Cameras

We also supply quality cameras by Meade, Celestron and QHY
CONTACT US FOR BEST DEALS!

CAMERAS

FLI Microline Series
A Superb Range of Very Low Noise Cameras
with excellent cooling from FINGER LAKES INSTRUMENTATION USA

Standard features of the MicroLine include a large aperture shutter, high transmission camera window, internal frame buffer, USB 2.0 connectivity, triple TEC cooling and ultra-fast download speeds of up to 12 megapixels per second!

Construction

Each component of the MicroLine camera is designed and manufactured for a long life in the most demanding conditions:
• All major components are CNC machined
• Highest quality electrical components & circuit boards
• Logo, serial number and focal plane indicators are laser-etched
• FLI designed photo-etched stainless-steel shutters are fieldserviceable should they ever encounter damage
• Sensor is hermetically sealed from dust and moisture

For more information on these superb cameras click on the FLI logo above

PLEASE CONTACT US FOR BEST PRICES!

Orion StarShoot Pro - £1445.00
Deep Space CCD Colour Imaging Camera

Includes Case and Maxim DL Essentials Software
at a very attractive price!

• High-resolution 6.1-megapixel CCD color astro camera.
• Sony 1.8" format (23.4mm x 15.6mm) CCD chip features 3032 x 2016 pixel array.
• Thermoelectric cooling plus rear fan dramatically minimize thermal noise for smoother images.
• 16-bit dynamic range yields better image depth than all but the priciest DSLRs.
• Over four times more pixels than like-priced astro cams; <1/3 the price of other 6MP astro cams.
• Optional ASCOM drivers available, allowing use with many other types of imaging software.

A52084transmission This latest addition to the StarShoot line features a big 1.8" format (23.4mm x 15.6mm) Sony 6.1-megapixel color CCD chip with a 3032 x 2016 pixel array. That gives the Pro more than 6.5 times the light collecting area and over four times as many pixels as similarly priced astronomical CCD cameras. In fact, it uses the same chip found in competitors' cameras costing thousands of pounds!
starshootcase The Pro's 7.8µ x 7.8µ pixel size provides an excellent balance between high resolution and sensitivity. You'll get beautiful, detail-rich shots with enough resolution to make large-format color prints suitable for framing!

Like all StarShoot cameras, the Pro is thermoelectrically cooled (TEC) to dramatically reduce thermal noise in your images. There's even a small fan on the rear housing to enhance cooling efficiency even more. Compare that to the competition's similarly priced imager, which has neither TEC nor a fan. The Pro renders full 16-bit dynamic range - better than most DSLRs, which offer only 10- to 14-bit A/D conversion. Also unlike DSLRs, the Pro has no mechanical shutter or mirror to cause vibration problems and eventually wear out.

AUTOGUIDERS

Orion StarShoot Autoguider - £249.00

Attention Imagers: Affordable Autoguiding Has Arrived

Autoguiding has revolutionized the capture of deep-sky images by mechanizing the tedious and tiring method of "manually" guiding an exposure, which involved staring endlessly into an illuminated reticle eyepiece while tweaking your mount's electronic drive controls by hand to keep the stars pinpoint sharp. Until now, the problem has always been the lack of a simple, affordable autoguider camera to do the job.

Problem solved. The StarShoot AutoGuider provides a user-friendly, dedicated autoguiding system for long-exposure astrophotography. It's compatible with virtually any mount equipped with an autoguider port and comes with the software and cables needed to work right out of the box!

The AutoGuider's sensor is a high-resolution, 1/2" format 1.3-megapixel CMOS monochrome chip, with 5.2µ x 5.2µ pixels for highly accurate guiding. That high accuracy due to the small pixel size means you can use the AutoGuider with smaller, less expensive guide scopes than is possible with other guide cameras (such as the now-discontinued ST-4). The chip resides in a super-compact, anodized aluminum housing that measures just 2.5"wide by 2.35" long and weighs a mere 4.4 oz. It has a 1.25" nosepiece that can be removed to access a T-thread interface. And the AutoGuider's short inward focus requirement of only 15mm from a typical 1.25" Plössl eyepiece makes it compatible with virtually any telescope.

The AutoGuider's incredible ease of use will appeal to beginning and experienced astrophotographers alike. The included software requires no previous knowledge of autoguiding. It offers automatic calibration and guiding with literally a single mouse click. The camera is powered via your computer's high-speed USB 2.0 connection with the included 10' USB cable; no other power source is needed. A 6' RJ-12 cable is also included to connect the AutoGuider to the mount without the need for an additional RS-232 adapter.

With the StarShoot AutoGuider, precision autoguiding for deep-sky photography is now easier and more economical than ever. Get one today for your imaging setup! One-year limited warranty.

Requires PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista 32-bit.

• Finally, an easy-to-use, affordable autoguider for long-exposure astrophotography
• Uses a 1/2" format 1.3MP CMOS chip, with 5.2 x 5.2 micron pixels for highly accurate guiding
• Compact housing measures just 2.5" x 2.35" and weighs a mere 4.4 oz.
• Included software offers automatic calibration and guiding with a single mouse click
• Powered via your computer's high-speed USB 2.0 connection; no other power source needed
• ST4 compatible autoguide output jack on camera body

LVI SmartGuider - £489.00

The LVI SmartGuider is an innovative, stand-alone autoguiding camera that does not need a PC.

Advanced built-in logic allows correction for all tracking errors of any equatorial mount equipped with a standard ST4 autoguider port. Unlike other guiders on the market, the LVI SmartGuider is a stand-alone unit that interfaces directly with your guidescope and mount, again no PC required. The Control Paddle features a wide graphical display, which enables the user to constantly monitor the tracking performance and fine-tune all of the guiding corrections sent to the mount. It also has a set of easy to navigate menus for fine tuning all the camera parameters (both standard and advanced), which make the LVI SmartGuider suitable for all applications, even the most demanding.

Not having to use a laptop for autoguiding carries a number of advantages:

1. For all those who don’t really need a PC (e.g. as is the case with traditional film or DSLR imaging), the benefit is twofold: you save on PC hardware cost and on the energy needed to power it.

2. CCD users can benefit as well, as the use of the stand-alone LVI SmartGuider greatly reduces the performance overhead on the PC. This is very convenient especially with resource-hungry setups where the PC is already under heavy load (e.g. with big multiple-megapixel CCDs, electrical focusers, motorised filter wheels, etc.). This also significantly lowers the chance of dangerous operating systems crashes.

3. As the LVI SmartGuider is sensitive enough to find a suitable guide star anywhere in the whole sky with exposure times of around 1 second, you can also save on the cost of a micrometric guidescope support, needed to scan the “celestial neighborhood” in case a sufficiently bright star cannot be found in the field of view.

TOTALLY INDEPENDENT OF SOFTWARE

Using the LVI SmartGuider ensures that you will never have to wrestle with device drivers under Windows, and that it will never fail you, even with setups you have never used before.

VERY EASY TO USE!

TheLVI SmartGuider camera is very easy and fun to use! Now anyone can start his fascinating journey into the realm of astronomical photography, without having to buy overly complicated autoguiding cameras, or to look through hundreds of boring manual pages to learn how to tweak every single parameter. LVI has made the astrophotographer’s life so much easier, everything is just a button click away!

LVIpaddl FEATURES