QSI 500 Series Camera Reviews

The QSI 500 Series is a family of cooled CCD cameras designed for extremely wide dynamic range, excellent linearity and exceptionally low noise. See what these imaging experts have to say about how the truly scientific imaging performance of QSI cameras helps you make the most of your dark time -- whether your goal is great pictures of deep sky objects or precise photometry in the search for exoplanets.

See images from each of these reviewers on the QSI Gallery page>>

Astronomy Now Awards the QSI 532ws a "Hot Product">>

Nik Szymanek, a highly regarded astrophotographer from the U.K., reviewed the QSI 532ws for Astronomy Now magazine. We think Nik's conclusion says it all.

"In summary, I can honestly say that this is the best CCD camera I’ve ever used."

"Highly recommended!"

Read Astronomy Now's complete review of the QSI 532>>

Richard Berry Reviews the QSI 532>>

Richard Berry wrote an in-depth review of the QSI 532ws which was published in the February 2008 issue of Astronomy Technology Today. Richard Berry is the author or co-author of numerous astronomy books including, The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing, Build Your Own Telescope, and Discover the Stars. Mr. Berry was also a former Editor of Astronomy magazine and helped popularize amateur CCD astronomy in the 1990's with The CCD Camera Cookbook.

Here are a couple highlights pulled from his review.

“After working with the evaluation QSI 532ws for another ten weeks,
I ordered one for myself.”

“What impressed me in looking over the mass of data I collected is that the QSI 532ws’ images are exceptionally clean and free of readout artifacts.… the QSI 532ws’ bias frames looked so close to ideal that I was amazed… I can say that for all practical intents and purposes, the test QSI 532ws bias frames are textbook perfect.”

“I was impressed with the high sensitivity, the clean bias frames, the low dark current, the uniformity of the CCD’s response to light, and the smooth, reliable operation of the shutter and filter wheel.  My overall assessment is that QSI 532ws is a laboratory-quality camera that’s an outstanding value for amateur astronomers who demand top-notch imaging performance.”

Download Richard Berry's complete review of the QSI 532>>
Note: The PDF is over 8mb so give it a minute to download

AstroPhoto Insight Review of the QSI 516ws >>

The online imaging pubilcation AstroPhoto Insight published a "First Look" review of the QSI 516ws by Alan Smallbone. Alan is an active amateur astrophotographer and trustee of the Orange County Astronomers (OCA). He was one of the first amateur astromers to use a QSI camera under the stars. He subsequenty purchased a camera for a his own use and started the Yahoo! discussion group QSI-ccd for people interested in QSI cameras.

“I was immediately impressed with the bias frames from this camera.
Such low noise, wow!”

“The results speak for themselves... QSI's claim that these are 'Scientific Grade Cameras' is one that is very true”

Read Alan's complete review of the QSI 516ws>>