New CMOS Camera available in Mono/Colour

[RobertM]

A new camera from ASI1600 available both cooled/uncooled in colour/mono.

http://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/products/usb-3-0/asi1600mm/

Spec's are available on Facebook where there is a comparison of it vs the KAF1600.

https://www.facebook.com/ZwoDesignAstronomyCameras

Looks interesting and much more flexible than the KAF8300 chip.

Robert

[MarkS]

Read noise down at Sony A7S levels!  No mention of QE unfortunately but I guess it will be quite high.  Very reasonable price and a sensible size sensor.

This is the beginning of the march of the CMOS deep sky imaging sensors.  With read noise down near 1e, the days of stupidly long exposures for narrowband are over!

Mark

[RobertM]

The interesting thing is that binning 2x2 increases the well depth by a factor of four which means that the the internal chip registers are properly sized.  That's much better than the old KAF8300 and means much increased dynamic range and flexibility.

You might just be right

[Rocket Pooch]

Bargain as well....

[MarkS]

Unfortunately I've seen lots of reports of amp glow in the cooled darks and lights.  Yes, cooled.  Too early to say why.

Mark

[RobertM]

Well they are much less than half the price and, I think, much more flexible.  Unfortunately the low price seems to have put off more experienced imagers and I reckon that's contributed to some of the poor results I've seen.  I've also seen a few really good images showing what the (ASI1600) camera is capable of in the right hands.

Time will tell if it's a bargain but things are looking very positive.

Robert

[Roy]

Certainly I'm watching with interest, as it could make replacing my old D500 a lot more affordable, notwithstanding that filters have to be cranked into the equation.

Roy