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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 .8x Reducer Field Flattener For the 60ED Optical Tubes

$139.95

1 Review(s)

Looking to make your Astro-Tech (or variant) scope faster and flatter for photography? Then the .8x reducer/flattener is exactly what your are looking for.
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Astro-Tech .8x Reducer Field Flattener For the 72EDII Optical Tubes

$139.95

Looking to make your Astro-Tech (or variant) scope faster and flatter for photography? Then the .8x reducer/flattener is exactly what your are looking for.
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Celestron .7x Reducer Lens for The EdgeHD 925

$429.00

The EdgeHD .7x Focal Reducer Lens makes your EdgeHD 9.25" one full F-Stop faster than f/10, reducing your exposure time by half to capture the same brightness of object
4-element lens design
Maintains similar flat-field performance as native EdgeHD optical design
Increases field of view by 43% to better capture wide field images
Threads directly onto the 3.25" threads of the EdgeHD which reduces mechanical vignetting and allows for use with larger (full frame) sensors and Off-Axis Guiders
Maintains the identical back focus when used at f/10 and provides generous back focus to accommodate additional accessories and wide variety of cameras
Allows use of existing EdgeHD T-Adapters with or without the Reducer Lens
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ZWO ASI178MM Monochrome CMOS Astronomy Imaging Camera

$299.00

The ZWO ASI178MM is geared toward planetary photography, but is capable of so much more.
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Sky-Watcher 0.85x Focal Reducer/Corrector for Pro 80 ED APO Telescope

$370.00

1 Review(s)

.85x Reduction For Your Sky-Watcher Pro 80 ED APO Refractor Helps Correct Distortion Out to the Edge of the Field Requires a 48mm T-Ring
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Astro-Tech 1.25" prime focus/variable eyepiece projection adapter, needs T-ring

$44.95

This three-part Astro-Tech camera adapter lets you do both prime focus and variable magnification eyepiece projection astrophotography with 1.25" focuser telescopes . . .
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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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Celestron Deluxe Off-axis guider for SCTs and long focal length telescopes

$339.95

7 Review(s)

The Celestron off-axis guider #OAG93648 is designed for use with SCTs, EdgeHDs, and long focal length telescopes that require the most accurate guiding possible.