Meade DSI II PRO Monochrome CCD Imager

Meade DSI II PRO Monochrome CCD Imager
The Meade Deep Sky Imager II (DSI II) is a monochrome electronic CCD camera designed to take one-shot deep sky photos in high resolution. This with a minimum of fuss and at a fraction of the cost of conventional CCD cameras.

Uncooled CCD camera
While the Deep Sky Imager II is not cooled, Meade has developed a special technology which dramatically reduces thermal noise in images. This allows for sustained images of faint objects. The Meade Deep Sky Imager II is the first uncooled camera with truly low thermal noise. This high-performance, easy to use camera allows every backyard astronomer to shoot amazing deep sky photos. Also galaxies, nebulae, star clusters and planets are possible. The DSI II takes photos with any telescope.

Includes AutoStar camera control + software
The package includes the updated AutoStar Suite camera control and image processing software. This also includes "Drizzle" software developed by NASA to produce images from the Hubble Space Telescope (Drizzle technology is only useful in combination with AutoStar-controlled telescopes). The software has a special zoom feature for easier focusing. USB cables are included to connect your imager to your PC or laptop. This allows your images to be shown and saved on your computer screen, so you can also print and display them.

Difference between DSI II colour and DSI PRO II Monochrome
The difference between the colour version and the DSI II PRO (monochrome) is that the colour version effectively makes four images on a single pixel and the monochrome version only creates one pixel for each pixel.

A pixel on a colour camera uses 4 images on a pixel because it uses a (2x2) pattern of colour filters (green, red, blue, green). The computer then combines these data and ensures that a colour photo comes out.

A monochrome CCD camera has four times the resolution of a colour CCD camera with the same chip. Then, to convert monochrome images to colours, so-called colour filters are used. This yields red, green and blue monochrome images that you combine into one picture. The resolution is still four times higher than the colour camera, hence the monochrome camera is also known as the PRO version.

Difference DSI II & DSI III
The difference between the PRO version (monochrome) and the version without PRO is explained above. The difference between the Meade DSI II and III lies in the resolution of the chip. While the DSI II uses a 0.4 megapixel CCD camera, the DSI III uses a 1.4 megapixel CCD camera. This influences the resolution; where the DSI II has a resolution of 752x 582 pixels, the DSI III has a resolution of 1392x1040 pixels

Special features of the Meade DSI II CCD Imager:

• Imaging sensor: High sensitivity ½" diagonal dimension Sony EXview HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) monochrome CCD sensor. Sensitivity comparable to imagers that cost over $1,000.
  
• Resolution 752 pixels wide x 582 pixels high (total 437,664 pixels). Each pixel has dimensions of 8.3 microns wide x 8.6 microns high. The virtually square pixels make image production easier and offer more realistic images that are just great.
• Analog or digital conversionFull 16-bit A/D conversion for greater depth and contrast of the image.
• Exposure timeFrom 1/10.000th of a second to one hour. This enables you to record images of a bright moon and planetary features as well as fuzzy deep sky nebulae and galaxies that the unaided eye could never find. All this in full colour.
• Temperature sensorA built-in temperature sensor provides fast and accurate automatic dark frame correction to reduce the visual effects of "hot" or "cold" pixels. The temperature sensor matches the current temperature of the CCD chip to each dark frame so it is almost impossible to take an uncalibrated picture.
• USB 2.0 connection to your computer:The DSI II uses a high speed USB 2.0 connection for fast data transfer. After a picture has been taken your pictures show almost immediately on your screen, making focusing and positioning fast and easy. The Deep Sky Imager II is also backward compatible with USB 1.1
• Advanced mechanical and electronic design for low thermal noiseMultiple unique engineering advantages (with several ongoing patents) eliminate many disadvantages previously present in low-cost electronic imaging. For example, the internal power supply is switched off during long exposures, the camera also works with stored energy. This reduces the amount of electronic noise in the image. Analog and digital circuits are separated by metal chambers with separate ground wire for reducing noise in the image. To the signal coming from the imaging sensor no compression is applied. This means that no information is lost from your raw images.

Conclusion: very good CCD camera which is very suitable for long exposures
Whether you're taking pictures for beauty or for science, the Deep Sky Imager II will give you the full dynamic range you need. Special convective cooling methods are used to remove heat, generated by electronic circuits, from the imaging sensor. Moreover, the entire back of the anodized aluminum housing of the Meade DSI II is constructed as a heat skidder. These features are combined to reduce image noise; in addition, the camera's ability to take long exposures are improved.