First light with my new astro camera - ATIK 383L+ instead of my little 16ic.
The 383 is based around the Kodak KAF-8300 sensor which gives 3362×2537 pixels (8 Megapixel) 16 bit monochrome images - compared to my 16ic 659×495 pixels (Sony sensor). The 383 pixels are 5.4x5.4um rather than 7.8x7.8um - this means higher detail but needing more time per exposure.
The next odd thing is that the 383 has a mechanical shutter, the 383 also has a higher noise level than the 16ic. However, like the 16ic the 383 has a peltier cooler stuck to the sensor giving -40degC delta from the ambient temperature which reduces noise. The 16ic's sony sensor has a reputation for super low noise..
Now something to explain about astro large format cameras.. unlike your daylight cousins you get to see all the bad pixels! Usually in daylight cams these are mapped out.
383 M81, twenty 10 second exposures, with really bad polar alignment:
All those dodgy pixels! Those can be mapped out, also the shot needs better alignment to make the image clearer. The camera sensor was running at -24degC! The picture above has been resized to be forum friendly..
16ic M81, seven 60 second exposures stacked with good alignment (at full size!):
You should be able to spot the location on the 383 picture to give a size reference of the image!
Oh, an one last image I found on the hard drive from SGL6 using the 16ic - m58:
The 383 is based around the Kodak KAF-8300 sensor which gives 3362×2537 pixels (8 Megapixel) 16 bit monochrome images - compared to my 16ic 659×495 pixels (Sony sensor). The 383 pixels are 5.4x5.4um rather than 7.8x7.8um - this means higher detail but needing more time per exposure.
The next odd thing is that the 383 has a mechanical shutter, the 383 also has a higher noise level than the 16ic. However, like the 16ic the 383 has a peltier cooler stuck to the sensor giving -40degC delta from the ambient temperature which reduces noise. The 16ic's sony sensor has a reputation for super low noise..
Now something to explain about astro large format cameras.. unlike your daylight cousins you get to see all the bad pixels! Usually in daylight cams these are mapped out.
383 M81, twenty 10 second exposures, with really bad polar alignment:
All those dodgy pixels! Those can be mapped out, also the shot needs better alignment to make the image clearer. The camera sensor was running at -24degC! The picture above has been resized to be forum friendly..
16ic M81, seven 60 second exposures stacked with good alignment (at full size!):
You should be able to spot the location on the 383 picture to give a size reference of the image!
Oh, an one last image I found on the hard drive from SGL6 using the 16ic - m58:
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