Meade Deep Sky Imager

Hey all Does anybody known about the meade deep sky imager?I do not know anything about ccd cameras so I will have to ask these stupid questions.Does the camera fit directly into the focuser?Is there a live image like a webcam?Is it worth 380 euros?Do you have to have a meade telescope?

The Meade DSI fits directly into the focuser of any telescope - you don't need a Meade brand scope.

The camera is controlled, via a USB cable, through software on your laptop/PC. I'm not sure what the maximum USB cable length is (though I've seen 30ft being quoted).

The software includes the ability to produce a webcast - the pictures taken by the camera are updated on the web by overwriting them with a new picture as it is taken. If you take a frame every second, then I guess you get a one-frame-per-second webcast.

Is it worth the money? Well, that's a good question. Certainly pictures taken with the DSI are very good. But to get good pictures out of a DSI is hard work. Like any CCD camera.

Given that you can spend $40,000 on a professional CCD, the $299 for the DSI seems good value for money. But then there are many other options available for astrophotography which may be better value for meney - it depends on what you want. A digital camera may offer better value for money even though its (typically) more expensive - astrophotography and normal photography are possible.

Take a look at the Meade DSI forum - you'll see photos taken with the camera and you can ask DSI owners directly what they think!

By the way, I have a DSI and so far so good - but I can attest to the fact that siginificant time investment is needed for good pictures! I have a sunspot picture on this site taken with the DSI:

www.irishastronomy.org/user_resources/fi...6-Sunspot%20proc.jpg

Cheers

Dave

groups.yahoo.com/group/Meade_DSI/

You will need to register to browse the forum - but its free


is reasonable va

At last Mon Mallow Camera Club talk on astrophotgraphy not knowing anything about the Meade system I asked Jan Cap about it. He shoots purely slide and film but his knowledge is extensive and he heard from other astrophoto guys that the Meade software isnt as good as it could be and that Celestron's is better due to the Registax software.
Ask those who have used both or wait until they're longer on the market .
Eugene

Hey guys, thanks alot for the information, it helped me alot