Price: $2499
A few decades ago, Santa Barbara Instruments Group (SBIG) had a great idea to solve some of the problems of autoguiding, namely having to use an off-axis guider or a separate piggy-backed telescope with its own camera. Each of these methods had their own problems: finding a suitable guide star in the case of the off-axis guider and differential flexure in the case of a separate guide scope. These problems have largely been minimized with the advances in chip technology and the design of rigid connections between the main and guide scopes. SBIG’s solution was to have two separate sensors in the camera, one for imaging and a smaller one for guiding.
Yet still, in my opinion, the absolute best guiding can be achieved by using the main telescope
to find and lock onto a guide star. A few manufacturers have developed their own dual-chip cameras but most have not. The potential downside of a dual-chip camera is that the guide chip will be behind any filters used for the imaging. This reduces the light reaching both chips and may reduce the ability of the guide camera to find a suitable star.
ZWO ASI has developed its own version of the dual chip camera, the ZWO ASI2600MC Duo monochrome camera (there is a color version of this camera also). This camera has an APS-C-sized main chip and an ultra-sensitive 1920 x 1080 guiding chip measuring 7.7mm x 4.3 mm with 3.75 μm pixels. For comparison, my old SBIG ST7 camera had a MAIN sensor chip of 712 x 568 pixels. Technology has come a long way! ZWO claims to have tested the guide camera behind various filters and had no problem finding a good guide star.
The main sensor is the Sony IMX571 CMOS 26 Megapixel (6248 x 4176) chip. As mentioned, it is APS-C sized at 23.6mm x 15.6mm. It has 2-stage cooling down to 35 degrees C below ambient, which greatly reduces noise and eliminates amp glow in dark frames. The camera must be powered by an external 12 v source (not supplied) or the computer may not recognize it. It comes with a universal M54 connector which ensures there will be no loss of light when connected to large focusers. Notably, it has a built-in tilt mechanism to help eliminate coma from a tilted sensor
Verdict 5/5 stars
All-in-all this is a very solid camera for anyone who is starting out that doesn’t want the expense or hassle of setting up a separate guide telescope or off-axis guider. The quality is consistent with other ZWO products and the price is just right. And because it is a color camera, no filters are required.
Specifications:
· Sensor: Sony IMX571 CMOS sensor (main) / Sony SC2210 CMOS sensor (guide)
· Sensor Size: APS-C (23.6mm x 15.6mm) main/7.7mm x 4.3mm (guide)
· Resolution: 6248 x 4176 pixels (main) / 1920 x 1080 pixels (guide)
· Pixel Size: 3.76 μm (main) / 4.0 μm (guide)
· A/D Converter: 16-bit ADC
· Dynamic Range: 14 stops
· Readout Noise: 1.0e (typical)
· Full Well Capacity: 73ke (main) / 8780e (guide)
· USB Interface: USB 3.0
What’s in the Box
· Camera body
· Camera bag
· USB 2.0 cable (0.5m) x2
· Quick guide
· USB 3.0 cable (0.75m) x1
· M54M-M54F (16.5mm) adapter
· M54M-M54F (21mm) adapter
· M54M-M48F adapter
· Hexagon wrench
· USB 3.0 cable (2m) x1