First CMOS camera Suggestion

Excellent choice, grab this camera and enjoy!

Going monochrome is a  more work when doing LRGB.   More work especially when processing and I find it slower when imaging (even if the subs are shorter) because each filter needs to be focused and there is more down time for dithers  as there are more  frames.   You also need more space on your computer hard drive as the the subs are more numerous. You also have to do more flats (one set for each filter), that can be a big factor at 3h in the morning and it is cold out there.

Monochrome does however yield a lot more details in your images as the camera is more sensitive.    I have gained about 20% in details over using a DSLR for RGB images.
There is no question that monochrome is better when doing narrowband imaging.  Less noise, shorter exposure times.

One caveat, the imaging train is heavier than color CMOS, hence new challenge in balancing the mount and gear.

If you go down that road, make sure to get a COOLED camera  ;-)

The only place I will keep using my DSLR is with comets.

cheers

Stephan

Hi Michael

I have the cooled  1600MM.  It is a great camera.   Have a look at my pictures.   I started doing narrowband with it before going LRGB.    It allowed me to better learn processing as I added the OIII filter and eventually the SII filter.    You can do a lot of imaging just with the Ha filter.  I don't know what your skills are like when processing but going LRGB from.the get go would be a huge undertaking.
The skills you learned with your DSLR will be useful.
The milestones for me were :  guide the mount well, narrowband,  control everything with the computer  (no more hand controlled on the mount), autofocusing and plate solving (huge time savings here!!).  I then joined the LRGB dark side    lol
If you have any other questions, let me know.
Stephan

My pleasure Michael.
I am also a photoshop user.    I don't use pixinsight.
Let me know if you need any further help.

Cheers
Stephan

My vote goes to the ASI1600mm too.  I bought one recently as an alternative to my large CCD cameras and it is easy and fun to use.  If you're serious about imaging I don't think it's worth getting an OSC camera.  You'll want to go mono in a few months anyway

Here's an example image taken with the ASI1600mm under light polluted skies: https://www.astrobin.com/383279/?nc=user

Cheers,
Rick.

Another vote for Mono here.  I have a both and find the processing much more difficult with OSC because I still have to debayer the images and process same as mono anyway.  And you lose 50+ of the light so you end up needing more exposure time too.

Can’t think of a decent competitor to the 1600 Mono cooled right now.  Wish I owned one.  Go for it!

Do think about the image scale.  This is a small pixel camera so it best with shorter focal length scopes.

Kevin, what about the  071MM Pro,  at 4.78microns  compared to 3.8microns  and diagonal of 29mm versus 21mm for the 1600 ?   Would it suit a Meade 12in ACF better?  Or are even larger pixels better?

Isn't that one color only?  As far as I know, the largest mono CMOS sensor is the 1600 until you get to the vastly more expensive 4040, etc, large pixel cameras.

Rough math on the right focal length for a given pixel size is to have an image scale that is 1/3 of the average seeing you will experience.  So if you expect 2.5" on average, look for an image scale of .83 arc seconds.  With the ASI 1600 that would be 950mm FL, or so.  Don't get pedantic about it, but that would be the goal.

Go here for an easy calculator:  https://astronomy.tools/calculators/ccd

Hey everybody! I want to join your discussion.
i’m also planing to buy the exact camera,
 asi 1600 mm cool.
What I read now was hard to believe.

narrowband seems to be little bit easier to process and also data collecting not so time consuming ? I mean easier than lrgb ?
that would mean I’d have to consider to start out that way, not to buy lrgb but some sort of halpha oiii or sii Filter instead.
I’m torn between the “newest” set of Zwo filters 31 mm or Baader Filter 2”
do I really have to focus between each new filter ? Or does it stay in focus between all the Filter of one brand ?
same question is for flats.
Do you have to do that ?
Regards Dennis

You will want to to have LRGB and SHO filters so plan for all 7 when you purchase the filter wheel.  I have not used the ZWO filters, but my Astrodon filters do not require refocusing between filter changes.  Why spend so much money on filters?  Because very narrow filters like 3nm or 5nm allow you to shoot from the city and with the moon up and still get good contrast.  THEY ARE WORTH THe MONEY!

Michael Caller:
Your Tarantula Nebula image is amazing , I noticed your frames are very short on RGB , but many of them, I'm assuming thats down to high sensitivity CMOS sensor being more effective with shorter exposures but more of them.

Thanks, Michael.  The subs need to be long enough that shot noise from the sky signal swamps the read noise from the camera.  This is called a "sky limited" sub as opposed to a "read noise limited" sub.  I have been running the ASI1600mm at a gain of 200 which gives very low read noise and the FSQ85 with reducer is quite fast optically (about f/3.8.)  I also have very bright skies.  When you combine all those things it means that only short subs are needed.  As you might have noticed, I'm doing longer subs for narrow band (120 seconds.) With one of my CCD cameras with much worse read noise I'd need to do subs more like 15 to 30 minutes.

Cheers,
Rick.

Hi Michael,

You are doing the right thing asking the experts.  I am glad you have chosen the Mono route as speaking to you over the last couple of months, I know you are serious about imaging and I feel this is the right choice for you

You can always do mono images while you are finding your feet and add the colour afterwards though see comment at **

Yes it is more work and a bigger learning curve, but just think of the benefits.

Regarding re-focussing.  I must admit that with my Baader filters I check focus with all the filters beforehand and mostly find they are parfocal.  If I occasionally find one is slightly different I do a sequence with those that are par focal and come back to that filter afterwards.  I don't really understand why it should vary from one imaging session to another.

I can help you with processing and combining the data once you have captured it.

Since like me you live in a LP location and have limited time at our dark location, I have taken to binning the RGB, Oiii and Sii which means you can capture data in half the time, but ** you will need registration software such as Registar or Pixinsight, I think APP also does it to re-size and/or rotate the images so they match.  You will also need this sort of software if you image the same data on different occasions from a re-set up as getting the camera orientated exactly the same each time is pretty difficult.

HTH

Carole