Can anyone recommend a good mono camera?

[Thefatkitty]

Hey all,

Well, got in to nice skies today and went to shoot the Sun. Then I found out the sensor on my 8 month old ZWO ASI174MM USB 3.0 Mono Astronomy Camera is done. I cannot believe this; that camera was almost $800 for me. I am so pissed off right now!

It connects, but no image. I turn up the exposure and I get a bright light at about 256ms. A day like this, 9-10ms would be enough. I tried many things, and no, the sensor has never been directly exposed to the Sun.

I'm getting tired of wasting money on all this, but I need something with the eclipse coming up. Any recommendations on a mono camera that is not a ZWO? After this, I will never even contemplate another one of their products again!!!!

Thanks in advance,

[Graeme1858]

That's a shocker Mark.

Is it still under warranty?

Graeme

[Thefatkitty]

Thanks Graeme, and I doubt it. I sent an email to Telescopes Canada where I got it from; I don't think I'll get a favourable response as to that It's too bad, when it did work it was great. But if the lifetime is going to be 9 months, for that amount of coin I'm certainly looking at alternatives!

[rpineau]

I would look at Player One Astro.
If you want an IMX174m : https://player-one-astronomy.com/produc ... -m-imx174/
They have a lot of other mono camera.

[Thefatkitty]

Thank you for that! Might be just what I'm looking for, especially since it's primary use is solar with a larger resolution than my previous camera. I'm going to have to think about this though, it's almost $900 for me.
I need to start a GoFundMe page !!

All the best,

[Peppy]

1+ for Player One.

[AstroBee]

Player One and QHY are alternatives.
But honestly Mark, every manufacture is going to have certain failure rates that are out of the norm. I still have my first ZWO camera that I ever purchased, a 1600mm, purchased in Sept. 2016, and it is still my goto camera for solar. But I bought a 678mc and had it fail on me after 4 months. Contact ZWO directly. Since it is under 1 year old they may take care of it for you.

[Gordon]

That's a bummer Mark!

I would say you have started the right way by contacting the vendor, but it wouldn't hurt to contact ZWO directly and explain it to them too. Let them know you have contacted the vendor (and mention the name). For the money you spent you need to rattle some cages.

I bought my first ZWO ASI1600mm pro back in 2017. I bought a few others since then, including an ASI174mm-c pro I purchased in 2019. With all of my ZWO stuff, I've never had any problems. I have heard the nightmare with some of the new models but it seems that they do take care of the problems but not as quickly as we would like to see.

Again, rattle the cages!

[StarHugger]

Best of luck My Friend,

Hopefully ZWO can help or you find a solution or you find a reasonable alternative, Used is always a good option for astro cameras too...

[Thefatkitty]

Player One and QHY are alternatives.
But honestly Mark, every manufacture is going to have certain failure rates that are out of the norm. I still have my first ZWO camera that I ever purchased, a 1600mm, purchased in Sept. 2016, and it is still my goto camera for solar. But I bought a 678mc and had it fail on me after 4 months. Contact ZWO directly. Since it is under 1 year old they may take care of it for you.

Greg, you are 100% right. Wouldn't be the first time I've bought something only to have it crap out. I was just really surprised and the timing is not good. It worked fine on Monday

I'm almost tempted to dust this post; it sounds like I'm vendor bashing. I'm really not. I've heard so much good about ZWO and it really surprised me this happened. But, I know in production there can be glitches and I guess I got one. Probably the next 10,000 of these camera's will work fine for years

Thanks Greg, you've restored my faith!

That's a bummer Mark!

I would say you have started the right way by contacting the vendor, but it wouldn't hurt to contact ZWO directly and explain it to them too. Let them know you have contacted the vendor (and mention the name). For the money you spent you need to rattle some cages.

I bought my first ZWO ASI1600mm pro back in 2017. I bought a few others since then, including an ASI174mm-c pro I purchased in 2019. With all of my ZWO stuff, I've never had any problems. I have heard the nightmare with some of the new models but it seems that they do take care of the problems but not as quickly as we would like to see.

Again, rattle the cages!

Thanks Gordon. I did contact the place I got it from; their response was contact ZWO. Ok then. Problem is, I can't find anything on how to actually get a hold of ZWO for this. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place on their site, they say it's covered for two years, but how do you go about it? I'll keep looking, someone out there has the answer
Yup, I think I just got a "bum" unit; as I mentioned to Greg, ZWO do have a good rep. And I'd like to get a SeeStar one day too!

Best of luck My Friend,

Hopefully ZWO can help or you find a solution or you find a reasonable alterenative, Used is always a good option for astro cameras too...

Thanks Aaron, we shall see. You mention used, not a bad idea..... not at all!


I just don't know what to do here. The eclipse is a month away. Oh, and do you know what arrived for me yesterday about an hour after my camera crapped out? The Skywatcher SolarQuest mount and Celestron power pack I ordered for this setup...

Ever have one of those days?

So my options seem to be this. Use my trusty C80-HD with its Baader 3.8OD film, Solar Continuum filter and my Canon with the new mount, and try to get my mono camera fixed. I know that won't be done before the eclipse. Using my DSLR for Ca-K really doesn't work, even in mono mode.

Second, get a new camera, and it would have to be from the US as anything I want is on backorder up here. I really wanted to shoot all this with my Ca-K setup and my DSLR in W/L. The camera would arrive in time, but there another 8 bills spent, maybe more depending on customs/duty.

This decision would be easier if I knew what the weather was going to be that day...

And what doesn't help either is my dear wife was actually very sad for me; she knows this is my one hobby and I love it; much like this forum and all you good folks. I have the coin to get another camera (rather not spend it), but she wants to pay for it, saying it would be an early fathers day present. My dear, you're too good to me...

Trials, tribulations and ponderings. Such is life!

Well, I still have yet to unpack my new SolarQuest mount. I should do that and maybe do a write-up on it. And since we have a rainfall warning here for tomorrow (50mm, 2 inches), I think I will leave it until tomorrow.

Thank you all for the input; much appreciated

Hope you have clearer skies than I!

[AstroBee]

Mark, I'll make you an offer that might relieve some stress. I'm not going to be using my 1600mm for the eclipse. If you want me to ship it to you. You could have it in time to test and get used to before the eclipse. Then ship it back to me afterwards.
While I'm pretty confident that ZWO is going to take care of getting your camera repaired or replaced, I doubt it will happen in time for the eclipse.
Just say the word. You can PM me your shipping info and I'll get it out to you.

[Gordon]

@Thefatkitty

Hi Mark,
Scroll down the page on this link and there is a 'Get Support' link.

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/contact-us/

[Thefatkitty]

Mark, I'll make you an offer that might relieve some stress. I'm not going to be using my 1600mm for the eclipse. If you want me to ship it to you. You could have it in time to test and get used to before the eclipse. Then ship it back to me afterwards.
While I'm pretty confident that ZWO is going to take care of getting your camera repaired or replaced, I doubt it will happen in time for the eclipse.
Just say the word. You can PM me your shipping info and I'll get it out to you.

@Thefatkitty

Hi Mark,
Scroll down the page on this link and there is a 'Get Support' link.

https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/contact-us/

First off, wow, you are both the best, and second, sorry for the late reply; the weekend sort of blew up here.

@AstroBee Greg, that has got to be the nicest gesture ever! Except for on here, you don't know me at all, yet you're willing to go to all that effort and trust me with your not-so-cheap equipment. I was and still am blown away by that gesture.
Honestly though, I would be somewhat nervous with that. I'm one of the most trustworthy people you could meet, yet I have too many damn morals... If I dropped it or somehow screwed it up or I send it back and it's lost in transit I would never forgive myself. Of course I'd buy you a new one, but it would keep me awake at night!

Thank you though Greg, the fact that you would do all that to help me out is a good feeling. It eased the pain of the camera, though there seems to be more to that as I found out...

And @Gordon Gordon, much appreciated for the link; I probably never would have found that. I saw the section where I can it all started, but I might not need to.


I got in last night, got to thinking... I set up the scope and camera with my Linux desktop in the basement. There's a Linux version of the ASI softeware that ZWO uses for their camera. The camera powered up, and I was able to get focus on my old dirtbike 3 meters (10ft) away in the next room. Worked perfectly!
I don't get this; Thursday everything was just a blur needing a lot of exposure.... Now it's fine? I tried it on my Windows laptop thinking maybe that was it, but it's fine too. WTH????

I'm waiting for the Sun to clear my tree then I'm going to try this again. It's somewhat hazy out, but it'll be enough to see if everything is good. Fingers crossed!

Thank you all again for the advice, input and offers. You're all the best!!

[AstroBee]

You're welcome, Mark.
The offer still stands if you change your mind.
I actually had a member of my local club looking for a loaner a while back and she borrowed it for about a month until she could get QHY fixed. Case in point that they all fail occasionally and eventually.

[Gordon]

@Thefatkitty Let us know if the problem returns. I have a couple of other suggestions.

[Thefatkitty]

Well, seems there's a problem with this camera and the Sun

I took everything outside and tried again. Hazy skies, but I should be able to get something...... Nope. Same problem. Either the exposure is to the max (250+ ms) or nothing. A day like this should be around 11ms. Also, I noticed when it was sort of in focus the Sun was much bigger in my screen than normal. It always fits in the Sharpcap window, why this? I haven't changed a thing with the scope. I took the Ca-K filter out for plain white light. Same thing. Also, I noticed when adjusting the Alt-Az on the mount that everything was "jerky" on the screen.

So I went back to basics, and focused on the trees. Worked fine, just like in the basement. I don't get this. Same setup since August 2023, and all of a sudden my focus is different and can't get exposure on the Sun dialed in, yet everything else is fine.

I don't know what's going on, and I'm at the point where I really don't care; I've had enough else going on lately
I have my C80-HD with white light and a reliable Canon camera; all that will do me just fine for the eclipse. The KISS factor


However, I did get some fun shots of the Sun in the haze today. Trying to stay positive...

Thanks again all!!

[AstroBee]

What scope/filters are you using?
Check your camera gain settings and your ROI (Region of Interest) settings in SharpCap.

[Gordon]

I might be able to help with this, it will be tricky but we could try a remote session where I control your computer. I will pm you with more info.

[Thefatkitty]

What scope/filters are you using?
Check your camera gain settings and your ROI (Region of Interest) settings in SharpCap.

Hi Greg

I managed to get this all to work yesterday, but it did take some time, and I dont get it I made a post about it with my scope and filters here: Ca-K Sun 03/13/2024

My gain setting I've always left to zero, an the exposure is always between 7 - 12ms, depending on conditions. I'll check the ROI as well. It's odd though, I have both Sharpcap and the ZWO software, which includes ASICAP. It does the same thing in both....

The camera works, just not like it used to. I swear, nothing has changed! All I can do is laugh

Thanks again for the offer; you're the best!

[Gordon]

Things are strange in this world of AP!!!