Re: [APML] OT: New 35mm Astro CCD camera

[Aplanatic@aol.com]

Hi Tony,

I know a bit about this subject, having grown a small tech company from 
scratch.  

Several years ago I spent quite a lot of time contacting CCD manufacturers, 
getting pricing and delivery quotes for the latest CCD chips available at the 
time.  I also made recurring cost estimates and NRE (nonrecurring engineering) 
estimates for the development and production of a camera and software that I 
was interested in bringing to market.  To make a long story short, I think that 
you're getting a decent (actually better than decent) deal from SBIG on their 
cameras, software, support and advertising.  I found that we could not make, 
market and sell a camera like the ST-10 for any less than SBIG already sells 
it for (and still make a little profit on the side).

It's possible that an offshore company could make and sell it for less.  
Would you then get the kind of support that you are accustom to from SBIG?  I 
don't really know.  I do know that SBIG has won my respect for what they do and 
what they sell if for.

If you're still wondering, yes, the CCD chip is a very large component in the 
overall cost of these cameras.  They still have yield problems and that 
drives the cost way up, especially for the large imagers.  They are run on a 
special semiconductor process that only a small handfull of companies support.  It's 
NOT high-volume CMOS.

Dave Rowe



> I am not criticising SBIG's pricing... their philosophy has always been to 
> provide affordable instruments and superb service... but when comparing 
these 
> items, either the guitars are terribly under-priced or the CCD camera is 
over-
> priced... and if it's not SBIG's fault... maybe it's the chip 
manufacturers...
>  whatever it is, it does make me wonder...
_______________________________________________
Astro-Photo mailing list
Astro-Photo@seds.org
http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/astro-photo