On 28 Apr 2005 at 19:19, Gary McKenzie wrote: > Hi, > I'm thinking of buying a Pentax *ist DS Digital SLR specifically for > astronomical imaging and would appreciate some info on the camera. > > Specifically, what chip is used as the ccd sensor - I have been told that it > is > the same ccd as in the Nikon D70? Is this so?
Hi Gary, Yes they use the same sensor, the Sony ICX413AQ, here is a brochure: http://www.sony.net/Products/SC-HP/cx_news/vol28/pdf/icx413np.pdf There is a dedicated astro camera that uses this very same sensor: http://www.starlight-xpress.co.uk/SXV-M25.htm And there are various articles around the net regarding the use of the *ist D for astro imaging: http://www.deep-sky.co.uk/dslr/dslr.htm No I don't astro image, I just learned to use Google ;-) > Also, is the IR filter removable (this is to increase red sensitivity for > Hydrogen Alpha images) - on a Nikon D70 it is removable relatively easily, > and on Canon cameras is a royal pain to remove. > > Is the "raw " mode truly raw? Yes, the only controls that effect the data written to the RAW file are the ISO control and NR option. > What are the noise levels like on long exposures- several minutes plus.... Can't help here, I generally employ the active NR for lengthy exposures. Cheers, Rob Studdert HURSTVILLE AUSTRALIA Tel +61-2-9554-4110 UTC(GMT) +10 Hours [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://members.ozemail.com.au/~distudio/publications/ Pentax user since 1986, PDMLer since 1998
