This Sky-Watcher camera from the Syncam series is a very compact, passively cooled colour CMOS camera designed for astrophotography.
Its main application is in high-resolution planetary photography as well as photography of the Sun’s and Moon’s surfaces. Using compatible software, detailed, low-noise results can be achieved through stacking.
Thanks to its compact design and low weight combined with small dimensions, it is an ideal partner for the Sky-Watcher HAX125DX Honders Astrograph, as a larger camera would obstruct the telescope aperture. With this very fast lens, the camera also delivers good results in the photography of galaxies and nebulae. The extremely low readout noise without amplifier glow contributes to this. The black housing prevents unwanted reflections when the camera is mounted in front of the HAX125DX aperture.
The camera is fully compatible with the ToupTek software system.
Supported software: ASCOM, SharpCap, Nebulosity, DeepSky Stacker, N.I.N.A., FireCapture, MaximDL, ToupSky, INDI, PHD Guiding, Registax, INDIGO, MetaGuide, AstroStack.
BSI, back-illuminated CMOS structure:
One benefit of the back-illuminated CMOS structure is improved sensitivity. In a typical front-illuminated sensor, photons from the target entering the photosensitive layer of the sensor must first pass through the metal wiring that is embedded just above the photosensitive layer. The wiring structure reflects some of the photons and reduces the efficiency of the sensor.
In the back- illuminated sensor the light is allowed to enter the photosensitive surface from the reverse side. In this case the sensor’s embedded wiring structure is below the photosensitive layer. As a result, more incoming photons strike the photosensitive layer and more electrons are generated and captured in the pixel well. This ratio of photon to electron production is called quantum efficiency. The higher the quantum efficiency the more efficient the sensor is at converting photons to electrons and hence the more sensitive the sensor is to capturing an image of something dim.
