Player One Apollo 428M MAX monochrome astro camera for solar imaging, but also for deep-sky imaging

The Apollo 428M MAX camera is designed specifically for solar imaging, which adopts the Sony IMX428 1.1" format monochrome sensor. The 4.5 µm pixel size accommodates a well depth of 25.3 ke. The resolution is 3216 x 2208 (7.1 MP) and the diagonal is 17.5 mm.

Solar photography
The Player One Apollo 428M MAX is specifically designed for solar photography, both in white light and H-alpha. A major advantage with the latter is that the IMX428 sensor does not suffer from the problematic ´banding´ shown in the sixth image. Sensor tilting, which this camera also offers, helps reduce Newton´s rings in solar photography. Unlike the similarly sized Player One Apollo-M MAX with its Sony IMX432 sensor, the pixels are significantly smaller, allowing for higher resolution of detail. 2x2 binning increases the full-well capacity, which expands the dynamic range.

Deep-sky photography
The large sensor with 17.5 mm diagonal makes the camera well suited for photography of nebular objects, star clusters and galaxies. The Sony sensor is very sensitive, so they can image faint objects well in just a few minutes. The lower sensitivity compared to the Player One Apollo-M MAX - due to the smaller pixels - can be compensated for by 2x2 binning. An HCG mode reduces readout noise and increases the dynamic range at higher gain settings.

Use as autoguider
At only 160 grams, the Player One Apollo 428M MAX is a lightweight. It puts hardly any strain on the focuser. Of course, the camera offers the ST-4 autoguiding interface. A 2 meter autoguiding cable is also included.

Anti-reflective clear glass filter protects the sensor from dust
The clear glass filter prevents dust from getting to the sensor. It also lets UV and infrared through, so you can also do infrared photography with the camera. You have full control over what light hits the sensor with the right choice of contrast filters, nebula filters, or UV/IR blocking filters.

DPS technology against "Hot and Dead" Pixels
The DPS (Dead Pixel Suppression) analyzes dark shots and selects the interfering pixels. In the shots (Light), these spurious pixels are overwritten and then no longer appear. The image becomes smoother. The technology works similarly to a dark frame.

Air cooling - reduces sensor temperature
During shooting, the sensor heats up. The PCS (Passive Cooling System) dissipates the heat from the sensor via a thermal pad. This reduces the sensor temperature by up to 15 °C compared to cameras without PCS.

Optional: ACS (Active Cooling System)
ACS is a external air-cooled system, designed for solar and big format planetary cameras which already has PCS (Passive Cooling System). ACS can provide much better temperature control. When camera has PCS + ACS, temperature is only 7 °C higher than ambient, camera body is a little warm but won´t be hot! ACS can not only be used in daylight for solar imaging, it also could be used in night for DSO lucky imaging.

Manual
The manufacturer provides a manual in PDF format; you can download it here.

Drivers and Software
The manufacturer´s software page contains various drivers as well as links to compatible capturing and editing software.