Dear Mr. Lee:

I have now been using the cooled 350D camera for about six weeks and have been extremely pleased with its performance. The cold chamber has reduced the background noise in my images to a point approximately equal to that experienced with a conventional 1/500 th sec. exposure. This was evident in time-exposures up to ten minutes' duration. The big advantage of this over an ambient temperature camera is that when multiple images are combined, the background texture is smooth and similar to a conventional cooled CCD camera, costing almost three times as much. I can't over-emphasize the importance of the noise reduction in the background, as this has historically been one of the toughest challenges to image processing.

I like that the functions of shutter control and image USB downloads in the 350 are relocated to the base of the attached cooler. This works in conjunction with MaxIm DL so that raw images are computer-controlled through the PC, permitting flat-field and dark frames to be processed prior to the color matrix being turned on. The resulting images compare favorably to those I have done with conventional CCD cameras.

I intend to use the cooled 350D for all of my astro imaging, and am eagerly awaiting the release of the cold-converted 5D model. I have attached images taken with the cooled 350D that are amongst the best I have ever taken. It has been a pleasure working with this camera!

Sincerely,

Jack B. Newton

(520) 558-1143