Specifications

SBIG ST-8300 Manual

Note: With a 10 second exposure, objects like M51 or the ring-nebula are

easily detected with modest amateur telescopes. The cores of most galactic

NGC objects can also be seen.

Taking an Image

Take an image of the object by selecting the Grab command and setting the

exposure time. Start out with the Image size set to full. The camera will

expose the CCD for the correct time, and digitize and download the image.

One can also take a dark frame immediately before the light image using

the Grab command by selecting the Dark Also option.

Because the ST-8300 has regulated temperature control, you may

prefer to take and save separate dark frames, building up a library at

different temperatures and exposure times, and reusing them on successive

nights. At the start it's probably easiest to just take the dark frames when

you are taking the image. Later, as you get a feel for the types of exposures

and Setpoint temperatures you use, you may wish to build this library of

dark frames. Fresh darks seem to work better, so it is not recommended to

build a huge dark library. The dark library should be taken at a comparable

ambient temperature.

Saving Images

Save the images using the Save command in the File menu. We strongly

recommend you save images in the SBIG Compressed format as it is the

most compatible. Use the TIFF and JPEG formats only when you are done

with the image as you won’t be able to reopen it with CCDOps. Those

formats are useful for export to photo programs.

Further Adventures

At this point we refer you to the CCDOps Manual that can be found on the

SBIG Software and Catalog CD-ROM. It has an extensive tutorial section

and detailed information about the software and its capabilities.