QHYCCD 168C Cooled APS-C Color CMOS Camera – QHY168C QHY

QHY168C Cooled APS-C CMOS Astronomy Camera

The QHY168C is a cooled USB 3.0 color imaging camera with a large 16-megapixel sensor that offers 14-bit output. The QHY168C sports the Sony IMX071; an APS-C color sensor with a 4952 x 3288 effective array of 4.8 µm square pixels. This is the same sensor that is used in the Nikon D5100 camera. It has a dynamic range of almost 14 stops and has low readout noise, with 3.2e at lowest gain and 2.3e at high gain. The IMX071 front-illuminated sensor is housed in a sealed chamber that is heated to prevent dew from building up on either the sensor or window.

The QHY168C comes with a two-stage TEC cooling and temperature regulation system that can cool your camera down to as low as -40ºC below ambient. QHY has also incorporated anti-dew technology into the QHY168C. The CMOS chamber is fully sealed and includes a silicon gel tube socket as well as a heater to help keep both your sensor and the sensor window dry, even on damp nights.

In an effort to avoid halos around bright stars the optical window has an AR+AR coating instead of the traditional IR-Cut window normally offered on one-shot color cameras. There is, however, a trade off in that you will need to provide your own 2″ IR-cut filter and mount it on the front of the camera.

The QHY168C allows for true raw image output! When you get the original signal to work with, you have maximum flexibility in the image processing stage of the process. Also, a built-in 128MB DDRII image buffer provides a safeguard against unexpected drops in data transmission. A frame buffer avoids lost frames during USB transfer by storing image data in the camera itself until it can be safely transmitted. Buffering will also make sure your video runs more smoothly when using a slower computer that cannot always handle high-speed data well.

The QHY168C camera has an anti-amp light control circuit to reduce amplifier glow significantly. Ports include a 6-pin RJ11 guide port and a 4-pin CFW2 filter wheel control port, allowing you to add an optional autoguider or filter wheel to enhance your imaging experience.