Maison de l’astronomie, one of our French resellers - based in Paris - has just published the following brief article in their news bulletin:

Translated into English, this means:

They’ve done it again! The Imaging Source has yet again brought out new cameras, but this time with a new connector. The new cameras ship with a USB 2.0 connector, hence there is no need to use a specialized power supply (as was the case with the FireWire models). This makes the new cameras particularly suited to deployment in the field. The cameras ship with three types of CCDs: 640×480, 1024×768 and 1280×960.

If you are ever in Paris, we recommend going round to Maison de l’astronomie to take a look at all the wonderful products they have in stock!

One of our more recently added German resellers, Intercon Spacetec, based in Augsburg, Germany, has just published the following advert in the German magazine Sterne und Weltraum.

There is a translation into English for our non-German speaking blog readers below.

Translated into English:

The Imaging Source CCD Cameras

The Imaging Source CCD cameras have been specifically designed for astronomy. They are as easy to use as a web camera, but offer a number of advantages over a web camera: uncompressed data stream, higher frame rate, longer exposure times and high quality, low noise electronics.

The monochrome CCD cameras are shipped without an IR cut filter. The models with a 640×480 resolution can capture up to 60 frame per second and are thus ideally suited to planetary astro-photography. The color cameras are available as RGB with an IR cut filter or as a Bayer camera without IR cut filter.

All cameras have a maximum exposure time of 60 minutes, ship with C and CS mounts (1.25″ adapter included) and are powered via the bus. Furthermore, a driver CD and IC Capture.AS is included. The software runs on Windows XP and Vista. The cameras are available with a USB 2.0 and FireWire connectors.

[A list of cameras with prices follows]

Intercon Spacetec’s web site offers a number of details product descriptions and photos of The Imaging Source astronomy cameras, in addition to some images captured with The Imaging Source astronomy cameras.

We welcome, wholeheartedly, Intercon Spacetec to our global network of resellers.

Galileo, one our our esteemed resellers, based in France, Switzerland and Belgium, has recently published a detailed review of a number of astronomy cameras, manufactured by The Imaging Source.

The reviewer examines the cameras’ technical characteristics in detail and has richly illustrate the article with sample photos, captured with The Imaging Source cameras.

The review is in French and can be read online at:
http://www.galileo.cc/GALILEO-france/descriptif_ccd.php?ref=IS-DFK21AU04-AS

Furthermore, in their latest newsletter, the reseller writes:

En quelques mois les caméras développées par le fabricant allemand [The] Imaging Source se sont imposées au niveau de l’astrophotographie planétaire amateur comme la nouvelle référence. A la fois accessibles en terme de prix et dotées de performances impressionnantes [...] Premiers modèles de la gamme les DMK/DFK 21 ont été récompensé par Sky&Telescope pour leur rapport prix/performances exceptionnel.

Below is a translation for our non-French speaking readers:

Within only a few months, the cameras designed and manufactured by the German company “The Imaging Source” have become the new reference for amateur astro-photography. The cameras offer exceptional performance and are very accessible in terms of price [...] Sky & Telescope praised the DMK and DFK 21 cameras for offering great value for money.

mécASTROnic, one our French resellers, has recently published a short announcement and review of the new USB 2.0 astronomy cameras. The text has been translated from French into English for our global audience.

The CCD cameras from The Imaging Source are now available with USB 2.0 connectors. These new cameras are in addition to their current range of FireWire cameras. These cameras perform very well and are known in the amateur astronomy community for their great image quality (especially for planetary imaging). They are also well suited for deep sky imaging despite their 8 bit digitization and lack of cooling. The cameras ship with monochrome and color CCDs from Sony and resolutions of 640×480, 1024×768 and 1280×960. Without an IR cut filter, the cameras are highly sensitive to light throughout the spectrum. They output up to 60 non-compressed frames per second and can be exposed for up to sixty minutes. The cameras ship with camera control and acquisition software, a USB cable and telescope adapter (31.75 mm).

For our French-speaking customers, the mécASTROnic web site offers a great deal of detailed information about The Imaging Source astronomy cameras.

One of our British resellers, Modern Astronomy, is running a homepage promotion with the new USB 2.0 astronomy cameras.