About this product
Model: zwo_asi224mc
Part Number: ASI224MC
At it’s price the ASI224MC is the BEST colour planetary imaging camera available!
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.
The ASI224MC can even be used for Deep-Sky imaging!
Supports 30FPS at it's maximum 1280X960 resolution and long time exposures up to 1000s.
Has an ST4 guide-port so can also be used as a guide-camera.
Supplied with a 150-degree wide lens so you don't even need a telescope to start imaging the stars!
All ZWO cameras include a 2-year warranty.
Camera Field of View Simulator
ASI224MC QE Curve
Relative QE Curve, we estimate the Peak Value to be between 75%-80%
Super Low Read Noise less than 1e which can compare with sCMOS or EMCCD sensors
Mechanical Drawing
What's in the box
- ASI224MC Camera
- 150° Lens
- M42-1.25" Nosepiece Adapter
- 1.25" Cap
- 2-metre USB 3.0 Cable
- 2-metre ST-4 Cable
Specifications
| 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.
Downloads / Manuals
The following manuals and downloads are available for this product:
Manuals
ZWO ASI Camera User Manual v1.3 (PDF)
ZWO ASI USB2.0 Camera FAQ v1.0 (PDF)
ZWO ASI USB2.0 Camera Troubleshooting v1.0 (PDF)
Software
ZWO Software and Drivers
Customer reviews
| Average Rating (5 Reviews): | |
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!
Monday, 4 March 2019 | Cathal
Hugely sensitive, really fast frame rates under USB3.0, IR sensitivity on all pixels longer than 810nm - this is a lovely camera.
The read noise being low and sensitivity being high means short exposure stacking for DSOs works fairly well - and allows lucky imaging techniques to bring out *detail* that would not normally be there.
I haven't had much chance to use this as a planetary camera yet but all indications are that this will be epic for that purpose, with a tracking mount and the use of ROI in the capture program, should mean lots and lots of sharper frames to stack.
I've got a second one of these being set up as an all-sky camera, using the sensitivity and resolution to get decent videos.
Overall I'm *really* happy with this camera.
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