Meade Deep Sky Imager III

Meade’s Deep Sky Imager III uses an uncooled design. To make this work, engineers developed a way to reduce noise without a water jacket or fan. The design incorporates a built-in temperature sensor and requires no batteries.

Astronomy: William Zuback

This review, “Easy imaging with the DSI III,” appeared in the September 2008 issue of Astronomy magazine

Many amateur astronomers have looked at the incredible images taken by others and thought, “I wish I could take photographs like that!” With the move from film to charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras, it’s easier than ever to take great pictures. Meade Instruments’ newest CCD, the Deep Sky Imager (DSI) III, which retails for $1,299, offers an excellent mid-price option.

The DSI III has a larger CCD chip than previous DSI models along with several new or improved features. It is available as either a black-and-white (DSI PRO III) or color (DSI III) camera. If you’re just starting out, it might be to your advantage to get the color model. This camera would allow you to take lower-resolution color images.

Producing color photographs with a monochrome CCD camera requires multiple exposures through three filters. Then, you stack these images using software. Stacking allows you to produce higher quality images by putting in a little more effort and time with the monochrome model.

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