55 replies to this topic

[Alien Observatory]

"Pat, your review of the Aurora SiOnyx is fascinating and I look forward to more reports... when the weather cooperates.  It seems to present new, or at least, different technology for low light performance, opening some windows of opportunity.  I took some time to find as much information about the Aurora SiOnyx as possible, but your reports will be much more valuable to us than the marketing hype and non-astro YouTube evaluations.  Thanks for taking time to do this. GG"

 

Thanks for your interest, Clouds and Rain for the next several days, so still in waiting mode... Pat Utah

[Alien Observatory]

Sorry for the delay in getting any really useful images.  Did learn how to down load into iPhone today... Posted 2 short videos on Flicker with newfound knowledge...Pat Utah

 

 

Mov 1: Moon and Clouds September 17,2018, in Mono Night Mode...

 

https://www.flickr.c...57699773408551/

 

 

Mov 2: Rain Storm October 2, 2018, 10 PM in Color Twightlight Mode...

 

https://www.flickr.c...57699773408551/

 

P.S.  Even though it is not obvious, the Dynamic Range is far beyond any other cam I have used (CCD or CMOS). The House and the three trees in the upper left hand corner were not visible when the car drove by with its head lights on (short rain storm mov.).  It looks like I took this video in daylight, but in fact was 10 PM at night.  It may not be the greatest astro cam, but it sure can see in the dark and in color.  I may try a "quasi darker" site a couple of miles from home, on a tripod...see if the Milky Way Is visible when the weather clears in a few days... Pat Utah

Edited by Alien Observatory, 03 October 2018 - 09:29 PM.

[PEterW]

Thanks, Moon is going away, go somewhere without streetlights and look up in mono mode... slow the frame rate down and anything else to up the sensitivity and let’s see what it can do.

Peter

[GeezerGazer]

The mono mode looks like a much cleaner image than the twilight color mode for low light.  Is there a difference in resolution between the two video modes?  I saw that still images are maximum .9 megapixel, but your mono still of the house looks pretty good.  Resolution of .9 mp isn't much to deal with... will it be a limiting factor with the Aurora? 

Ray

[Alien Observatory]

Peter, Yes maybe next week when the weather is better. I have a place about 3 miles away to the north west that is dark to the N, NW, W, SW and maybe S...will see what I can see... 

 

Ray, Both are at 720P, but Mono is always sharper than Color (at least by my experience, RGGB v.s. Mono, Mono, Mono, Mono)..will try something next week, clouds and rain for a few more days...

 

 

Pat Utah

Edited by Alien Observatory, 04 October 2018 - 10:24 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

Clouds still floating around, but tried a 1.5 sec exposure looking to the NE (Cassiopeia) when an almost clear view appeared.  Also found a way to mount my 2" Lumicon Wide Band Ha Filter, so another combination is now possible.   Converted from.MOV to PNG to JPEG to reduce file size for CN Posting (lost a lot of resolution, sorry)...Pat Utah

 

Image 1: Aurora, Night Mode, 1.5 sec exposure:

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 06 October 2018 - 08:41 PM.

[Alien Observatory]

With a few days of clouds, started working on a Hyperstar Adapter that could use the 2" 30mm eyepiece and the Aurora cam.  This combination is most likely not usable as the arc sec / pixel is quite large (low resolution).  Was able to make an adaptor for the Hyperstar Lens using a few adapters and PVC tubing (put some clear tape on it to make sure nothing would come loose).  Took a couple images about 8:30 PM (well after sunset) looking East towards the mountains.  

 

Image link at Flicker due to size limitations...CPC 9.25 Telescope @F2.2 , 30mm Eyepiece and Aurora Built in Lens @F1.4...Pat Utah

 

Image 1 in Night mode and Mono:

 

https://www.flickr.c.../in/dateposted/

 

Image 2 in Night mode and Night time Color Mode:

 

https://www.flickr.c...in/photostream/

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Edited by Alien Observatory, 09 October 2018 - 02:40 PM.

[Richard Giuliani]

Hallo, Alien Observatory,

more deep photos and videos?

If anything of Messier Objects ?

[Alien Observatory]

Sorry No...I lent the cam to the local Police Department for a month or so to allow them to evaluate it.  Got it back and Winter showed up...maybe in the spring...Pat Utah

[11769]

Bought the Sionyx Aurora a few months ago and while it's fun to play with and will always find use in my lab and for my hobbies, it has no place whatsoever in astronomy and is no substitute for even a Gen 2 tube. Under only moderate low light conditions, such a suburban areas with some illumination or with the moon out, it sees very well and it's interesting seeing the night in color, as well as seeing IR in false color. Competitive or better than a Gen 2 tube at this point.

 

Once light levels fall, such as rural areas or only starlight, the Aurora sees only noise. A Gen 2 tube still forms a usable image. Even more of an unfair comparison to a Gen 3 tube. The Aurora does help in seeing a few more stars at night and there's a hint of red in the Orion nebula which is really cool to see. Any other nebula is completely invisible. The Andromeda galaxy, while very obvious even with Gen 2 NV, is just not seen. A Gen 2 NV device can be found for less money than the Aurora and while lacking in performance, is still marginally useful. 

 

Still, a cool device and it's the most sensitive digital camera I've ever used short of cooled EMCCDs in a lab. It's also very sensitive past 1000nm and works great with 1064nm lasers and illuminators, something Gen 3 NV is entirely blind to.

[ccs_hello]

Does SiOnyx Aurora have full-manual setting (exposure, gain, etc.) capability?

[Joko]

Does SiOnyx Aurora have full-manual setting (exposure, gain, etc.) capability?

Yes you can adjust manually those settings.

Exposure time up to 1.5s. Gain from -2 to +2.

See my pics did yesterday with my 16" Dobsonian Telescope. Sky is Bortle 6.

No tracking !!! I don't have it. 

 

[Vondragonnoggin]

Yes you can adjust manually those settings.

Exposure time up to 1.5s. Gain from -2 to +2.

See my pics did yesterday with my 16" Dobsonian Telescope. Sky is Bortle 6.

No tracking !!! I don't have it. 

 

Can you give more info on what settings you used to get those captures and the setup (like if it was done afocally or anything like that?

[GeezerGazer]

It would be interesting to see what the SiOnyx sensor would allow if the max exposure was expanded to 10s... and used on a tracking mount.  The images from some smartphones now reach 20mp and even 40mp... they are tiny pixels but resolution is quite good through a gen 3 NVD.  One of those phones allow for a 32s exposure.  

 

I had a conversation with one other NV user who found the SiOnyx unusable for astronomy and returned it after testing.  His negative comments mostly revolved around low image resolution.  But his perspective as an NV user is important and mimics that of 11769 above.

 

The technology is bound to improve so they can sell a new line of cameras!  That's a plus.  

[Joko]

Can you give more info on what settings you used to get those captures and the setup (like if it was done afocally or anything like that?

Yes it was done afocally with a Celestroom Zoom Eyepiece (8-24mm) in 24mm position. No way to do prime focus, front lens can't be removed.

 

It would be interesting to see what the SiOnyx sensor would allow if the max exposure was expanded to 10s... and used on a tracking mount.  The images from some smartphones now reach 20mp and even 40mp... they are tiny pixels but resolution is quite good through a gen 3 NVD.  One of those phones allow for a 32s exposure.  

 

I had a conversation with one other NV user who found the SiOnyx unusable for astronomy and returned it after testing.  His negative comments mostly revolved around low image resolution.  But his perspective as an NV user is important and mimics that of 11769 above.

 

The technology is bound to improve so they can sell a new line of cameras!  That's a plus.  

Max exposure is 1.5sec, so you can forget the 10sec. Hope they could improve it with a software update.

"SiOnyx unusable for astronomy", in live view, you can see M57, M42 and few more bright objects in color. Not bad but too restrictive.

 

But as you can see with previous images, it is pretty good for this short exposure time. I like to press the button to take a 1.5sec pic, so I have the feeling to observe in real time, then I press again or i switch to an other target. 

Of course I prefer my NVD, sensitivity in live view is much better.

[Napersky]

Do you know the make and model # of the CMOS Sensor?

[PEterW]

Its their own sensor with large pixels and a custom coating to eliminate reflection, thus getting more light into the chip I believe.

Peter

[Napersky]

Answered my own question. They have their own sensor.

 

https://www.sionyx.c...a_sheet_v08.pdf

 

https://www.sionyx.c...t_brief_v04.pdf

 

https://www.sionyx.com/news

[Napersky]

Very Impressive 

 

optics.org/news/10/1/27

 

I've heard some very good reports of this camera.

[Joko]

Hi guys,

I did some pictures few days ago and wrote an article on my website. French language only but with google you should be able to translate it :

https://oculaire-vis.../sionyx-aurora/

 

I use it in afocal by removing the front plastic lens. Then I add an adapter to connect the SiOnyx to the eyepiece. Pics are on my website.

[Alien Observatory]

Hi guys,

I did some pictures few days ago and wrote an article on my website. French language only but with google you should be able to translate it :

https://oculaire-vis.../sionyx-aurora/

 

I use it in afocal by removing the front plastic lens. Then I add an adapter to connect the SiOnyx to the eyepiece. Pics are on my website.

TY for your pics, I got brave enough to pop off the plastic lens, now trying to find/make an adapter...   Pat Utah

[PEterW]

I understand that it’s a lot less sensitive than the Gen3 units, but how well does it work for milkyway onserving with a long pass filter? I guess using a narrowband filter is not really possible? How good is it for moon free navigation?

Peter

[Joko]

Hi PEterW, 

It's not good for visual observation unless few exceptions, and I never used it with filters. Glass eyepieces are also better than SiOnyx for moon free navigation.

I much prefer my GEN3 NVD for real time. We can't ever compare the sensitivity it is so much better with NV.

But it works well for astrophotgraphy with 1.5sec exposure time.

Read my review in english here : https://oculaire-vis...ionyx-aurora-1/

Edited by Joko, 29 June 2019 - 12:15 PM.

[Eddgie]

Santa brought me a Sport for Christmas.

 

How do I get the lens cover off.

[Joko]

Santa brought me a Sport for Christmas.

 

How do I get the lens cover off.

Push and rotate the front plastic lens to remove it. Not easy the first time as you will fear to break it but no big risk.