ASI662MC color camera
Hello,
I just bought a ASI662MC new camera to replace my aging Atik 16IC guide camera. It’s amazing how quickly technology evolves. 13 years ago, when I bought my equipment, CCDs were all the rage and I purchased an Atik 11000 One Shot Color camera for imaging and an Atik 16IC for guiding. For planetary imaging I used a modified ToUcam 2. Looking at both cameras side by side is like looking at a 1930’s radio compared to a 21rst century set…
it is so much smaller, and uses a CMOS sensor instead of a CCD chip. This shows how far CMOS technology has progressed. It is shipped with a fish-eye lense, which I used to check the camera, and setup my software such as MaximDL, waiting for an actual cloudless moonless night to really test it.
This camera can also be used for planetary imaging and I can’t wait to train it on Jupiter or Saturn. It is equiped with a Sony IMX662AAQR-C chip and the pixel size is a tiny 2.9×2.9 ÎĽM with a surface of 1920 by 1080 px, which should match the C14 primary 4M focal length quite nicely. Using the supplied USB3.0 cable, acquisition rate is about 76 images per second. The sensitivity of the sensor should allow me to freeze atmospheric turbulence (which is a problem at my observatory) to get really good high resolution images as well as flawless guiding on a star.
Can’t wait to try it out. But, it as to be mentionned that my British made Atik 16IC served me well through countless long hours of autoguiding. But it won’t be missed (I hope).
4 Responses
Merci pour ton site đź‘Ť
Je m’oriente de mon côté vers une cam 462, voir 464 selon budget et centres intérêts: débuter en CP, tout en découvrant nos planètes mais ne pas voir que qqes pixels…sans pousser les traitements numériques pour l’instant:
Je viens d’acquérir une heq5 avec tube 150/750 DS
Salut David,
et merci pour ton commentaire. Avec ces nouvelles camĂ©ras Ă capteur CMOS, (il y a 10 ans c’Ă©tait CCD ou rien) Ă des prix très compĂ©titifs, de nouveaux horizons s’ouvrent. Ton tube est très ouvert, et tu pourrais peut ĂŞtre t’orienter vers une camĂ©ra que tu puisse Ă la fois utiliser en CP et planĂ©taire? Perso, Ă©tant propriĂ©taire d’une Atik 11000-CM plein format et jusqu’alors d’une Atik 16-IC pour le guidage, j’ai Ă©tĂ© bluffĂ© par l’ASI662MC. Ensuite pour le guidage en CP, je ne connais pas les qualitĂ© de l’heq5, mais je pense qu’il faudra que tu l’envisage, mĂŞme avec une MES soignĂ©e. l’idĂ©ale en CP en fonction de ta PL, c’est d’exposer 600Sec.
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Hello David, and thx for your comment. Well, when I write an article, I do my best (not beeing as native English speaker) to make it interresting and to put some humour into it if I can. Anyhow, there are plenty more articles coming up, so, if you want to follow, just stick this address in your favorite or subscribe.
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Serge