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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 5, 2016 12:35:20 GMT
This is great for Aussies that don't want to pay international freight charges, have a long delivery wait, or pay exorbitant prices due to currency exchange rates on international purchases. The Australian 'Gstar-Ex' Video Astronomy camera now comes in a large sensor colour version. See HERE for the new Gstar-Ex 3 Out of my price range but someone getting one might do a review
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Oct 5, 2016 14:24:19 GMT
Pretty impressive stacking algorithm.
Is this the equivalent of the ZWO ASI178MC?
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 5, 2016 14:37:16 GMT
I have no idea what it is equivalent to Rick. It is probably Gstar's version of a camera already available elsewhere, but I post it here so Aussies can see another new camera that is available locally. Down here in Oz land we pay enormous exchange rate prices, plus international freight, plus waiting times for delivery, and no local Warranty if buying from USA, Canada, or UK. And it's always nice to support local businesses if possible. Gstar-Ex is our local product
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Post by Rick in NWArk on Oct 5, 2016 15:00:03 GMT
I wasn't knocking it Ken. I really liked the images and I find the stacking algorithm impressive since they show stacks of 80 or 100 and there is a nice evenness across the images and no blowouts or star blooming.
Image Sensor: Sony Exmor colour Size: 1/1.8" (8.92mm diagonal) Resolution: 3072 x 2048 (6.3 M/p) Pixels: 2.4μm x 2.4μm Bit Depth: 8 bit and 14 bit Output Resolution: 3040 x 2048 (1520 x 1024 binned mode) Dust Protection: AR dust protective window. Exposure: 0.244 sec ~16 mins Cooling: Fan vented (on/off controllable) Connection: USB3 (also USB2.0) Power: USB powered Dimensions: 84 (L) x 67mm (W) Weight::300 grams Thread: M42 female Nosepiece: M42 male to 1.25 inch (threaded for 1.25" filters) Auto-Guiding: ST4 compliant with ASCOM and WDM drivers Cables: USB3 and Auto-guide supplied
Software: Includes powerful live viewing, live stacking and capture softwares, ASCOM drivers and auto-guiding software. Compatible with WIN XP, WIN7 WIN8 and WIN10 and Intel USB3 control ports.
The actual sensor is not listed, but those specs are on the SonyIMX178 CMOS sensor which is in the ZWO ASI178MC. I've seen some nice images online for this camera too, even tho most consider the ASI1600 camera the current "hot" camera. The ASI178 is about $400US right now, new.
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Post by davy on Oct 5, 2016 17:19:13 GMT
Ouch,, what's the thing with the manufacturers,, £500 seems the magical price on most these days
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Post by ChrisV on Oct 5, 2016 21:18:21 GMT
If it is the 178 its pretty competitive. The uncooled zwo178 is a similar price. This at least has fan cooling.
And looks like they have done their own stacking software?
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Post by johnno on Oct 5, 2016 22:31:53 GMT
Are they the only camera people down under Ken?
It seems a good price without having to pay import duties
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 6, 2016 9:23:36 GMT
Yes John, Gstar-Ex is the only local camera dealer. Aussie Astronomy shops sell the Infinity, ZWO, Meade cameras etc but at exorbitant prices. We pay near double the USA and UK prices PLUS freight. The software will have custom features as Steve Massey and a friend of mine Chris Wakeman write the software for the Gstar-Ex cameras. The well known Gstar-Ex capture software used by many people was written by Steve and Chris and had on-the-fly stacking several years (about 10 years) before any of the other manufacturers had it. Rick, I didn't think you were knocking it. I like the quality of the resulting images too, but I find the stars a little bit soft as they seem to be when stacking all the USB cameras. Can be fixed simply though by raising sharpness on-the-fly
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 6, 2016 10:36:07 GMT
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 6, 2016 12:05:46 GMT
Ouch,, what's the thing with the manufacturers,, £500 seems the magical price on most these days £500 is $835 here davy. The new GSTAR-Ex3 is £350.25 or Aussie $585
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Post by davy on Oct 6, 2016 17:08:24 GMT
Cheers Ken,, could name find the dollar sign on my phone,, pound notes will do I thought lol.
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Post by johnno on Oct 6, 2016 22:25:47 GMT
Yeah, I been using the gstar capture software for a couple of years, nice little program
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 7, 2016 8:38:36 GMT
Cheers Ken,, could name find the dollar sign on my phone,, pound notes will do I thought lol. LOL!!!! Not quite. Too big a difference
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Post by ChrisV on Oct 7, 2016 9:49:31 GMT
Yeah, I been using the gstar capture software for a couple of years, nice little program Is there anywhere you can get details on their software.
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 7, 2016 10:02:41 GMT
Yeah, I been using the gstar capture software for a couple of years, nice little program Is there anywhere you can get details on their software. Which software Chris? The original Gstar-Ex capture software or the new one with the Gstar-Ex3?
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Post by ChrisV on Oct 7, 2016 10:57:44 GMT
Both ! Just new interesting to see what is like. Especially the new though
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Post by Dragon Man on Oct 7, 2016 15:01:47 GMT
There is no link to the new Software Chris. It probably comes with the camera, I don't know. The camera isn't even released for delivery yet. The Current version of the popular Gstar-Ex Software (called GSTAR Capture V4) is here: www.myastroshop.com.au/guides/gstar/downloads/GStar4InstallerV2.48.zipGSTAR Capture V4 is compatible for use with Windows XP, Vista, WIN7 32 and 64 bit, WIN 8 32-bit and 64 bit and Windows 10 systems
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