I have the STF-8300 CCD camera with the STi autoguider. A great camera combination. It works. However, I am starting to worry that I am being left in the dust as new technology speeds past me. I have a 14" planewave on an MX+ mount. Anyone have an SBIG / Diffraction Limited camera/autoguider combination that you'd recommend I consider upgrading to? Thanks in advance.
What is it that you want to do ? eg astrophotography? photometry? astrometry? If you don't have a compelling reason to change it out, the longer you wait, the better the replacement technology. The pixel size and full well capacity of the 8300 are still better than a lot of CMOS Active Pixel sensors, and it's a 16-bit camera, unlike some CMOS APS devices. Some CMOS APS sensors have higher QE, which just means slightly shorter exposure times. Some have lower read noise, but higher noise from logic glow. If you were doing photometry or small objects like galaxies or planetary nebula, I'd point you to our Aluma CCD47-10: https://diffractionlimited.com/product/sbig-aluma-47-ccd10/ Insanely sensitive, big pixels and huge full well capacity. With the big image circle on the PlaneWave CDK14, our most popular alternatives for wider fields are: Aluma AC4040: https://diffractionlimited.com/product/aluma-ac4040/ - biggest chip 36x36mm , huge pixels (no binning), natively 12-bit with dual gain and 16-bit StackPro - more work to calibrate Aluma AC455: https://diffractionlimited.com/product/sbig-aluma-ac455/ - 24x36mm, smaller pixels than your 8300 so binning is required, natively 16-bit So let us know what you have in mind.
I am creating images for myself. Targets of opportunity. Yes things work quite well as they stand although I wouldn't increasing the resolution a bit on the STi from 640x480. That's the resolution I had on my EGA graphics card in the 80s I know you can't compare, but is there a slightly better autoguider you'd recommend? thanks
