OpticStar PL-131C camera

This camera is a game changer for me. My old camera's resolution is 640 x 480 with a maximum of 5 fps (frames per second) without the pictures getting compressed. The new camera can do 1280 x 1024 at 22 fps. The chip is also much larger, too. This is VERY important. Used at prime focus, like I do now, the resolution will be slightly better, but it will be MUCH easier to keep the ISS "on the chip". This, along with the faster frame rate should mean that I will have MANY more frames with the ISS in them. The area of the chip jumps from 9.72 to 30.72 square millimeters.

This photo shows the ISS as it would appear on each chip. You can see how much larger the OpticStar's chip is. This photo is half the size of the actual frames.

The resolution is about the same (.38" per pixel vs .41" per pixel), but the relative size on the chip shows that OpticStar is much better than the Philips. Better yet, if I use a 2X Barlow lens to double the power of the telescope, resolution will be much better (.19" per pixel) and guiding it will be about the same difficulty at with the Philips without the  Barlow - the Field of View would be about the same. Even if I have to use 2 x 2 binning to brighten the image with the Barlow, the Field of View and resolution will be the same as the Philips, but the image of the ISS will be much larger. BTW, this is the absolute maximum size of the ISS as seen in my telescope at prime focus - the smaller frame is taken directly from a frame I took of it when it was virtually directly overhead.

This site is the U.S. distributor for the camera, but I ordered mine from Oceanside Photo and Telescopes. They had free shipping and the price was also lower. The camera was drop shipped from England and the shipping took one week.