค. 2023
- Here is what sensor I recommend for anyone starting astrophotography. My first pick is the IMX533. Second pick would be the IMX269 or the 1600MM for those of you wanting to start into narrowband.
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Thanks for another great video. My first "astro" camera was a Nikon D40. It couldn't be outfitted with an intervalometer so I just timed exposures on my cell phone. That was the camera I already had and worked great as a learning tool since there were so many other aspects to learn.
Thanks for solving my huge problem in a few minutes!!! Great work !! :)
Personally, if you're just starting out, I'd say "use what you have" that way you avoid spending oodles of money and you'll probably learn a bit about your camera and how everything functions together in the process. If you don't have **any** hardware, then I'm sure this is the correct method. :)
Great video. Coming from m43 photography myself it felt like a natural inbetween sensor size to stick to m43 with astrophotography as well. Got a used cooled Altair 269C (on an ES ED80 scope, used as well) and did not regret that (either of both). Good to see you recommending exactly that sensor now.
Btw, you look great and it seems your energy and health is slowly and steadily increasing. Wonderful!!!!
I started a year ago with a "budget" rig. Light AZ-GTi mount and tripod, 80mm ED refractor with 0.8x reducer/flattener, and a Canon DSLR I've had for years. Lots of teething pains while I learned the basics, but fun and didn't break the bank. After a couple of months of research and deep thought I decided to get a ZWO ASI178MC for my first dedicated astro camera. Small (7x5mm), but the full moon fits comfortably in the frame. I've learned a tremendous amount, and I'm still a long way from exhausting the possibilities. I've found that the ASI178 is capable of taking pretty impressive deep-sky pictures, and there's a whole lot of bright, beautiful stuff out there that will fit in a 57'x38' field of view. After a year my first major upgrade is a ZWO AM5 mount. I might go another year before upgrading to a cooled camera like an ASI533
My first was also a 178 though mine was the mono version. Its now a guid camera but i was a great first camera for sure.
I bought an ASI533MM Pro after I had watched a few videos from this very channel. No regret whatsoever! Tons of objects to shoot! And you know what? Square is good!
I also recommend the 533mono version over the color. Yes, filter wheel and filters, but the 1.25" filter size is a lot cheaper than anything bigger. BUT the image you can get out of is amazing. People need to know that large sensors also demand a more expensive telescope, which is tuned well. And if it's not tuned well (collimation, backfocus, tilt ) , then you just got yourself a headache. Sensor size goes up, so does the price of every other piece of equipment too.
Totally agree. This is mainly sales people that want to sell more $$$ and should not be this way.
I started deep sky imaging in fall 2022 with a Canon T5i and Skywatcher 72ed at 420mm, added an Askar FMA 180 as a shop was selling their last non-pro version for around $275 USD, and I recently upgraded to an Asi533mc while adding a Sharpstar EDPH iii at 270mm and F4.43 to round out my focal length choices. I had first light this week with the Sharpstar and second light with the 533, and I can tell I'll be happy with this as my base setup for years to come (although I do see some additional filters in my future). Looking at targets through Stellarium, it's amazing how many targets fit well on the 533 at around that 300mm focal length.
Another awesome video! Thanks for the recommendation! I was thinking of grabbing an adapter for my E-M1 and sticking in on a telescope! But maybe I’ll venture into one of these 533’s
Thanks! They come up on the used market often too.
Great advice! I was lucky enough (intuition?) to decide on the 533 sensor as the first color camera in my young astrophotography adventure. I have made the same recommendation to others, as well.
That is awesome!
May I recommend the Pentax 645z, 51mpxl. You can find them all day long for $2000. The real prize are the lenses. You can find used lenses in the $400 range. I found a 400mm f5.6 for that price, and an AF zoom for $180! And, they are excellent . . . with the 400mm, I got a photo of Saturn in which you could see the sphere and the rings. Of course, nowhere near what a telescope could resolve, but it was fun. Saturn was only about 15 pixels across.
Medium format cameras are a category all of their own and rather forget unfortunately. The formats and aesthetics they create is missing in todays 35mm digital cameras.
I began narrow band imaging three years ago with a 183 sensor cooled mono camera and have been very happy with it. I have just bought a 533 sensor cooled colour camera to replace my aging DSLR but have not had chance to use it yet due to clouds. To be honest I'm happy enough with the set ups I now own and there are still some imaging techniques I need to master before I would consider upgrading to a 2" sensor camera.
The APSC sized sensors are great and I would actually prefer over the 35mm. They are so large there are few telescopes that support them. Not to mention all the problems you get with things like sensor tilt etc.
The imx533 is an awesome sensor. Great for the beginner.
It sure is!
Wow. Great video. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
I also recommend the 533 sensor. I'm lucky enough to have both versions.
533 sensor on a 130pds gives absolutely minimal coma. No coma corrector, no back spacing issues. Saved yourself £200
Bought the 130 with a coma corrector. Often thought why not ry shooting without it. Now i will give it a try. Less glass is bether ;)
I love visual astronomy and I've been doing it since the '70s. My fc-100dc is large enough for worthwhile visual observing, but it's also good enough for astrophotography. I've got a Mewlon 180 for visual observing and I think it's also pretty good for shooting video of the moon and planets. So even if I lose interest in astrophotography, I'll definitely keep my 'scopes for visual observing for the rest of my life. My ZWO gear works great as a visual GOTO system also.
I bought an ASI 533 mcpro, my scopes range from redcat 51 to Askar 120 apo, and have got excellent results. No amp glow was a huge plus went I changed from dslr to dedicated astro camera. ! tip I would give is when using a short focal length scope, to dither , and then drizzle in your stacking software
I am new to the hobby. I bought a Bresser Refractor Messier AR-102xs/460 Telescope, a Sky Watcher AZ GTi mount and a ZWO ASI183MC camera. As soon as the clouds move on I will hope for the best.
As a relative novice operating at the budget end of the market I'd happily endorse every point and recommendation. I would add one more candidate to the mix sensor-wise, namely the IMX585. My own variant is the Player One Uranus C one shot colour. In many ways it's a widescreen version of the 533. I have the Altair 183c Pro (fan-cooled) and the amp glow is a pain but manageable. I do miss the 20Mp resolution but my 585 is a keeper and going nowhere. Clear skies!
Thats a pretty new one. Is it a cooled camera? I thin i remember it is not and that would be only reason i did not bring it up.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel You’re absolutely correct, it’s not cooled so completely understandable not to mention it. I did purchase the ACS accessory which keeps the temperature at 2-3 degrees C above ambient which here in Scotland is generally pretty cool. @lukomatico is probably the most high profile user of the camera and has produced amazing results with it.
Great video, dude! Love your content. I have a question to ask, if you don't mind. My gear is currently an Evoguide 50ED (242 mm FL) coupled to the Starizona FF v2, which allows me to reach focus with up to APS-C size cameras. I'm currently using a Canon T3i with a 1.25" L-Extreme filter and, as you may guess, the vignetting gets crazy. Now, I feel it's time for me to switch to my first dedicated astro camera, and I'm in the odissay of choosing either the 183MC or the 533MC. The 533, as you mentined, has all the newst and greatest qualities, bu there's the pixel size thing cuz of the scope's FL 242mm. Now, what would you do if you were in my place? hahah
Thanks buddy!
533 for sure. Since it it square it will have fewer issues with vignetting.
For beginners pixel size is not something you should stress about. That is for people with very large budgets.
I have an SvBony 705c (asi585) planetary camera and an SvBony 405cc (asi 294) cooled camera. Fun 'em both.
Tried the 183 and found the amp glow was too much for me to deal with. I sold it and got the 533 mono. Happily ever after.
I am looking at the IMX585 Color Camera, hopping they do a mono version.
There is no mono version available sadly from SONY. last I checked.
Thanks for another excellent video. Question, please sir: I'm just starting out with the SeeStar and wanting to do more with my subs. What was the processing software you mentioned?
I wish there was a simple, fully integrated processing suite of tools that didn't require so much computer savy. Your thoughts, please. Thanks again, Michael
ASTAP software
Hi, I’m thinking about getting back into astrophotography. I had been doing some ~35 year ago with film and a darkroom. The only thing I still have is my Takahashi reflector and mount.
I loaned it to my brother and his kids but got it back slightly damaged and needs collimating. That would be the first step. I also need a camera and some knowledge. I do have dark skies though and can easily see the Milky Way easily if the moon is less than half full.
The mount is very good but has no goto functionality. Very basic by modern standards but I used to take long 35 minute unguided exposures with almost perfectly round star images. 45 minute exposures resulted in the film fogging up to overexposure. I got good at level set up and polar alignment.
Any suggestions on updating equipment would be appreciated. I’d like to see if I can get my current equipment fixed and get it useful.
The mount is the first place to update or get fixed. Without that long exposures are difficult to say the least.
could you please list the gear in your small setup. (For simplicity; I will stick to the ZWO eco-system)
Mount is a iOptron ZEQ25. I use a ZWO ASIAIR Plus. ZWO 30mm f4 guid scope and 290MM guid camera. I printed a shade extension for it. Scope is a Sharpstar EDPH 61mm Mk2 and has a Printed shade extension. Also my own design. Using an SVBONY Dew heater for the scope. And also the Sharpstar 0.7x focal reducer. 5 position ZWO filter wheel. With Baader 3.5nm Sii Ha and Oiii filters that are the 31mm uncounted type. ZWO EAF for focusing. I think that is about everything.
wow I like the idea of no amp-glow, just one less nuisance to deal with. What camera would be a good choice for a 20" Dobinson telescope to read up on? 😎 Thank you.
Where can you buy used monochrome and color camera at?
Cloudy nights is one of the best places. For a 20" dob I would need to know what size eyepieces it supports. the 533 is a great bet and you might want to go MC version since tracking with them is not something ideal. Really though I think the 269 color one is a better choice for a dob that size. It should easily support that sensor. You could probably use a APSC to though it might be a lot more challenging what with tilt and collimating
@@TheNarrowbandChannel Thank so much. This is a new learning experience.
I started off doing unguided imaging with a DSLR, 10" Newtonian & NEQ6 mount & my images were always underwhelming at best, I then bought a cooled CCD QHY8 OSC camera, they've been around a long time & aren't really worth anything now with the introduction of these new CMOS sensors, Amp glow has always put me off buying one though & after time my interest started to wane somewhat. Fast forward a few years & I bought the Altair Astro 269C & boy what a game changer that camera became as I started getting some of my best images with it. I sold it to fund a Altair 26C which is yet another great camera but as you've mentioned tilt can be a bitch as I've found out. Would I buy another 269C? Hell yeah in a heartbeat maybe I will later in the year. As for your comment about keeping it simple I wholeheartedly agree as I made it way to difficult for myself.
New to the channel and astrophotography. What about DSLR sensor size ?
Yes, DSLR can have large or small sensors too.
I just wish asi533 had aps-sensor
Really small field of view even with Samyang 135 lens!!
Is asi2600 a good upgrade?
So fun fact the 533 is a smaller cut of the 2600. They are really similar sensors. I will warn you though that things like backfocus and sensor tilt are important with the larger sensor. If you a beginner you may want to give yourself a few years of experience before tackling a larger APSC sensor.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel thanks brother.
It’s almost my 3rd year into Astro-photography
I still can shoot a lot of targets with my current setup.
But I need more pixels and better stars and wider field. I just feel so limited shooting with the square sensor!!
Probably if I want to upgrade, I need a whole new setup! And would probably pair the 2600 with redcat 51!
@@abulmeed4492 That would give you a nice wide field of view. I might recommend a Sharpstar 61 EDPH at f4.5 they are a lot faster and support that sensor perfectly.
@@TheNarrowbandChannel 👍🏽 perfect! I appreciate your help.
👏👍
Not a sensor Q, but an eyepiece Q: Whether using 1.25” or 2” eyepieces, what sizes image circles do they focus on?
That is a visual question. Sorta out of my area of expertise
@francis - Huh? Typically, we do not use eyepieces during imaging. The optics of the telescope determines the image circle.
I came from photography. Many years ago, I switched to full-frame.
Here is how I disagreed:
1. Full-frame, FF henceforth, is not harder to set up. Follow the directions from ZWO, or QHY, etc.
The is only one reason the set up process might be hard: failure to read and understand.
2. FF gets more of the available photons.
3. FF may require some cropping, but it makes cropping OK.
4. Square format is a special case of a rectangle. Give me the 2/3 format; I can crop square with less waste if my artistic brain chooses square format.
I could think of more..
In Astrophotogprahy nothing is Full Frame.
It is much harder to use larger sensor. Backfocus become much more critical and you have to be within 0.5mm to be good. Also things like señsor tilt and filter light actuation become issues. I have seen these issues cause people to walk away from the hobby many times.
Now larger sensor do not gather more light. The misnomer is a marketing gimmick that daytime photographers are fool hardy enough to fall for. To get more light you need BOTH a larger sensor and a larger aperture radius.
In astrophotography 8mp is enough. we just drizzle so cropping is never a big deal.
I to do like 2/3 format but in space nothing really fits well in it so you just end up cropping. In that case what's the point of spending extra money on it.
@@TheNarrowbandChannelIf you have a good field flatenner then why is back focus such an issue? Sometimes I will attach my Canon 6D ( Full Frame ) to my 6" Astro-Physics Refractor. Works well.