Dear Sir or Madam, Through my hobby of photography I came to astrophotography. Since astrophotography differs from original photography in several aspects, it is not easy for me to understand the complex processes and relationships between the astro camera and the telescope. In my search for a high quality astro camera, my research brought my attention to your astro cameras. I am considering purchasing a Takahashi FSQ-106EDX4 telescope to photograph mainly deep sky objects (galaxies, nebulae). One question would be whether the SBIG Aluma AC2020BSI is suitable for this type of telescope. Can you explain me what is the difference between "VIS-NIR" and "UV-VIS"? Is the "VIS-NIR" or "UV-VIS the better choice in the context of using the narrowband filters? Is there a possibility to see the cameras on site in Ottawa, ON and to buy them right there? Many thanks in advance for your kindly message. Best wishes, Claudia
The principals are similar to a Digital SLR camera shooting black and white or color; Just the sensors in astronomy are normally monochrome, and we put filters in front of the sensor, whereas the DSLR has Red, Green, Green, and Blue microfilters above each pixel. The telescope optics are like telephoto lens (eg 300mm for birds, 600mm for sports photography), just the telescope focal lengths start at about 600mm in telescopes and easily exceed 6000mm. Thank you - we try to manufacture the very best quality, although it does cost a bit more to do so. You might want to consider a camera with finer pixel size and more of them. A great match would be our SBIG Aluma CCD814: https://diffractionlimited.com/product/sbig-aluma-ccd814/ VIS-NIR = Visible light through Near Infrared light = 400nm to 1000nm. This is the most common for astronomy. UV-VIS = Ultravioltet light through Visible light = 250nm to 700nm. Used for specialized applications. We don't operate a retail store; however, if we planned ahead, we could likely make arrangements. Normally there is a lead time, depending on the camera model and parts availability. Some models like the CCD814, CCD694, STC-7, STC-428-P are usually in limited stock; the more expensive cameras tend to have a queue.
Dear Colin, Thank you for all your explanations, advice as well as the recommendation for the SBIG Aluma CCD814. This is really good customer service! So if I understood you correctly, I should have smaller but more pixels. Since I also prefer a CMOS over a CCD, I think it makes sense for me to wait until the new camera is ready that uses Sony's CMOS IMX455 sensor. I like the stacking feature in the camera with Stack Pro! Thanks also for the possibility of an appointment, I will gladly come back to you. I will stay tuned.
