Altair Astro Hypercam 183c review

[@AZ4RunnersRealm]

Good stuff Everett!! Glad the Autoguider is working out!! Happy Birthday!!

[@AstroEverett]

Hey Jason thanks. The autoguider is great thanks. Thanks for the birthday wishes. Glad you and Isaac can start getting out again.

[@Ghostflyer63]

I have the cooled color version of this camera and yes it will kick the snot out of a DSLR. I have built a calibration library at 30s, 60s, 90s, 120s and 180s. Due to the light pollution here I rarely go over 60s unless using a dual band filter. This is basically a rebranded Touptek camera. You can also find this same camera (slightly different driver for brand) as Risingcam and or Ogma which is actually US based. It was definitely a game changer when it came to the quality of my photos.

[@AstroEverett]

I love the fact that you can take a dark library with the cooled cameras. I have now upgraded to a 533ms pro.

[@Ghostflyer63]

@@AstroEverett I picked up a used Risingcam imx571 (2600) color camera which is now on my 80mm and the 183c is on a different scope. Problem is I keep acquiring scopes which keeps sucking in clouds. 🤣 Hope you don't live in Tx as I just received a 70mm 🤣🤣

[@AstroEverett]

Thanks for your concern. I live up in Ontario Canada and it's been clear for 3 days and it's supposed to be clear all weekend but I will be working.

[@sammyairlines9307]

Nice video Everett. I have the cooled version which does make darks easy. One problem I have is getting rid of the amp glow. I use Pixinsight and the Weighted Batch Preprocessing utility. Any suggestions? Thanks

[@AstroEverett]

Yes....the cooled cameras make darks so much easier. As for the WBPP for Pixinsight.....I have no ideas as I'm just messing around with that myself. Maybe try Deep Sky Stacker DSS.

[@markwelsh9068]

Hi Everett, would you say there is a very significant difference in the quality of shots you can take between this and a DSLR? I just bought a dslr recently (Nikon D5500) and, to spend another £500 on a dedicated camera like this, I'd really need to be sure I'd get photos which were substantially more detailed and less noisy than achievable on my DSLR (and, perhaps, in less exposure time). That said, however, I'd also be keen on getting a cam which does EAA well.

[@AstroEverett]

Yes Mark....there is a noticeable difference in picture quality and noise between a DSLR and a DAC (dedicated Astro camera). With a DAC the IR filter is not there so you are getting more HA to the sensor. Plus with cooled DAC (which mine isn't) the noise is reduced and you can do compensation frame library. This makes taking darks at the end of an imaging session a thing of the past. I hope this helps.

[@markwelsh9068]

@@AstroEverett Thanks Everett. I actually watched a comparison video last night by Lukomatico and it convinced me that, in fact, I would not wish to spend any extra amount (to the tune of hundreds if not over a thousand pounds) on a DAC. I saw no significant (for me) difference between the two to warrant such an outlay and I'm not even concerned about the DSLR being modified. I'm beginning to understand how manufacturers can charge such extortionate prices for astro gear. It just appears to me that many astro heads get gear fever. The number of dudes on youtube showing off their latest and greatest gear and unboxing (a sadder thing I have never seen in my life - unboxing videos) and reading lists of specs has, I think, told me all I need to know. Hahaha

[@AstroEverett]

I'm glad you got the answers you were looking for. Luke has a great channel. I know what you mean about Astro gear fever. I suffer from it too but don't have the funds to get new gear. Most of the stuff I have has been second hand.....except my mount.

[@boodlewoodle]

I'm ready to upgrade to this model from my modded canon 450d it's at my price range to do you think it would be better then my modded camera?

[@AstroEverett]

Yes, it would be better than a modded camera in my opinion. But if you can get a cooled version. If that means you have to spend a little More money than I would spend the extra and get a cooled camera. A thermal electric cooled camera. Not a fan-cooled like what my model is. That way you can do a dark library without having to worry about taking darks every night

[@boodlewoodle]

@@AstroEverett thank you I don't mind doing the darks at the same night as I've got a roll off roof observatory so that won't be a big problem. I would love to take a closer look at one of your TIFF files to see the images up close any chance you could email me one to take a look at 😁 www.astrocasto.blogspot.com

[@AstroEverett]

I could send over a couple....sure.

[@AstroEverett]

Not sure how to send you a tiff.