GREAT PRODUCT!


Hello,

I ordered a MallinCam Hyper PLUS Color through Jack H. and received it Saturday after a relatively short wait. I just wanted to say WOW! The camera delivers, and delivers well. I was able to see dust lanes in M51 through my 150mm telescope from my suburban Los Angeles area backyard where visually I am barely able to see the galaxy core. And this with default settings, as I have not yet tried the many possible tweaks to improve performance. In just the first two hours I was able to see many objects I have never been able to see from my backyard with detail that I have never seen even from a dark location.

So I just wanted to say thanks for the great product and all your hard work to get it produced for delivery so quickly. It is going to totally transform my astronomy experience for the better.

Sincerely,

Brendan Fisher
Altadena, California, USA
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An emotional moment for me

Last night - who'd have thought that there could be so many clear
nights on the Wet Coast? - I looked again at M82 and compared with the
view in a 20mm Nagler in my 16"f5 Newtonian. There was actually more
detail on the monitor than I could see with the eye. This was at X4
integration.

The big surprise was M81. The night was clear and transparency good,
though seeing was so-so. When I was struggling to get the stiff scope
to point to M82, M81 kept appearing on the monitor. A boring smudge,
just like in the eyepiece. I eventually decided to play around with
integration. At X128 I was amazed to see big spiral arms faintly in
the field. WoW! I turned on the TEC and flipped the Hyper switch to
7. Hold the PRESS! Huge spiral arms extending outside the field of
view, with clots of light and dark indicating dust clouds and lanes.
Not Hubble quality, but heck, I'm in a city here, with my own scope,
seeing something I had no idea that I could ever see with my own scope.

Why didn't someone tell me this camera was really good? Well, I
suppose they did... Imagine the wonder on my 85 year old mother's
face when she saw that puppy on the screen!

:)

This gives me ideas for my own observing future. I like finding
things by starhopping; I like letting those galactic photons soak
into my brain. But here is a new sense of wonder - catch the photons
that are too faint to register on my aging eyes and see new marvels in
the night sky.

Mike Hoskinson
- a believer.

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Elusive Moons

On Thu night I went to the RASC Observatory here in Edmonton (AB) to
see the comet Holmes through larger telescopes than mine. I did take
a good look at the comet of course, but then I switched to a different
type of target: the moons of Uranus and Neptune. The outer planets
(let alone their moons) are rarely imaged by planetary
astrophotographers: their disks are too small (3.6" Uranus and 2.8"
Neptune) to show any detail and their moons too faint (< 13 mag) to be
captured by a webcam or a firewire camera. I thought that in this case
a more sensitive camera like the MallinCam could be useful. This
turned out to be a serious test for the MallinCam: being able to show
objects fainter than magnitude 13 (Triton 13.5, Uranus moons about
16.5), in close proximity to a much brighter object (Uranus 5.5,
Neptune 7.8), under a sky as light polluted as you can imagine
(Hunter's Moon high in the sky, -12.93 mag!), with the target low on
the horizon (Uranus 30 degrees, Neptune 15).

The Neptune/Triton pair showed up very visible on the screen of my
laptop at 7sec integration. After fiddling around with the camera
controls to get the best possible image, I moved to Uranus. Uranus was
higher in the sky by about 15 deg, but its moons are fainter than
Triton. Uranus and two of its moons, one very close to the planet,
were again clearly visible at 7sec. I can't seem to be able to figure
out which of the five moons showed up on the screen. I checked both
Starry Night and the Sky&Telescope's Moons of Uranus utility
(http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/javascript/3310476.html)
and they give different arrangements for the moons. Any ideas?

Anyway, if you are interested check
here:http://www.cosmicjourney.net/SolarSystem.html and scroll past the
image of Mars.

Cheers!
Massimo Torri

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Mallincam Outreach Report

The Toronto Centre of the RASC (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) hosted
two different parties at our observatory this past weekend. On Friday night
we have a group of Boy Scouts and their parents, and on Saturday night we
had ~25 people that are enrolled in the Toronto's Centre's NOVA program (New
Observers to Visual Astronomy). This was the first time that we used the
Mallincam Colour Hyper to enhance our outreach program, and it was a big
success.

I brought up a Dell 20" wide screen LCD computer monitor for the display,
we were planning to buy a 32" LCD monitor/TV but a few people involved with
the project wanted to try one first to see how it would look and function
in cold weather, since my computer monitor has video inputs I thought that
it would be a good trial.

The Mallincam was hooked up to a Televue NP101 piggy backing on a C-14 on a
Paramount. The C-14 was used for visual. With the right eyepiece ( for the
life of me I can't remember what size it was!) the FOV was very similar
between the image on the monitor and what was in the eyepiece.

A few of our targets for the two nights were M31, M27, M13, M57, Comet
Holmes, Alberio, and requests. The President of our club who was hosting
just loved to being able point to the monitor while talking about what we
were looking at. Most of the visitors couldn't believe that it was a "live"
image and a couple of times I shut the camera off just to prove it to them.
All of our visitors enjoyed themselves and thanked us for a great evening.

Our Club's President and myself felt that the Mallincam added so much to our
presentation and are looking forward to using it again.

A few comments about the LCD monitor, I knew going into this that the
resolution wouldn't be that hot for Mallincam, but standing about a yard or
more from the screen it looked not bad at all, and on the second night I
played with the display size on the monitors menu and shrunk the display
to about a 8" square screen and it looked pretty good.

Some of the things we are thinking about in improving the video experience
is to split the video signal of the mallincam and have another monitor in
the observatory and even another one in the control room for the scope.
Also were are going to try a video card in the scopes controlling computer
and open a window with the live image so that we can show both the Sky
planetary software (it controls the paramount) and the mallincam image at
the same time, on the computer monitor in the control room, and maybe even
running a parallel monitor in the observatory with a blue tooth keyboard and
mouse so that the scope can be controlled in the observatory by one person
while they are doing the presentation.

I am suggesting that we might want to upgrade that camera to a Hyper Plus
and wireless control for the future.

Cheers

Chas
RASC Toronto Centre

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NGC 253 as never before!

While NGC 253 has always been one of my favorite observing targets,
my most recent views (with 28" f/3.6 and MallinCam Hyper Color
camera) have taken it to #1 on my list...at least for the moment!

I spent years teasing out the 'mottling' and faint details at the
eyepiece, never realizing just how much I was NOT seeing.

Since this past new moon, I've been trying to find an image online or
in a book that shows what was seen on my video monitor...without
success. None of the images I've been able to find really does it
justice. The closest I've found is this:
http://www.astrocruise.com/n253.htm

With MallinCam at only a 7-second iteration there is so much visual
information you can (and I did) literally spend nearly two hours
drinking in the detail and still not get it all!

Being able to use both eyes on the monitor gives the galaxy a sense
of depth. You can actually (and easily) see the star clouds rising
above the galactic plane !
In some areas it almost looks like the huge clouds are casting
shadows behind them from the illumination from the core.
The nucleus is a pale yellow, banded and cris-crossed by dust lanes
and clouds. Other large, dark clouds (that give that 'mottling'
effect at the eyepiece) are revealed for what they are!
"Jets" of dark material are visble coming out perpendicular
to the galactic plane.

It is more glorious than I ever imagined!

Mike

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Hi,

Have posted a new image of M1 in both my galleries ("Astroimaging by
Tom O" and "Astroimaging and Stacking by TomO"). I really like the
subtle colors that came through, even with the single exposure.

My website also now has a MallinCam gallery of all my images at:
http://www.equatorialplatforms.com/mallincam.imaging.with.a.platform.html
The large thumbnails, all on one page, make for easy selection.

The MallinCam Color Camera is really becoming a hit with my customers.
Seems like more and more people are ordering Platforms for use with
their MCHP camera. I am hoping the MallinCam gallery on my website
will give people a good idea of what they can expect with this
wonderful camera when used with their dob on a Platform. Deep sky
color imaging made easy. Thank you Rock!

Tom Osypowski
Equatorial Platforms
www.equatorialplatforms.com

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Going where (almost) NO One has gone before!

This past weekend I attended the Central Florida Astronomical
Association's AstroFest at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve...a fairly dark
site...certainly the darkest site I've yet used my Mallican Hyper
Color Plus and 28" f/3.6 Starstructure.

During the course of Saturday night, my neighbor was observing M-59,
NGC-4638, M-60 and NGC-4647 all in the same field of view with her
16".
I took a look at was "reminded" that M-60/NGC-4647 is listed in the
Arp catalog as an interactive pair. For some reason I don't remember
ever observing them through a large scope...certainly not with a MCHP!

At a 28-second iteration, the spiral structure of 4647 was obvious
with much detail within and between the arms. Along with several
other observers we remarked at how obviously the arms nearest to M-60
were being perturbed and how dark clouds of gas/dust (?) were being
drawn out from the nucleus towards the larger Elliptical galaxy.
It was also noted that the OPPOSITE side of NGC-4647 seemed distended
with a huge absorption area between the nucleus and the first arm,
and that the outer arm on that side was 'stretched and bent' towards
M-59!
While this last observation may be simply a coincidence, it is
certainly interesting!

We were all so intrigued by the observation that I looked up some
images in the Arp Catalogue, several other publications and online.
It was then that I discovered that NO ONE had an image that even came
CLOSE to matching what we were seeing...not even Kitt Peak with the
2.1 Meter scope!
I found an amateur image (60 mins. with a cooled camera and a
Takahashi TOA 130) that at least showed some of the spiral structure
in 4647..but not much.

This is a door I was HOPING to pass through with the MCHP. The
opportunity to do some deep sky observational work that no one else
was, evidently, doing. The Big Boys and the HST can only observe a
miniscule portion of the thousands/millions of objects. There are
(literally) New Worlds 'out there' to discover.

Another grateful "Thank You" to Rock Mallin!

Mike Harvey

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Let me say that as a customer and consumer in general that I have never, ever been more pleased with the quality of my purchase, or the unparallelled customer service. Few people are so fortunate as to marry their passion to their profession. Clearly you are so blessed, and all of your customers are beneficiares of your passion. I am a grade above novice and am thoroughly enjoying your superb instrument. Thanks for the response and for my continuing education via yours and others posts.


Tom A Wilson JR



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Rock,

While over past 6 months I have only had a few opportunities to really test my MallinCam Pro Dob, those opportunities have resulted in some fabulous hours of both viewing and imaging. I own a 15 inch Obsession dob and even though I use a ServoCat tracking, I have been told for years that alt-az dobs could not ever be expected to generate quality astrophotographs field rotation, inadequate tracking for long term exposures, etc. But my first time out with my new MallinCam proved those doubters wrong at least in my mind.

Not only has imaging become possible (with a level of quality I never dreamed of) but observing has improved so much that you would think I had doubled the diameter of my mirror. I am seeing magnitudes I have only read about until now. Imagine my utter astonishment when I looked into my monitor and saw the Horsehead Nebula as plain as day and from mediocre night of seeing. Orion has become an absolute wonderland of vistas right there on my monitor. And the faint galaxies. This camera is simply amazing!

While I have a lot to learn and a long way to go with astro imaging, the MallinCam has opened new doors for me. And Rock, my recent upgrade to an Ultra has shown me that the customer always comes first with you which is an increasing rarity in the business world today. Thank you ever so much for broadening my horizons.

Sincerely,
Robert R

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Hi Rock

Here is a small rundown of my observations with the new settings on the MallinCam Pro-Dob :))

The most beautifull object was the Eagle Nebula (M16)......I felt like I was at the controls of
the Hubble Space Telescope. It was that
detailed !!!!...I could even see directly on the monitor, the star light that light up the top of the pillars of creation with structure in the entire eagle shape.....Fantastic !!!!!!....Completly blew me away !!!!...no image processing at all...this was live !!!!

Globular clusters (M13, M92, M15) fill the screen with screaming stars....and soooo many of them

M17 (Swan nebula) and M27 (Dumbell neb) were so bright that I had to lower the contrast on the monitor!!!!.....Gorgeous structure and details galore !!!

M17 almost filled the monitor and M27 was 1/3 the size of the screen and I was using the focal reducer all the time to bring my scope
down to F3.5

M57 showed easilly both central stars and some faint ones in the ring... the seeing was shitty :))

Vega looked like a Quasar !!!! It was so bright that I also had to lower the gain of the camera to remove it' s glare...What a beacon :)))

M51 showed 4 spiral arms and the bridge connecting the two galaxies was easilly seen....That sucker filled the screen!!!

M31 was sooo big, the bulge filled 1/3 of the screen. The bulge was so big it looked like an elliptical galaxy :))
By scanning around, you could see the division in the spiral arms

M33 was so big that I could only see the centre and 1/3 of it' s circumference on the screenM81 and M82 were quite bright but M82 showed HII regions that were a treat to the eye

This camera is awsome on my 20" Obsession and the platform tracking was better than anticipated.
There is sooo much more to look at :))))

Thank you for the suggestion with the proper settings !!!!

Boy did I enjoyed my Saturday night !!!!!!!


I' m like a kid in a candy store !! :)))

Sincerely
Pierre Tournay
uV. Electronics Inc

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Saturday night I tried out the Mallincam. Unbelievable the things that I

saw with it. I saw things that I never knew existed. It was amazing to see

these objects, while there was a full moon out.



This had to be the best astronomy session that I ever had. My mouth is

still hanging open.

Thank you for this amazing opportunity.

All the best.
Clear skie

Mark Narwa

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After observing with the Mallin*Cam II, I had no hesitation in purchasing a
Mallin*Cam Pro video camera. I have used both of these cameras as observing
systems extensively, and they produce exquisite images live on a high
resolution (800 line) monitor, with a homogeneous black sky background and
no sign of amplifier glow. Using an f3.3 focal reducer, the sensitivity of
the Mallin*Cam Pro is superb. I have used it both under dark skies with my
8" SCT (native f10), and under light-polluted downtown skies with my
remotely controlled 10" SCT (native f10), and I am impressed by the results.

From my downtown backyard, optical observations of deep-sky objects are
frustratingly difficult. However, with the Mallin*Cam Pro I can easily see
the spiral structure of M51, the detailed concentric structure of the
Eskimo/Clown planetary nebula, and the incredible stellar resolution of
globular clusters such as M13, M15, M3 etc. Detailed deep-sky observations
of galaxies and nebulae of all kinds that I thought I could never observe
are now well within my reach, even downtown.

However, nothing can beat a truly dark sky. My mobile telescope is an 8"
SCT. Equipped with the Mallin*Cam Pro, classical deep-sky objects such as M8
(Lagoon), M16 (Eagle), M17, (Omega), M20 (Trifid), and M42 (Orion), observed
live on the high resolution monitor, are as clear and as detailed as
published, professional images. The details of galaxies such as NGC 253
(Great Sculptor) are simply amazing. I have even seen the notoriously
difficult Horsehead Nebula (NGC 434), live on screen. Galactic details
brought out in live images by the Mallin*Cam Pro range from the dust lanes
of M31 (Andromeda Galaxy) to resolving every member of the Perseus A
galactic Cluster in a single field of view.

To be quite frank, much as I love to observe at the eyepiece, the Mallin*Cam
Pro has totally changed my observing habits. Objects I would never have
attempted to observe visually, either from my downtown location or my
favourite dark-sky site, now reveal their detailed structure. I can well
understand why you refer to it as an "observing system".

Congratulations on producing a fine contribution to amateur astronomy, under
all sky conditions!


Simon Hanmer
Ottawa Ontario Canada





I observe with a 14 inch discovery Dobsonian using a Johnsonian EQ
platform. Last month I read everything I could about this camera,
and after contacting Rock Mallin via e-mail and a nice 1 hour
conversation with Jack Huercamp, I decided to take the plunge with
purchasing the camera. I received the camera on Saturday, November
6th and went out to use it that night at my favorite viewing site in
Joshua Tree National Park in California.

I also own a Stellacam II which I purchased last June. I probably
have used the Stellacam II about 30 times.

My preliminary experience with the Mallincam Pro camera was very
good. It was such a pleasure to get full sense up in only 2
seconds. This makes the camera so much easier to use with a dob and
eq platform. The camera is very sensitive and I believe that it is
at least as sensitive as the Stellacam II. However, the camera
seemed to have an increased resolution nature about it. The
Stellacam II needs to have the gain pushed to reach hi res. Not the
Mallincam. So the images are less pixilated for the same results
making images on the screen more contrasting and finer resolution.
The Mallincam definitely seems to benefit from a higher quality chip
and radiant cooling. While it was a cool night, I noticed that the
outside cover of the Mallincam stayed very cool. This is different
from the Stellacam, which gets pretty warm even on cold nights. The
result is that the Mallincam images have virtually no hot pixels. I
was imaging the core of the double cluster and one of my cohorts
asked if those dots on the monitor where mostly hot pixels (as seen
with the Stellacam II)? I had to explain that the new camera does
not have the hot pixel problem&#8230;..those dots are stars! When Orion
came up, I started to wander around the nebula. This is another
interesting feature of the Mallincam. I was able to move the
telescope around without waiting for a long refresh. So I could
explore a quadrant with the camera installed in the scope. Nice
feature!

The nights' seeing was mediocre. However, I was able to image on
the screen, in real time, the Horsehead Nebula. It was faint but it
was there. Not bad at all! Andromeda seemed to have less dark lane
then the Stellacam. But with visual examination through the
eyepiece, I think this was a result of poor seeing, not the camera.

The only thing I missed with the camera was the hand pendant that
the Stellacam has. But then, I didn't miss having that pendant
hanging around in the dark either. So it's about a wash there.
I
need to extensively explore the features in the camera. I will try
to report more about the camera through the rest of the season. As
it stands now I am selling my Stellacam II. If anyone is interested
I can make you a good deal. Finally, don't get me wrong here,
the
Stellacam II is a great camera and is well suited for use with
better tracking than I can achieve with my Dob/platform combo.

Paul Maag
Palm Spring California








Due to the fact I was getting older and also wear glasses, I was having major difficulty with eye strain. The Mallin Cam has been nothing short of extraordinary. Watching
the night views through a monitor instead of an eyepiece has cleared my eye strain and brought back the enjoyment of discovering the skies. The views are unbelievable and best of all I
can share the views (real time) with family and visitors, l love to hear their oh's and ah's. I still remember with eyepieces, trying to show people what the skies were displaying and then
having to go through the pain of refocusing after each visitor had to fine focus for their vision. I have a box that arrived from Meade of a set of eyepieces, I have not used one of them
yet. I highly recommend this camera to anyone. I think it's time everyone gets a chance to see what the night sky really looks like. Thanks so much.
P.S. I will be upgrading in the very near future.


Jim Bilodeau
Carp, Ontario, Canada

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