[AZ-Observing] Re: The Web Cam
- From: "Wil Milan" <wmilan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 9 Jan 2003 10:54:30 -0700
Stan,
There are several reasons why specialized astro CCD cameras are expensive=
.
Some of the primary ones are:
- Very low production volume. Nikon et al can sell consumer CCD cameras
for a few hundred dollars because they make millions of them. If they wer=
e
only making a few dozen or a few hundred the cost would be far, far highe=
r.
- Astronomical CCDs are cooled, and the cooling system and related requir=
ements
(such as moisture scavenging in the CCD chamber) add quite a lot of compl=
exity
and expense.
- The CCDs used in most astronomical CCDs are relatively low-production
units that sell for quite a bit more than the small, high-volume CCDs in
consumer cameras.
- Astronomical CCDs have much more expensive readout systems, requiring
the extraction of 16-bit data (vs. 8- to 12-bit in consumer cameras) and
lower noise figures. Both of those add substantial cost, not just in the
components involved but also the engineering.
There are some consumer-oriented digital cameras that are becoming quite
capable of at least some forms of astro imaging. The latest digital SLRs
from Nikon and Canon have turned out some very good images of bright obje=
cts,
and I think we'll see more people using those for some forms of sky imagi=
ng.
Wil M.
>-- Original Message --
>Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 10:14:00 -0800
>From: "Stanley A. Gorodenski" <stanlep@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: The Web Cam
>Reply-To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>The web cam Tom spoke of last night and the web site he cites below brin=
gs
>to
>my mind something I have been wondering about for some time. Why are
>astronomical CCD's so expensive? One can get a digital camera at a desce=
nt
>price with megapixels in the range of astronomical CCD's that cost thou=
sands
>of dollars more. The web cam Tom talked about last night has a pixel siz=
e
>of
>only 5.3(6?), which is about as small as you can get, as Tom mentioned.
>
>What is the cause of the high price for astronomical CCD's? Is it the sm=
all
>market, the additional machining that has to be done given the small mar=
ket,
>the specialized software that has to be written and supported? Or could
it
>be
>that the high cost of astronomical CCD's got established before digital
>cameras took off that, had they taken off a lot sooner, would have had
the
>effect of possibly depressing the cost of astronomical CCD's?
>
>Stan
>
>Tom Polakis wrote:
>
>>
>> Some inspiring Webcam work can be found on the Web page of Gu Yu at:
>>
>> http://www.gyastro.homestead.com/planets2002.html
>>
>
>--
>See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and pleas=
e
>
>send personal replies to the author, not the list.
>
Wil Milan
"The heavens declare the glory of God and
the firmament proclaims His handiwork" -- Psalm 19:1
http://www.astrophotographer.com/
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