Famous Cameras   ArtDeCiel.com

Home

Books

Showcase

Imagers

Objects

Historical

Equipment

Downloads

Blog

The Cameras used in Astrophotographer fall into two distinct types. The first type or Astrograph is where the camera and telescope form a single integrated unit, and can typically only be used for photography. The second type is a camera forming a separate unit independent of the telescope, that can be attached and removed from the optical tube assembly (OTA). Each type has evolved over the last century and a half from at first simple units into what are now very sophisticated electronic computer controlled devices. The Astrograph began life in the mid nineteenth century as a simple telescope with a light box attached to the end of the OTA containing a photographic plate. The most famous example of this early Astrograph is the Kew Photoheliograph which was used to take daily images of the Sun for twenty years from 1862-1882. It was designed by Warren De La Rue and constructed by Andrew Ross, following a suggestion from Sir John Herschel of the benefits of such an instrument. In 1930 Bernhard Schmidt designed his Schmidtspiegel (now known as the Schmidt Camera). His invention has revolutionized astrophotography and telescope design. For the first time an optical system had been developed which had a wide field of view which remained sharp right to its edges. A number of Schmidt Cameras have been produced notably the 48" Oschin-Schmidt at Mount Palomar which came into service in 1948. The Oschin Telescope was responsible for the discovery of 90377 Sedna on the 14th November 2003 and Eris, the "10th Planet" on 5th January 2005 from images taken on the 21st October 2003. The peculiar Type Ia supernova SN 2002cx was discovered with the Oschin telescope in May 2002. Although George Ritchie and Henri Chretien had developed their own improved wide-flat field design earlier than Schmidt, it was expensive and difficult to test. It has only recently over the last ten years or so, begun to supersede Schmidt’s design at both the amateur and professional level; culminating in the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990. Kew Photoheliograph Revolver Photographique (All Cameras) Bache Astrograph Bruce Astrograph Crocker Astrograph Daguerreotype Camera Dallmeyer Photoheliograph Digital Single Lens Reflex Kew Photoheliograph Meade DSI Not Known Oschin Schmidt Camera Photographic Plate Chassis Revolver Photographique Single Lens Reflex ST2000XM STL11000M (All Manufacturers) Alvan Clark Andrew Ross California Institute of Technology Charles Usener John Brashear John Henry Dallmeyer Meade Not Known Pierre Janssen SBIG Various (All Types) Astro CCD Daguerreotype Dry Plate DSLR Not Known Photographic Plate SLR Web Cam Wet Plate Image Camera Date Type Manufacturer Location Media Details Bache Astrograph 1885 Photographic Plate Alvan Clark Boyden Observatory, SA Photographic Plate: Scale of 2cm = 1 degree More... Bruce Astrograph 1904 Photographic Plate John Brashear Yerkes Observatory, USA 12"x12" & 8"x10" Glass Photographic Plate Chasses. More... Crocker Astrograph 1892 Photographic Plate Charles Usener Lick Observatory, USA Collotype Photographic Plates; 1.81 degrees per inch. More... Daguerreotype Camera 1839 Daguerreotype Various Universal Location Copper Plate Coated with Silver Iodide More... Dallmeyer Photoheliograph 1873 Wet Plate John Henry Dallmeyer National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England Photographic Plate Chassis More... Digital Single Lens Reflex 1991 DSLR Various Universal Location CCD Chip Various Sizes More... Kew Photoheliograph 1857 Wet Plate Andrew Ross Science Museum, London, England Glass Plate coated with a solution of Collodion More... Meade DSI 2004 Astro CCD Meade Universal Location Colour CCD Chip; Pro models - mono CCD with LRGB filter strip More... Oschin Schmidt Camera 1948 Dry Plate California Institute of Technology Mount Palomar Observatory, USA Originally 10" x 14" Photographic Plates; now 112 CCDs - 4 x 4 degrees More... Photographic Plate Chassis 1852 Photographic Plate Various Universal Location Glass Photographic Plates in a Chassis More... Revolver Photographique 1874 Web Cam Pierre Janssen Paris Observatory Museum, France Glass Photographic Plate Chassis More... Single Lens Reflex 1861 SLR Various Universal Location Initially Plates then Plastic Film; commonly 35mm More... ST2000XM 2004 Astro CCD SBIG Universal Location CCD Chip, Electronic Shutter; External Colour Filter Wheel More... STL11000M 2004 Astro CCD SBIG Universal Location CCD Chip, Electronic Shutter; Internal Colour Filter Wheel More...