Altair Hypercam 115M MONO TEC Astro Camera Peltier Cooling Sony Sensor D=23.2 mm

Altair Hypercam 115M MONO TEC Astro Camera Peltier Cooling Sony Sensor D=23.2 mm
The Altair Hypercam 115M with Peltier cooling is the MONO version of the Hypercam 294C for demanding astrophotography.
♦ Large and fast Sony MONO sensor with 23.2 mm diagonal for a wide field of view

♦ Back-illumination technology for high sensitivity - QE above 75%.

♦ 4144x2822 pixels - approx. 11.4 million pixels

♦ Pixel size 4.63 µm - making the camera well suited for telescopes with medium focal ratio (f/4 to f/7)

♦ Full well capacity 63700 e - even brighter stars do not burn out so fast

♦ Peltier cooling up to 45 °C below ambient temperature

♦ 4 GB DDR3 RAM frame buffer for more stable data transfer

♦ Equipped with USB 3.0 interface - but also runs under USB 2.0

♦ With the purchase of this camera you receive a one-year user license for the program SharpCap PRO

Altair Hypercam 115M PRO Peltier Cooled Black and White Astro Camera.
This camera is an excellent astro camera. In this camera the SONY IMX294 4/3" CMOS sensor was installed. The chip has a diagonal of 23.2 mm and is equipped with the latest technology like "Back Illumination" and EXMOR-R. Due to the very low amplifier glow, the camera is best suited for long exposures. The moderate pixel size of 4.3 µm makes the camera a good choice for telescopes and telephoto lenses with medium focal ratios between f/4 and f/7, and you will be able to photograph the telescope resolution well.

The main advantages of the PRO version:

♦ Temperature sensor with real-time data output.
♦ ROI (Region of Interest) for cropping and thus faster photography when taking pictures of the Sun, Moon, and planets.
♦ 4K mode (cropped!)
♦ Binning
♦ Reduction of amplifier noise

One-year license for SharpCap PRO for free!
Includes ultra-accurate polar alignment guide, optimization wizard for CMOS exposure times for deep-sky objects, livestacking for EAA/video astronomy, live pull-off for dark frames and flats. Simply download the latest SharpCap, connect your camera, register it when the display pops up, and confirm your free license.

Low readout noise.
The Sony IMX294 CMOS sensor has very low readout noise, wide dynamic range and high sensitivity. In addition, the IMX294 ExmorR Back-Illuminated Sensor has a small dark current, no smear effect, and excellent anti-blooming properties. BSI technology moves the sensor electronics behind the pixels, thus not blocking part of the light, which increases quantum efficiency compared to CCD sensors and conventional CMOS chips.

4GB DDR3 buffer RAM - USB3.0 speed and USB2.0 reliability:
USB3.0 and buffering by memory directly on the board result in much faster transfer speeds than USB2.0 cameras, but if, like many photographers, you prefer longer and more flexible USB2.0 cables because they work more reliably on a USB2.0 hub, that's not a problem either! The Hypercam is fully compatible with the USB2.0 protocol. Just install the software and get started!

Important: Windows PC hardware requirements for best performance

♦ Minimum CPU: Equal to i5 or higher
♦ Minimum memory: 8 GB or more
♦ USB port: USB2.0 high-speed port or USB3.0 high-speed port (best performance).
♦ Please note: Some laptops and touchscreen notebooks may not have sufficient USB throughput.

Quality software and drivers included:
AltairCapture: Unlike cheaper camera manufacturers, Altair Astro has spent a lot of time to further improve the AltairCapture software with its many features and intuitive operation, it can be downloaded from Altair Astro Customer Support. AltairCapture is a robust 64-bit Windows application that provides full control of the camera in video or single frame mode. It contains many automatic functions and supports all major file formats for astrophotography and professional scientific image acquisition in 16bit, 12bit or 8bit modes. Furthermore, the popular programs PHD Guiding and SharpCap are also natively supported. ASCOM drivers are available for download from Altair Astro Customer Support, where you can also get regular driver updates. Installation is very easy and, unlike cheaper cameras, you don't have to waste time tweaking .DLL files just to get the camera to work as expected.

Firecapture only runs patched!
Firecapture does not generally support Altair's hypercams at the moment, but there is a patched version which offers most of the functions. Only the white balance is not supported. The download link is here. After startup you may get the error message "System seems to be read-only. No setup will be stored" may appear, which can be acknowledged by clicking "ok".

SharpCap PRO:
Altair Astro has worked closely with SharpCap developer Robin Glover since 2015 to fully integrate Altair cameras with SharpCap from the ground up. Now, together with this camera, SharpCap PRO allows even more features, for example, software-assisted polar alignment (more accurate than most other methods), live pull-off of flats, and live pull-off of dark frames. The fast, accurate pole alignment feature in SharpCap PRO is a photography lifesaver which saves setup time.

Peltier Cooling:
Cooling reduces thermal noise during long exposure. The internal thermoelectric cooling system can be controlled with the exposure program, so you can select a working temperature (stored in the .FITs header). The Hypercam is designed for consistent deep sky imaging up to 45 °C below ambient temperature, the suitable temperature of the IMX294 sensor at gain 400 is -10/15 °C absolute, below that no more improvements can be expected.

Optical window with heater to prevent fogging. Every precaution related to the biggest problem of cooled cameras has been taken. The optical window is heated by special heaters to eliminate fogging at low temperatures. To prevent frosting on the sensor, the sensor chamber is sealed and was filled with dry air during manufacture. The chamber contains a desiccant cartridge made of stainless steel, which can be regenerated by placing it in an oven at 120 °C for a few hours after removing the small O-ring.
Sensor: SONY Exmor R BSI IMX294 MONO CMOS sensor
Sensor size: 16.05 mm x 12.61 mm, diagonal 23.2 mm
Resolution: 11.7 megapixels, 4144*2822
Pixel size: 4.63 µm
Bit rate: 8/14 bit switchable
Data transfer: USB3.0 (USB2.0 possible)
Cooling: Peltier
Power supply: USB
Max. Exposure time: 1000 sec
Housing diameter: 65 mm
Connection to telescope: T2, 2", C-Mount
Distance T2 thread to sensor: 17.5 mm
Weight: 320 g

♦ Camera with 4 GB DDR3 RAM and T2 connection
♦ 1.8 m USB3.0 connection cable
♦ 2" plug-in connector with filter thread
♦ C-mount connector
♦ UV-IR blocking filter
♦ Cover caps
♦ Power supply unit
♦ Hexagonal wrench
♦ Carrying case
♦ Software as download from the manufacturer (altaircameras.com)