RE: [APML] New Schmidt Camera image: Machholz on Saturday

[John Mirtle <spampit@shaw.ca>]

         First, nice one Chris! Macholz doesn’t really appear to have shrunk
too much recently and is still a worthy target. I will make a point of
aiming my Schmidt (loaded with a round of tech pan) at it next new moon.
Nice to see the odd Schmidt still in action. :-) I sure don’t remember
seeing that many stars around Polaris before!

	Second, a Schmidt/CCD conversion has already been done by Gerald
Rhemann of astrostudio.at in Austria. He used a Starlight SXV-H9 as it is
nice and compact and stuffed it somehow into the tube assy. As I understand
it, the chip is small enough that it gives good images almost all the way
across the chip without a flattener. No construction details are on his web
site but I understand that he is preparing an article for S&T sometime in
the near future. I, for one, will be watching for that article with great
interest! Until then, here are some of his images: (yes, the exposure times
are in seconds!)

http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/aufnahme.php?a_id=359&page=1&kategorie=
&k_id=39 
http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/aufnahme.php?a_id=358&page=1&kategorie=
&k_id=39 
http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/aufnahme.php?a_id=356&page=1&kategorie=
&k_id=39 
http://www.astrostudio.at/Astrofotos/aufnahme.php?a_id=350&page=1&kategorie=
&k_id=39 

	It is unfortunate that SBIG doesn't consider the 3,000 8" and 11,000
5.5" schmidts made by Celestron (plus units made by Epoch) much of a
potential market. Their self-guiding cameras and temperature regulation
would have made me an instant customer. As Starlight have an ideal camera
that isn't much bigger than the Schmidt film holder, all we need is that
"how-to" article in S&T to begin the revolution! (oh, and a whack of
cash...)

John Mirtle
Calgary, Ab.
 
________________________________________
From: astro-photo-bounces@seds.org [mailto:astro-photo-bounces@seds.org] On
Behalf Of Lane, Jason R
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2005 3:38 PM
To: Discussion of Film Astrophotography
Subject: RE: [APML] New Schmidt Camera image:  Machholz on Saturday

If you had an idea of what the field curvature is (and you could find this
out experimentally), then you could very likely buy a field flattener (off
the shelf from somewhere like Edmund Optics) that would correct for your
scope's particular field curvature, mount the lens with your CCD in an
adapter, and put it to very good use on the Schmidt camera.  Now that would
be a fun little optical design project.
 
Cheers,
Jason
 

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