Sbig Santa Barbara Instrument

SBIG was incorporated in 1989 by Richard Schwartz, Jack Brooks, Alan Holmes, Matt Longmire and Michael Barber. The company and was managed by the founders in various roles until it was sold first to Aplegen, Inc., a Life Science company in 2011 and then eventually resold to a Canadian company, Diffraction Limited, in 2014. During most of its history, Alan Holmes was the company President and Michael Barber was the Vice President. The accomplishments and success of SBIG are well known in the world of astronomical imaging. A number of innovations helped to revolutionize astronomical imaging for amateurs. SBIG designed, produced and sold over 3 dozen models of scientific imaging cameras, 17 models of filter wheel, 4 adaptive optic devices, 3 spectrographs, and numerous accessories. Several patents, including Self-Guiding and Differential Guiding, and many firsts are in the SBIG list of accomplishments. In 1998 Sky & Telescope began granting "Hot Product" awards each year for new innovative products that advance the utility of amateur astronomy. Over the following 16 years, SBIG was granted a Hot Product designation 17 times. In 2005 SBIG was chosen for the Royal Observatory of King Rama IX, the King of Thailand and Michael Barber was appointed as a special consultant to His Majesty for the project. SBIG cameras were also chosen by Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network and once again SBIG was recognized in the local press. Moreover, SBIG cameras can be found in the largest observatories in the world and many of the finest colleges and universities. See for example: http://www.sbscientific.com/site/assets/files/38022/sbig_observatories.pdf http://www.sbscientific.com/site/assets/files/38022/sbig_universities.pdf Numerous images taken by amateurs and professionals have been published and thousands of discoveries have been made using SBIG cameras. SBIG is currently owned and operated by Diffraction Limited in Ottawa, Canada.