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1. What
chips are in the cameras?
2. What
are the sizes and Pixel dimensions of the chips?
3. What
are the actual image sizes produced by the cameras?
4. Do the
cameras have active cooling (Peltier, etc)?
5. How
does the CCD Temperature indicator work?
6. How
does the software use the CCD temperature with dark frame
subtraction?
7. Can I
use my DSI 1 and DSI II together at the same time?
8. Can I
use accessories I have purchased for my original DSI's with the DSI
II?
9. Will
MaximDL, K3CCDTools, AstroArt, etc. work with the DSI-2?
10. Will
the new software be made available to original DSI
owners?
11. Can I
layer original DSI images with DSI-2 images?
12. Does
the color version still have debayer artifacts?
13. Can I
do binned exposures?
14. Does
the DSI II work with USB 1.1?
15. Does
the DSI II still have the amp glow in the upper left
corner?
16. Can
the DSI and DSI II camera images can be overlayed? |
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2. What are the sizes and Pixel
dimensions of the chips?
Dimensions of chip:
7.5mm (w) x 5.95mm (h); Active Area is 6.4mm x 4.8mm;
1/2" (8mm diagonal) Pixels: 752 x 582 pixels (437,664
pixels) Pixel Size (in microns): 8.3 microns (w) x 8.6
microns (h)
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3. What are the actual image sizes
produced by the cameras?
The image sizes
produced by the DSI II and DSI-Pro II are exactly the
same as the pixel resolution. Since no squaring of the
pixels is performed, the resultant images are still 752
x 582 pixels.
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4. Do the cameras have active
cooling (Peltier, etc)?
No, the cameras are
cooled via thermal convection in the same manner as
previous DSI's. However, the coefficient of noise is
substantially lower in these cameras then their
predecessors and by utilizing dark frames specific to a
given temperature and exposure length, active cooling is
not required.
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5. How does the CCD Temperature
indicator work?
The CCD Temperature indicator
displays the temperature of the CCD taken directly from
the back of the chip at the completion of any exposure.
This information is displayed in Celsius on the main
screen in degrees and tenths of degrees.
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6. How does the software use the
CCD temperature with dark frame
subtraction?
When taking dark frames, the
software now saves each dark frame with not only the
exposure time selected, but also the temperature of the
camera at the time of the exposure. When taking images
and Dark Frame Subtraction is enabled, the software will
look thru the stored dark frames for the dark frame the
most closely matches the exposure time and temperature
and will warn you if no dark frame was found within the
range indicated by the user in the settings
dialogue.
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7. Can I use my DSI 1 and DSI II
together at the same time?
Yes, you are able
to still connect up to 15 DSI's (I's and II's) and a
single LPI to the PC at the same time depending on your
systems capabilities.
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8. Can I use accessories I have
purchased for my original DSI's with the DSI
II?
Yes, most likely, all accessories you have
for your original DSI will work with the DSI II
including filters, nosepieces, faceplate / faceplate
adaptors, filter wheels, coolers, etc. The case is the
exact same size - just Blue instead of Black - the
Outback Cooler, although likely not necessary, will also
work. You will, of course, need to test anything that is
not produced by Meade and Meade cannot be responsible
for whether these works or not, but in general, most
items should work fine.
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9. Will MaximDL, K3CCDTools,
AstroArt, etc. work with the DSI-2?
This will
be up to the individual manufacturers of these software
products to ensure they are in compliance with any
changes to the DSI API. Imager control will not work
until the API is updated and these programs incorporate
it. Image files will still be compatible with these
applications.
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10. Will the new software be made
available to original DSI owners?
Yes, the new
software will be available from the Meade Web site for
download and will work with the original DSI's and the
LPI. Note: The original DSI's will not have temperature
sensor displayed as they do not have temperature probes
on the chip.
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11. Can I layer original DSI images
with DSI-2 images?
Since the DSI II and the
Original DSI's have different chip and image sizes, you
cannot directly overlay the images together. However,
the chips in each camera are spaced the same distance
from the nosepiece and hence, the size of the individual
object on the screen should remain close to the same.
Through other software such as PhotoShop, you can
manually overlay the images though the sizes of these
will still be different.
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12. Does the color version still
have debayer artifacts?
Meade has completely
re-worked the debayer routines of the Soft color
algorithm used in the DSI Color cameras and most, if not
all, of the artifact issues originally noted have been
fixed or removed. This applies not only to the new DSI
II but also to the original DSI if used with the new
Envisage software.
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13. Can I do binned
exposures?
No, binning is not incorporated
into the software at this time.
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14. Does the DSI II work with USB
1.1?
Meade has indicated that the DSI II will
work with USB 1.1. This, like the original DSI, will be
completely dependent on the system used with the camera.
If possible, USB 2.0 should be used we would not
recommend using USB 1.1.
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15. Does the DSI II still have the
amp glow in the upper left corner?
The DSI II
uses a completely different chip and circuit board then
the original DSI's and as such, does not have the amp
glow that was evident in the original DSI.
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16. Can the DSI and DSI II camera
images can be overlayed?
The included AUTOSTAR
IP software allows overalying after DSI images have been
resampled. Photoshop is another alternative, but IP is
included free.
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