428EX or 420?

[MrDanner]

Whichever I choose, this will be my first CCD camera. I'm really leaning towards the 420 because it's so affordable, and not being experienced, I would like to avoid spending thousands of dollars to find out that I like DSLR better. But at the same time, I'm one that understands *value* and I'm willing to pay more for higher quality.

That being said, is the 428EX so far advanced from the 420 that it's not worth the savings to purchase a 420? I'd love to save money on the ccd purchase to spend on a FW and filters, but at the same time, I don't want to regret saving money and wish I bought the 428.

FYI -- my gear is an Orion ED80T CF on a CGEM, and my primary interest with imaging is narrowband nebula. I've checked the FOV with both the 428 and 420, and I'm happy with both. The 420 FOV is narrower, but I would save enough to purchase a 0.8x reducer/flattener and get a similar FOV to the 428 without the 0.8x.

Any thoughts?

[MrDanner]

Wow, 14 views and no one has a 420. I wonder if this is a sign to not get one.

[MikeM]

Hi MrDanner, I don't have either camera but I figured I'd throw out my thoughts. I'm only guessing but it appears of the two the 428ex seems to be the more
popular possibly due to the newer chip and slightly larger pixel size. The QE of each are similar with the edge going to the 428 so also greater sensitivity.
Having said that the price difference is quite significant! So if it was me, and I was testing to see if I was going to like CCD imaging coming from a DSLR I would probably
go for the 420 and use the saved funds for accessories. What is nice about both is that you can use 1.25" filters which is a significant savings over the larger filters.
Just some thoughts.