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CCD & Photographic

A CCD camera is essentially an electronic version of a 35mm camera for astrophotography that saves the images in your computer, rather than on a roll of film. A CCD camera can take snapshots of the Moon and planets and long exposure photos of deep sky nebulas, galaxies, and star clusters. Because the CCD camera has to store up the faint light of deep space objects before it can display an image, just as a 35mm film camera does, a CCD can't give you real-time or instant images of deep space objects.

Because a CCD camera is more sensitive than 35mm film or your eye, it can store up more information during an exposure. Software supplied with the camera, or available separately, allows you to manipulate the image later to bring out details that would be washed out or invisible in a 35mm negative or while observing visually. CCD cameras are surprisingly unaffected by city light pollution, allowing deep sky photography from even heavily light polluted sites.

CCD cameras typically vary in price according to their image size, with large cameras running into the multiple thousands of dollars. Even at their largest, however, their image covers less of the sky than a 35mm film camera on the same scope. CCDs are best at recording small and very faint objects rather than large and bright objects, although excellent images of large objects can be recorded by taking multiple overlapping images and combining them in the computer.

It has been said that CCD cameras on amateur-size telescopes can record fainter objects than the 200" scope at Mt. Palomar could record only 10 or 15 years ago with conventional film cameras. By some measures, CCD cameras can be said to have an effective film speed (ASA or ISO rating) of 20,000, making them ideal for recording very faint objects.

Some CCD cameras can act as autoguiders to take the tedium out of guiding long exposure 35mm photos. Some CCD cameras have their own autoguider built in for recording images automatically and untended; others come with separate guiders or have them available as an option.

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Astro-Tech 5mm T-thread spacer ring for DSLR and CCD imaging with 42mm Threads

$9.95

This Astro-Tech 5mm T-thread spacer ring can help provide the necessary spacing between a DSLR or CCD camera's focal plane and a reducer, field flattener, or other imaging accessory in prime focus astrophotography.
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Astro-Tech 10mm T-thread spacer ring for DSLR and CCD imaging with 42mm Threads

$9.95

This Astro-Tech 10mm T-thread spacer ring can help provide the necessary spacing between a DSLR or CCD camera's focal plane and a reducer, field flattener, or other imaging accessory in prime focus astrophotography.
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Celestron 0.7x focal reducer for Celestron 8" EdgeHD scopes and optical tubes

$409.00

2 Review(s)

This Celestron EdgeHD 0.7x focal reducer turns your 8" f/10 EdgeHD telescope into a full f-stop faster f/7 scope, increasing your photographic field of view by 43% and cutting your deep space exposure times in half . . .
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Tele Vue Paracorr Type 2 photo/visual

$510.01

5 Review(s)

The TeleVue Paracorr Type 2 photo/visual coma corrector drastically reduces the coma and curvature of field of all Newtonian reflectors and large aperture "no ladder" Dobsonians with focal ratios as fast as f/3 . . .
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ZWO ASI178MC Color CMOS Astronomy Imaging Camera

$269.00

The ZWO ASI178MC is geared toward planetary photography, but is capable of so much more.
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ZWO 0.7x Reducer for FF107APO and FF130APO Telescopes

$349.00

If you are needing a faster version of your ZWO FF107APO or FF130APO, this reducer will get you there.
$Astro-Tech 0.8x reducer/field flattener for Astro-Tech AT90CFT triplet apo refractor$ $Astro-Tech 0.8x reducer/field flattener for Astro-Tech AT90CFT triplet apo refractor$

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Astro-Tech 0.8x reducer/field flattener for Astro-Tech AT90CFT triplet apo refractor

$199.95

This 0.8x focal reducer and field flattener is designed specifically for astrophotography with the Astro-Tech AT90CFT 90mm f/6 triplet apo refractor.
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ZWO ASI294MM Monochrome Astrophotography Camera

$999.00

You asked and ZWO delivered. A monochrome version of the every popular ASI294MC, the ASI294MM.
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ZWO ASI482MC Color Astrophotography Camera

$299.00

Packed with Sony sensor IMX482, this camera has some incredible specs, including a large pixel size of 5.8um, USB 3.0 interface, large full-well depth of 51.5ke-, extremely high sensitivity, and super low read out noise.
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ZWO ASI432MM Monochrome Astrophotography Camera

$599.00

The ASI432MM uses a Sony-IMX432 global shutter CMOS sensor. Its frame size is 1.1″, with large 9.0µm pixels, 1.77 million pixels (1608x1104). In ADC 12-bit mode, it can output 120 frames per second at full resolution and has a read out noise level as low as 2.9e.