UBV I CCD photometry of NGC 2353 is performed as a part of the "Sejong Open cluster Survey" (SOS). Using photometric membership criteria we select probable members of the cluster. We derive the reddening and distance to the cluster, i.e., E(B - V ) = 0.10 ± 0.02 mag and 1.17 ± 0.04 kpc, respectively. We find that the projected distribution of the probable members on the sky is elliptical in shape rather than circular. The age of the cluster is estimated to be log(age)=8.1 ± 0.1 in years, older than what was found in previous studies. The minimum value of binary fraction is estimated to be about 48 ± 5 percent from a Gaussian function fit to the distribution of the distance moduli of the photometric members. Finally, we also obtain the luminosity function and the initial mass function (IMF) of the probable cluster members. The slope of the IMF is Γ = -1.3 ± 0.2.

Observation of standard stars is of crucial importance in stellar photometry. We have studied the standard transformation relations of the UBV RI CCD photometric system at the Maidanak Astronomical Observatory in Uzbekistan. All observations were made with the AZT-22 1.5m telescope, SITe 2k CCD or Fairchild 486 CCD, and standard Bessell UBV RI filters from 2003 August to 2007 September. We observed many standard stars around the celestial equator observed by SAAO astronomers. The atmospheric extinction coefficients, photometric zero points, and time variation of photometric zero points of each night were determined. Secondary extinction coefficients and photometric zero points were very stable, while primary extinction coefficients showed a distinct seasonal variation. We also determined the transformation coefficients for each filter. For B, V , R, and I filters, the transformation to the SAAO standard system could be achieved with a straight line or a combination of two straight lines. However, in the case of the U filter and Fairchild 486 CCD combination, a significant non-linear correction term - related to the size of Balmer jump or the strength of the Balmer lines - of up to 0:08 mags was required. We found that our data matched well the SAAO photometry in V , B - V , V - I, and R - I. But in U - B, the difference in zero point was about 3:6 mmag and the scatter was about 0:02 mag. We attribute the relatively large scatter in U -B to the larger error in U of the SAAO photometry. We confirm the mostly small differences between the SAAO standard UBV RI system and the Landolt standard system. We also attempted to interpret the seasonal variation of the atmospheric extinction coefficients in the context of scattering sources in the earth’s atmosphere.