Cameras
Serious imaging started when I found the book Deep-Sky Video Astronomy written by Steve Massey and Steve Quirk. It explained that a relatively inexpensive astronomical video camera can allow one to image deep-sky objects without much difficulty. So I took the plunge and bought the GStar-Ex mono video camera. And it was one of the best things that I have ever done. It rekindled a flagging interest in amateur astronomy and provided many hours of rewarding enjoyment. Of course, by modern amateur imaging standards my results were more of the "happy snap" variety but even so I took much pride in being able to pluck images from the seemingly dark skies of space.

Having the experience of video imaging under my belt, and human nature being what it is, the day came when I could no longer resist the siren call of better imaging using a cooled CCD astronomical camera. And so, after much research, I opted for the Atik 383L+ mono CCD camera. This, combined with the Vixen R200SS 8 inch f/5 astrograph, means that I can now get an imaging field of view nearly 50 times as large as that previously obtainable with the GStar-Ex video camera and the Meade LX20012 inch f/10 SCT combination!

In mid 2016 I thought that an inexpensive new-generation colour camera might be worth a try for general viewing and outreach purposes. Although primarily an autoguiding / planetary imaging camera the ProStar LP-Guide C does allow for long exposures with automatic dark frame subtraction and is proving quite suitable for its intended purpose.

The little LP-Guide colour camera showed that the new generation of low-cost CMOS cameras have a lot of potential for general camera assisted viewing purposes. Being satisfied with the performance of the "old" GStar-Ex mono camera and learning that a new CMOS colour version - the GStar-Ex3 - had become available it seemed sensible to see what it can do.

Astro-imagers usually start off by using a conventional camera and  prime focus imaging before progressing on to dedicated astro cameras. In my case that trajectory has been reversed. Only recently have I acquired a conventional digital camera that can be attached to a telescope.

It's a slippery slope! Could the wide field of view delivered by the Olympus OMD E-M10 be married with the fast response time of a dedicated CMOS camera to deliver an even better EAA experience than that given by the GStar-Ex3? One ZWO colour camera seemed to fit that bill and it was worth a try.