Noob question DSLR or some kind of CCD?

[ATAIM]

I tried to do a search for my question but could find one so I’m sorry to ask such a basic question, but here we go.

My equipment is: Meade LX200 with the super wedge, autostar guider. So my question is, I have a Nikon D200 with a “T” mount and camera adapter, I’ve captured some OK pictures. Would I be better served by buying a Deep Space Imager, a web cam or continue to use the D200. I can program the D200 to take interval pictures and later process them. I’m looking to take the best pictures that I can.

I've included a single frame, 30 seconds with the D200 of M13, its not the best astophoto I have taken, but the only one I have on the office computer.

[mahesh]

....can't 'see', ATAIM

welcome to BAUT

[mexhunter]

Hello ATAIM:
Welcome to BAUT.
Nikon 200 is an extraordinary camera for traditional photography.
In astrophotography the fans prefer Canon. It is demonstrated that in photos of long time, Canon generates less gradients and less thermal noise.
I have proven Nikon 200 in astrophoto and have been disappointed, but I use whenever I go out excursion or vacations.
Nevertheless it seems to me that if take photos, of less than 3 minutes of a same object, and you combine these photos, you will be able obtenes very interesting photos.
Many greetings
Cesar

[ATAIM]

So buying something like the Meade Deep Sky pro ii would be much better than the D200, correct?

Here is a sample of M13 that I took with the Nikon, 30 seconds, unguided

[RickJ]

Being uncooled the difference wouldn't be all that great. Temperature is the big enemy. If you are limited to 30 second exposures it won't be all that big of a problem. But all DSLR's have an IR filter that blocks H alpha light as well as IR so emission nebula tend to come out blue-green rather than pink. For stars this isn't a problem. You can get IR filters for Canon that pretty well preserve color for ordinary shots and work well for emission nebula. I don't know about what's available for Nikon.

You might want to consult the DSLR forum on Cloudy Nights website.

For planetary work a web cam is best as it can capture thousands of images in a couple minutes then Registar or other software can pick out the good ones for stacking and processing. No other type camera can achieve this frame rate.

For long exposure deep sky work a cooled CCD is best, especially if you live in a warm climate.

Rick

[ATAIM]

I have the digital timer for the D200 so I can take pictures as long as I want. I live in Texas, so I'll look into the cooled CCD.

THanks all.

[RickJ]

For long exposures you will need a second guide camera to correct mount errors. Only the very top mounts set up very accurately like the Paramount can track more than a minute or two without guiding. With a LX200 without mirror lock you'll want to use an off axis guider or get a camera with an on board guide chip. If yours has mirror lock then a VERY rigidly mounted guide scope can be used but flex is always an issue with such a setup so I prefer to guide though the imaging scope. Also use a 6.3 corrector with the non ACF models to correct coma and field curvature.

Rick