Monochrome vs Color Cameras

Welcome back to our astrophotography series! One of the most common questions we get about astrophotography cameras is, which camera type do I need - monochrome or color? Drew breaks down the difference between these astronomy cameras to help answer your questions on benefits, image results, and more!
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[@Uwwerasch]

I cannot think of a better way to explain this subject. Thanks!

[@miloskanjak9628]

Such a wonderful, informative and well-made video. Thumbs up!

[@tullyfisher]

That's a really helpful and compact video. Thank you!

[@mikebenengtouncry3613]

Awesome video OPT. short and meaningful !! Thank You

[@OPTTelescopes]

Our pleasure! Stay tuned for more!

[@jamesdougan8789]

great video good info well explained love ya work OPT cheers

[@OPTTelescopes]

Thanks 👍

[@ironsimonx4221]

Such a good Video! Thank you!

[@astroEnthusiast1]

Excellent video!!

[@euclideanspace2573]

Great video! Minor correction, the GFX100 isn't a DSLR, there's no pentaprism.

[@jamie-ox8sg]

Cleared allot up for me as a beginner

[@barbaraevans4070]

Awesome video! Very informative and clearly explained.

[@OPTTelescopes]

Glad you think so Barbara! Stay tuned for more!

[@barjasmohd4134]

Thank you so much

[@gomanastro]

great job on simplifying the explanation for folks trying to make the decisions.

[@OPTTelescopes]

Thanks Greg, glad you enjoyed it.

[@Tihpem]

I had made up my mind pretty much already about my next invest but this really helped to confirm my thoughts. Great video!

[@OPTTelescopes]

Glad to hear it! 🔭

[@fenrisulv]

Just the video I needed, thank you!

[@OPTTelescopes]

You're Very Welcome

[@scuttlebum]

Super helpful, thank you!

[@OPTTelescopes]

Glad it was helpful!

[@whitefang8329]

Hello. What camera will do the best on Radian Raptor 61 ? Both color and mono cameras. Thank you.

[@peter4210]

If you spin the color wheel at right RPM with the frame rate, you can take all the pictures in quick succession giving you full colour. Thats how the Mars satellite takes color picture with very little blur from the movement of the satelite. Someone figured out how to use that blur to make 3d images of mars

[@fernandezjuano]

Great video, thanks for the info

[@OPTTelescopes]

Glad it was helpful! 😎

[@SharpStarAstro]

Awesome video!

[@guille5564]

Great video!! I have one question left to answer, what do the millimeters in the camera name mean? For example ASI2600mm. Thank you very much

[@OPTTelescopes]

The MM means that it is a monochrome Black and white camera while the MC stands for Color

[@boostmobile9249]

Inspiring attractive to this person looking for a New hobby!!! This person is over 50 yrs. young & still inquisitive, & curious about the night light in our Sky!!! Beautiful 🌝 MOON!!! 👍👍👍👍😃

[@KB2AT]

Boy you take the man outta Philly but not that accent lol. Good job bro

[@OPTTelescopes]

That's our Drew!

[@stephenmcarthur2250]

Awesome video

[@nathanevans2076]

Awesome Video!

[@OPTTelescopes]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@noreaction1]

What are all the filter bandsa person can filter through aside from the 10 listed in the video?

[@MrSpike2450]

Perfect thanks, can you please link the Pixinsight tutorial that was briefly shown at 3:42 :)

[@OPTTelescopes]

Check out our other videos, Its taken from our Pixinsight tutorial with Dustin Gibson.

[@radioparisment628]

Many thanks for the video. I plan to buy a color camera in order to show quick color DSO's to the crowd. But not only : I own a monochrome camera and I thought to combine mono channel and color channel in a dual rig. Is it a nonsense to create a LRGB picture using a mono cam ( L ) and a color cam ( RGB ), knowing that chrominance channel is used only for color info ?

[@manishrek]

Hey Drew Thanks for this informative video. I am a beginner and owner of Zwo Asi 294 Mc pro... I live in highly light polluted area... Can you please suggest a narrow band filter which can work good for this camera? Thanks in advance

[@rpg350]

You can use IDAS NBZ Nebula Booster Filter or Optolong L-eXtreme Dual Band Narrowband Filter both good for high polluted areas , cost around £300

[@DD-gi6kx]

Here's another idea, if you use mono camera and filter wheels then why need color correction in scope, adjust focus as you change filters, correct for other things but don't worry about color

[@wikruntasas2]

Hi Drew! As i beginner in this hoby, and thinking to go further from DSLR, I'm thinking to go color camera first to get knowledge about astrophotography dedicated cameras. Just I'm stuck with variety of them on the market. And i can't choose between ZWO ASI533mc pro, ASI183mc pro or ASI294mc pro. I have Starwave 102ED-R doublet. Which would be better for start?? Thanks a lot!

[@OPTTelescopes]

The ASI 294mc pro is a workhorse and highly recommended. I used it extensively before I upgraded to the 2600mc pro. As a beginner you can't go wrong starting with a OSC camera.

[@wikruntasas2]

@@OPTTelescopes Thanks a lot 👍😉 now I'm sure and can spend my money without hesitation 👍😄

[@Chris_LSZO]

For galaxies and reflection nebulas I use OSC. Mono I use only for narrowband (in combination with OSC for true color stars).

[@OPTTelescopes]

Smart!

[@MrSummitville]

The "L" exposures on the monochrome camera will give more detail than the OSC exposures

[@staceymatthiessen890]

So many knowledge nuggets! Thanks OPT. For a beginner, should I go with a color camera and work up to a monochrome?

[@Jam_66]

That’s what a lot of people say, but if you have your post processing almost down, I’d say go for monochrome. You’re pretty much just processing the same image 3 or 4 times over. I’m using a dslr right now and played with some monochrome data and it wasn’t as hard as I thought, but it is very time consuming!

[@JonnyBravo0311]

It really depends on what you want to do. The video explains the pros/cons pretty well. Using an OSC camera like the QHY168C, your data collection and post processing is much simpler. Data collection is just point to your desired target and start taking pictures. Processing, there's only the single combined RGB image to deal with. So, you calibrate with your flats, biases, darks and then debayer, register and integrate. You can also "simulate" narrowband results using filters like the Radian Triad Ultra. Mono cameras are more involved, both in data capture and in processing. For data capture, you've got to take images for each channel separately. To process, you've got to calibrate, register and integrate each channel. So, if you're doing LRGB, that's 4 sets of data. As mentioned in the video, the biggest advantage to mono is the amount of signal per image you are able to capture and the ability to do real narrowband imaging (like producing the Hubble palette SHO). So, I guess you need to ask yourself how patient you are, how much effort you want to put into this, and how much money you want to spend up front. An OSC is going to be "easier" and certainly less expensive than a comparable mono setup.

[@Jam_66]

Jonny Bravo Do you think the extra detail and signal are worth the extra work? I’m still debating on getting a decent mono setup or just a really good color camera

[@JonnyBravo0311]

@@Jam_66 I think it really depends on your own expectations. Do you have a lot of patience? Are you going to be setting up in pretty much the same place all the time? Do you not mind the added complexity of filters, wheels, controlling software, etc? If you answered yes to those questions, then mono might be the right choice for you. If, however, you don't have a lot of patience, you have to travel to a dark site and can only get there a few times a year, and figuring out all that filtering, focusing, planning, software stuff just seems a bit too much like work and not at all like a fun hobby... then OSC is your answer.

[@Jam_66]

Jonny Bravo yeah I think mono might be my answer then, I usually just stay in my backyard and travel to a dark site every once in a while. Thanks!

[@rupee3]

Great video! I’m interested in monochrome imaging. How will living in light polluted areas affect the acquisition of LRGB? Should I use a light pollution reducer with the LRGB shots?

[@OPTTelescopes]

When shooting LRGB there's unfortunately less protection as you get with narrowband targets. Filters like the L-pro can help but overall a darker sky is your best bet.

[@rupee3]

@@OPTTelescopes thanks for the response! so it sounds like for LRGB, drive to a dark sky, for narrowband imaging, i can do that from the city.

[@user-hd9zg6gh4o]

You can shoot with a HOO filer and a color camera from the city.

[@raziqkanani7059]

I currently have a dslr but I want to upgrade to either a colour or monochrome camera. I have the triad ultra filter and am wondering if the triad paired with a monochrome is the best way to go since I wouldn't need to switch filters. You mentioned the triad ultra with the colour camera but would it be just as good if not better with a monochrome? If I understand correctly this pairing would take the pros from a monochrome camera (getting better data) and eliminating the cons (having to have multiple filters thus increasing time spent on your target). thank you

[@carneyjg1]

It doesn't work that way. The triad filter is multi narrow bandpass filter. So your sensor would read the signal from each of those wavelengths. Being a mono camera you need to shoot each wavelengths separately in order to assign an actual color to each channel.

[@raziqkanani7059]

@@carneyjg1 ah I see, so the triad Ultra simply would not be able to produce a colour image with a mono camera? Thank you for the response Jason.

[@warrenbracewell6310]

So, if I use a color camera, can I get as good of results by using the same number of exposers as I would take doing LRGB with a monochrome?

[@MrSummitville]

NO. The resolution from the "L" exposures on the monochrome camera can NOT be duplicated with same number of exposures using Color Camera.

[@Robert08010]

If you are offering, I'll take which ever one you got!

[@bonairecloudynightsobserva2297]

Great, I just need the money to get it.

[@gunnarjensen5910]

If I stack many subs does the difference between the MC and MM disappear ??

[@MrSummitville]

It may eventually be possible. But nobody has yet proven that will actually happen.

[@JeffLarkin]

For OSC cameras that are specifically designed for astro, why do they not modify the filter to take RGBL rather than RGGB? I get it for DSLR cameras that would be used for other things, but these are dedicated instruments anyway.

[@ianlauerastro]

Astronomy camera manufacturers purchase sensors from the same companies DSLR manufacturers get their sensors from. It's too expensive for astro cam manufacturers to have their own sensors made.

[@MrSummitville]

Because astrophotography is a very minor subset of total DSLR sales.

[@reidchandler6486]

Dont care which I need, I prefer quality. Just ordered the asi2600mm to replace the 1600mm. Have buddies who have sent me raw data from their 2600, man I cant wait!!

[@mikepetzold6357]

What about one of these and say a canon Ra? What is better

[@OPTTelescopes]

We would recommend a dedicated astronomy camera because they are literally built and designed from the ground up over decades specifically for space, so their sensors are stronger, they have cooling, and much more. The Ra is a great camera for astro, but the only difference between that and a normal DSLR is the IR filter is taken out making it better to pick up Ha data

[@user-hd9zg6gh4o]

You can get a used Canon t3 for under $100 and remove the filters yourself. Great way to start getting into AP. Add a star tracker and it could keep you busy for years.

[@josemhernandez8733]

with monochrome you need 3 times plus the time for exposures......

[@josemhernandez8733]

is good for really clear skies....

[@MrSummitville]

Huh? No, you need the exact same amount of total exposure time for Mono.

[@GrundleStiltSkin]

why do mono cameras cost more if they technically have less steps and material in production. is it a bullshit tax?

[@MrSummitville]

Economies of scale could be a factor. If you can make mono imagers cheaper, then do it ...

[@yf222000]

Which one do I need? Most importantly. I need you folks to change and improve your customer service first. It’s been downhill and so bad lately. Don’t just sell only.

[@inter-linked]

“Smash" the like button, if applicable, once you have viewed the video.

[@rocketcityastro]

LOL they showing Amazon stuff no wonder they went under.

[@kirostar12]

Don't waste your money on a mono camera. There is no comparison between the two cameras in this video, just statistics that don't show people what the differences are between mono and color. And yes, you can shoot in a narrow band with color cameras with almost the same result to the human eye. Not to mention the new filters for color cameras that narrow the gap between mono and color even more.