S&T review SBIG full frame CCD camera STL-11000M

Apologies if a little late but interesting article with sample
starfields by S&T's Sen Ed Dennis di Cicco on SBIGs full frame 36 x
24mm monochrome STL-11000M CCD in the current July 2004 S&T; p96-102.
Cost US$8000. Can your scope cover this field?

SBIG's webpage http://www.sbig.com/sbwhtmls/large_format_cameras.htm
provides camera spec etc.

Maurice Gavin -- WPO - UK

(Maurice Gavin) wrote:

Can your scope cover this field?

A 36mm x 24mm sensor is the same size as a piece of 35mm film.

On 20 May 2004 13:23:03 -0700, wrote:

(Maurice Gavin) wrote:

Can your scope cover this field?

A 36mm x 24mm sensor is the same size as a piece of 35mm film.

Yup. A good many scopes can't really cover a piece of 35mm film, and the higher
resolution of CCDs compared with film makes aberrations at the edges even more
obvious. Certainly something to consider before investing in a large area
detector.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Chris L Peterson:
Yup. A good many scopes can't really cover a piece of 35mm film, and the
higher
resolution of CCDs compared with film makes aberrations at the edges even more
obvious. Certainly something to consider before investing in a large area
detector.

At $8,000 I would say so! Would such a camera as the STL-11000M be
suitable for use with an 8" LX200?

Davoud

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

On Fri, 21 May 2004 21:13:47 -0400, Davoud wrote:

At $8,000 I would say so! Would such a camera as the STL-11000M be
suitable for use with an 8" LX200?

Not really. Even with a good corrector/flattener, the spot size starts getting
pretty huge that far off axis. You can see this already with ST10 images, let
alone the larger detector. People pull it off okay with film, but you don't get
tight stars on film anyway, and the resolution isn't as good as a CCD, which
hides a lot of optical problems. A CCD is just so damn unforgiving in that
respect.

_________________________________________________

Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com

Davoud:
...Would such a camera as the STL-11000M be
suitable for use with an 8" LX200?

Chris L Peterson:
Not really. Even with a good corrector/flattener, the spot size starts getting
pretty huge that far off axis. You can see this already with ST10 images, let
alone the larger detector. People pull it off okay with film, but you don't
get
tight stars on film anyway, and the resolution isn't as good as a CCD, which
hides a lot of optical problems. A CCD is just so damn unforgiving in that
respect.

*****

Thank you for taking time to reply. I'm not the expert that you are,
but I kind of knew what the answer would be before I asked...

Good News -- $9K saved.
Bad News -- I still haven't decided how to proceed with
astrophotography after my small observatory is completed this summer.
My AstroPier was delivered today, coincidentally just an hour or so
after I finished digging a 48" deep hole for its concrete base...

Thanks again,

Davoud

http://www.davidillig.com/observatory.shtml

--
usenet *at* davidillig dawt com

Hmmm... looking at it more closely now, there does seem to be some dimming
near the edges of my "first light" STL11K image... and the central star IS a
tad bloated. My gawd, I've been snookered!:

http://www.astro-nut.com/sun-ha-04apr16.html

Well... it is easier to capture the target when working with the humongous
canvas the KAF11000 chip provides! )

(Venus transit here we come!)

Cheers,

Paul

PS: I think the S&T article mentions that some folks are planning on using
these cameras for night-time too... Go figure!?!


--- http://www.astro-nut.com ---


"Maurice Gavin" wrote in message
...
Apologies if a little late but interesting article with sample
starfields by S&T's Sen Ed Dennis di Cicco on SBIGs full frame 36 x
24mm monochrome STL-11000M CCD in the current July 2004 S&T; p96-102.
Cost US$8000. Can your scope cover this field?

SBIG's webpage http://www.sbig.com/sbwhtmls/large_format_cameras.htm
provides camera spec etc.

Maurice Gavin -- WPO - UK

On Sat, 22 May 2004 01:53:29 GMT, Chris L Peterson
wrote:

On Fri, 21 May 2004 21:13:47 -0400, Davoud wrote:

At $8,000 I would say so! Would such a camera as the STL-11000M be
suitable for use with an 8" LX200?

Not really. Even with a good corrector/flattener, the spot size starts getting
pretty huge that far off axis. You can see this already with ST10 images, let
alone the larger detector. People pull it off okay with film, but you don't get
tight stars on film anyway, and the resolution isn't as good as a CCD, which
hides a lot of optical problems. A CCD is just so damn unforgiving in that
respect.

Chris L Peterson

Perhaps 1/2 frame is a better bet for most scopes ! Great results
from a big [half frame] colour chip at

http://www.starlight-xpress.co.uk/SXV-M25.htm