Altair Hypercam 269C - thoughts?

[PeterC65]

Does anyone have experience with the Altair Hypercam 269C camera that they could share?

There is little around in the way of reviews or first hand comments, and what sensor analysis data I can find seems a little suspect.

I currently have the Altair GPCam2 327C and want to increase the field of view (currently 0.7 degrees with my 432mm APO) while not growing the pixel size or increasing the read noise. I use the camera for EEVA and will do the same with any new camera, so I'm using short exposures and therefore considering the fan cooled variant of the Hypercam 269C. I'm new to EEVA and so far it seems mostly useful for DSOs rather than SSOs, and some of these benefit from a wide field of view. I've also just bought a new i7 PC and a 4K monitor so I can make good use of the extra pixels and should be able to process them.

I've also been considering the ZWO ASI585MC which would give me double the field of view of my current camera but not as much as the Hypercam 269C (which is close to a DSLR field of view). Does anyone have any thoughts about how the ASI585MC compares with the Hypercam 269C?

 

[Adam J]

11 minutes ago, PeterC65 said:

Does anyone have experience with the Altair Hypercam 269C camera that they could share?

There is little around in the way of reviews or first hand comments, and what sensor analysis data I can find seems a little suspect.

I currently have the Altair GPCam2 327C and want to increase the field of view (currently 0.7 degrees with my 432mm APO) while not growing the pixel size or increasing the read noise. I use the camera for EEVA and will do the same with any new camera, so I'm using short exposures and therefore considering the fan cooled variant of the Hypercam 269C. I'm new to EEVA and so far it seems mostly useful for DSOs rather than SSOs, and some of these benefit from a wide field of view. I've also just bought a new i7 PC and a 4K monitor so I can make good use of the extra pixels and should be able to process them.

I've also been considering the ZWO ASI585MC which would give me double the field of view of my current camera but not as much as the Hypercam 269C (which is close to a DSLR field of view). Does anyone have any thoughts about how the ASI585MC compares with the Hypercam 269C?

 

It's a front illuminated sensor with lower QE than more modern back illuminated designed , it's actually just been replaced at the compact 4/3 sensor by Sony. This combined by small ish pixels and high ish read noise in comparison to modern CMOS means that I would not choose this sensor. The 533 and the 585 are just better sensors, especially if uncooled as the dark current also much lower in all the 5xx series sensors I am aware of. So I would look at 533 for most situations and then the 585 only if you wanted to image small bright objects or had really fast optics. 

[PeterC65]

Thanks @Adam J. I've been tempted by the larger field of view of the Hypercam 269C but also have concerns about some of the spec items and the pedigree of its sensor. The ASI585MC is new and has a good and complete spec, but a smaller field of view. The ASI533MC-PRO is beyond my budget. What is it about the ASI585MC that makes you say it should be limited to small bright objects or fast optics (mine is F6)?

[Adam J]

It's got

1 hour ago, PeterC65 said:

Thanks @Adam J. I've been tempted by the larger field of view of the Hypercam 269C but also have concerns about some of the spec items and the pedigree of its sensor. The ASI585MC is new and has a good and complete spec, but a smaller field of view. The ASI533MC-PRO is beyond my budget. What is it about the ASI585MC that makes you say it should be limited to small bright objects or fast optics (mine is F6)?

It's got small pixels and very low read noise, at least in the playerone version something weird going in with the ASI version. The size of the sensor makes it good for galaxy imaging at about 700mm along with the low read noise making it suited to short exposures so that you get the most out of it in terms of resolved detail. There is also scope to bin as the pixels are so small. Generally fast optics low read noise and high QE mean that you can make efficient use of the camera in duel narrow band despite it being uncooled. Higher read noise and lower QE would require longer exposure and so benefit from some cooling. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Adam J

[Quatermass]

Old post but having just got one and used it for a few weeks here is my opinion on it. Great camera I love it wanted to upgrade from a Canon 450d which I have used for ages and this was a good price with a nice big sensor virtually no amp glow and the images I have taken with it so far have exceeded my expectations for sure. I'm using a 12nm H-Alpha filter with it at the moment with a gain setting of 900 and offset of 100 with 3 min exposures and that is working well for me when combined with RGB data I found it frustrating with so few good reviews on it and very few that showed you the pictures so here are some of the images I have taken with it so far for those that are thinking of getting one I have the fan cooled version and its great. Highly recommended for the quality of the images and the price and performance. Actually I lie its not the 269c mine is the 294c which is about 100.00 quid cheaper but still pretty awesome I think.

Rosette Nebula 294c.tif

Edited November 8, 2022 by Quatermass

[tich]

It looks to be performing well Mark very impressive, I loved my 269C & now I've finally got a 26C (Which is pretty much identical to the ASI 2600MCpro) a camera I've been wanting for a while now as it has the APSC sized sensor & that's been a great performer to. I've got a QHY8 fan cooled camera which is pretty old now & the performance between them the 26C is light years ahead. I think these CMOS cameras are great performers & I'm glad you're happy with yours.
Look forward to seeing more images mate if these pesky clouds depart lol, clear skies!!

[Adam J]

On 08/11/2022 at 01:05, Quatermass said:

Old post but having just got one and used it for a few weeks here is my opinion on it. Great camera I love it wanted to upgrade from a Canon 450d which I have used for ages and this was a good price with a nice big sensor virtually no amp glow and the images I have taken with it so far have exceeded my expectations for sure. I'm using a 12nm H-Alpha filter with it at the moment with a gain setting of 900 and offset of 100 with 3 min exposures and that is working well for me when combined with RGB data I found it frustrating with so few good reviews on it and very few that showed you the pictures so here are some of the images I have taken with it so far for those that are thinking of getting one I have the fan cooled version and its great. Highly recommended for the quality of the images and the price and performance. Actually I lie its not the 269c mine is the 294c which is about 100.00 quid cheaper but still pretty awesome I think.

Rosette Nebula 294c.tif 58.97 MB · 0 downloads

The 294 is a different beast to the 269.

Adam

[PadrePeace]

On 08/11/2022 at 01:05, Quatermass said:

Old post but having just got one and used it for a few weeks here is my opinion on it. Great camera I love it wanted to upgrade from a Canon 450d which I have used for ages and this was a good price with a nice big sensor virtually no amp glow and the images I have taken with it so far have exceeded my expectations for sure. I'm using a 12nm H-Alpha filter with it at the moment with a gain setting of 900 and offset of 100 with 3 min exposures and that is working well for me when combined with RGB data I found it frustrating with so few good reviews on it and very few that showed you the pictures so here are some of the images I have taken with it so far for those that are thinking of getting one I have the fan cooled version and its great. Highly recommended for the quality of the images and the price and performance. Actually I lie its not the 269c mine is the 294c which is about 100.00 quid cheaper but still pretty awesome I think.

Rosette Nebula 294c.tif 58.97 MB · 1 download

Why are you running such a high gain and offset? By doing so you are loosing a lot of dynamic range or am I missing something?