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Model: zwo_asi178mcPart Number: ZWO ASI178MC
The ASI178MC features a back-illuminated Sony IMX178, 1/1.8″, 6.4Mp sensor with Sony Starvis and ExmorR Technology.
Extremely low read noise (2.2 e~1.4e) , 1.4e @27db, high sensitivity and 14bit ADC make this an excellent choice for high resolution astrophotography.
Supplied with a 2.5mm accessory 'all sky lens' for a nearly 170° view of the sky!
All ZWO cameras include a 2-year warranty.
This ZWO colour cameras features a UV IR-cut off filter as an optical window, the transmission chart of this is shown below.
Relative QE Curve, we estimate the Peak Value to be between 75%-80%
Super Low Read Noise
10bit ADC/14bit ADC3096×2080 60fps / 30fps2560×2048 62fps / 31fps2048×1080 116fps / 58fps1280×960 130fps / 65fps800×600 204.7fps / 102.3fps640×480 253.1fps / 126.5fps320×240 479.7fps / 239.8fps
Additional resolutions can be user defined.
The following manuals and downloads are available for this product:
Software
ZWO Software and Drivers
best price about for this camera and speedy delivery (only gripe (not really) is need clear skies to play with it)
This is a really good lunar / planetary camera . No problem with Installation of ASIstudio and the driver for the camera , and it worked first time perfectly . ASIcap is a really easy way to control the camera , and acquire images for stacking purposes . When I started to image the Moon with my Celestron 8SE and the ZWO ASI 178MC USB 3.0 Colour Camera , I was so impressed with the clarity of the images . I really look forward to imaging Jupiter and Saturn in the summer and Mars towards the end of the year when Mars comes to opposition . The camera has a thread on the back , and it is really easy to mount the ZWO ASI 178MC with the supplied lens on a tripod for wide field imaging ,,,, have yet to try this . I will get the canon lens adaptor so I can mount my canon lenses onto theZWO ASI 178MC I highly recommend this camera and would give it 6 stars!
I bought this camera to find out what astrocams were all about. It sat in the sweet spot between expensive cameras and very low resolution cameras. I'm using it with Nikon camera lenses as I don't have a telescope. This is why I needed more resolution for cropping if necessary. And I wanted something I could use with long lenses e.g. 500mm with a 1.4 teleconverter for planets and small galaxies, and still do nebulae with wider lenses e.g. 70mm. This camera met all of these requirements. It's a beautifully made thing with really nice machining and construction there are zero rough edges on it but what I assume are cooling fins are quite sharp. It comes with a little fisheye lens so you can use it straight out of the box, there's a telescope 1.25 inch adapter nose, and the body of the camera is threaded so you can attach it straight to a camera lens mount or a T adapter, there are also what I assume are spacer shims for back focus. The instructions in the box are generic and do not go into detail about any of these items. They may be dispensed with. The driver download from the ZWO site was easy as was their software package. You don't need to sign up for anything.In use the camera seems to work well. The PC (Win10) recognised it straight away and the ZWO software is easy to use. My plan was to use Astrophotography Tool to take images. First night out taking images with the camera I had it on a 500mm lens and shot a sequence of the Pinwheel galaxy. (60s, gain 100, tracked on Astrotrac) The images were very noisy after stacking and processing and I wasn't able to use them. I think this is down to the settings I had for gain and exposure in the camera due to my inexperience. I was expecting noise because of the small sensor in comparison to the full frame SLR I usually use. I'll try again soon. Next night I shot the moon as it looked lovely at about a third full. The moon images were, to me, nothing short of spectacular. Full frame coverage, no cropping required. Stacked them in Autostakkert and they are the best images of the moon I have ever taken. I took video using the ZWO app rather than APT mainly because I could see a video button there. You can set gain and exposure in the app, both APT and ZWO and it's easy to get something of the moon that looks great with next to no noise in it.One unexpected issue was that it's a lot more difficult to find a target using the lens and camera. Because there's no viewfinder to look though and find your way by star hopping you have to use the laptop screen. Now this is easy if you have a goto mount but I don't have that. So finding and getting to targets is more difficult. It's also a lot more difficult to focus the lens very precisely. The ZWO app is no help for that but APT has a tool but I ended up just doing it by eye on the screen. None of these are faults of the camera, just of my situation but it may be useful information for others taking this path.In summary; The camera is very well made, it' works straight out of the box, it is easy to control and get images, and the images of bright targets are really excellent. The issues with galaxies are down to my inexperience I'm sure. I'll update this review when I've had a chance to shoot some more galaxies and nebulae to see what I get.
Great Camera and price, quick delivery, I highly recommend FLO who have supplied Astro goods to me for many years