Peak QE of 75% (better than the ICX618) and no fixed-pattern-noise! It is this combination of high sensitivity and very, very, low read noise that makes the ASI224MC so special (read noise is the main source of noise in planetary imaging).
The IMX224 sensor is very sensitive to infrared so can be used for infrared imaging with great success. Sharp lunar images in infrared are also achievable - the infrared image won't have natural colours but after stacking you can convert the image to grayscale for a more natural look. To maximise the sensors IR performance the protective anti-reflection cover-glass does not include UV/IR cut but a seperate UV/IR cut filter can be obtained and fitted for colour imaging.
Can also be used for solar imaging, though when used with a solar telescope image quality may not be as good as that achieved with a mono sensor.
Supports 30FPS at it's maximum 1280X960 resolution and long time exposures up to 1000s.
Supplied with a 150-degree wide lens so you don't even need a telescope to start imaging the stars!
| Sensor | 1/3” CMOS IMX224/IMX225 |
| Resolution | 1.2Mega Pixels 1304X976 |
| Pixel Size | 3.75µm |
| Sensor Size | 4.8mm*3.6mm |
| Diagonal | 6.09mm |
| Exposure Range | 32µs-1000s |
| ROI | Supported |
| Binning | 2×2 binning supported |
| Focus Distance to Sensor | 12.5mm |
| Shutter Type | Rolling Shutter |
| Protect window | AR coated window |
| Operating System Compatibility | Mac, Windows, Linux |
| Interface | USB3.0/USB2.0 |
| Bit rate | 12bit output(12bit ADC) |
| Adaptor | 2″ / 1.25″ / M42X0.75 |
| Dimensions | 62 mm Diameter |
| Weight | 100g |
Supported Resolutions:
10bit ADC / 12bit ADC
1304×976 150fps / 64fps
1280×960 152.4fps / 65fps
800×600 241.2fps / 102.9fps
640×480 299.4fps / 127.6fps
320×240 577.9fps / 256.4fps
Additional resolutions can be user defined.
| Average Rating (11 Reviews): | |
Friday, 10 September 2021 | Tom
So speedy to deliver, and such a brilliant camera. I'm fairly new to astronomy, AP and DSO and my previous two cameras broke. This has been brilliant and look forward to many goo years with it. Thanks FLO.
Not used in anger as yet, too cloudy. Tuesday, 31 August 2021 | Peter
Have tested during the day. All seems good so far.
Will update more when I can finally use in anger,
Thursday, 8 April 2021 | Graham
Even though it isn’t new the 224MC has a good reputation for low noise and sensitivity so I gave it a try. Quick delivery from FLO. So far I’ve turned it towards a few DSOs as there are few convenient planets. A great performer that can cope with longer exposures than my 120MC with better results. I’ve made a video with a few images on my Jenham’s Astro YouTube channel.
Thursday, 25 February 2021 | Christopher
Very fast delivery, came in under 24 hours! Camera works great, I’ve used it to take detailed close-up pictures of the moons surface and can’t wait to try it out on some planets when the clouds clear off. Cheers FLO!
Thursday, 11 February 2021 | Gary
Haven’t had a chance to use this with the telescope as yet. But I have set it all up the my laptop and I’m already impressed with it. Can’t wait to use it now. Flo sent it out so fast, and gave me loads of help and advice when choosing this product. Will definitely be back to buy again.
Monday, 25 January 2021 | John
Total novice in Astro photography so with a lot of help and advice from the lads at First Light Optics I chose this camera to have a play. I followed the ZWO instructions to download the driver first, then plugged the camera into my laptop and it all connected up. As this camera has a fisheye lens attached, it showed images straightaway, no problem. I have not tried it outside yet, but I am confident that I will get some recordings to try in the ZWO ASIstudio software to start with and learn about photo stacking etc.
So far so good, many thanks to FLO for all the help.
Saturday, 13 June 2020 | Hugo
I've been making my mind up about one of these for planetary imaging for a while. The product arrived promptly, in good condition and I'm looking forward to giving it some good use. Thanks FLO!
ZWO ASI 224MC USB 3.0 Colour Camera Sunday, 7 June 2020 | Stefan
This is a very good and cheap color camera. I have used it for deep sky and solar imaging so far and I am very satisfied with the results.
Zoo ASI 224mc planetary camera Thursday, 26 March 2020 | Simon
I have been very impressed with this planetary camera by ZWO. Once you become familiar with the software Sharpcap the 224mc camera shows how versatile it can be. So far I have taken images of Venus and the Moon and M42. I am looking forward to using it this July when Jupiter, Saturn and Mars are in opposition.
ZWO ASI 224MC USB 3.0 Colour Camera Wednesday, 12 June 2019 | Khalefa
I really like this camera, it is very sensitive and low noise, using USB3 port allows this camera to reach a very high frame rate which is very important when imaging.
Easy to use after installing the driver, highly recommended indeed!
Read all 11 customer reviews...
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