Player One Saturn-M USB 3.0 (IMX533) Mono Camera

Product Description

The Saturn-M SQR (IMX533) camera has been developed by Player One Astronomy, SQR means its sensor is square. The Saturn-M SQR camera adopts the 1" square format Sony IMX533 monochrome sensor. The pixel size of 3.76um accommodates a 73Ke well depth with a total of 9MP (the resolution is 3008*3008), and the diagonal is 16mm.

STARVIS Technology

The Saturn-M SQR (IMX533) camera is based on Sony's STARVIS technology, a back-illuminated pixel technology used in CMOS image sensors.

Format

The Saturn-M SQR camera has a 1″ format, this size is quite large for image capture.

Extended full-well capability

Based on our technology, we have improved the full well of the Saturn-M SQR camera to 73Ke , it is almost 1.5 times more than IMX533 Basic (50ke).

High frame rate

Based on our Saturn-M SQR camera technology can run 43FPS in RAW8 mode, which is much faster than existing models on the market.

Dual sampling mode

The Saturn SQR series has dual sampling mode. Normal mode and LRN mode have different image advantages.

1. Normal mode has faster FPS, it is more suitable for planetary imaging.

2. LRN (low read noise) mode has lower read noise and higher dynamic range, it is more suitable for lucky DSO images.

Highlights

No-Amp-Glow

The dark image of the Saturn SQR (IMX533) camera is totally "dark", that's why we call it a "Non-Amp-Glow" camera.

300s dark frame from the Saturn SQR camera (resized to 50%):

Recommended accessories:

ACS (Active Cooling System) is an external air-cooling system designed for large-format solar and planetary cameras that already have PCS (Passive Cooling System).

ACS can provide better temperature control, when the chamber has PCS + ACS, the temperature is only 7 ℃ higher than ambient, the chamber body is a little warm, but not hot!

ACS not only can be used in daylight for solar imaging, but also could be used at night for lucky DSO imaging.

Saturn SQR camera is also very good for lunar and planetary imaging, its 1″ large format and 9MP total pixels, makes it easy to capture the full disk of the Moon and Sun, or make more efficient mosaics.

User jobs:

Features:

Camera nomenclature Player One Astronomy is unique. Planetary camera line, names depend on the size of the planets, Mars(1/3″), Neptune(1/2″), Uranus(1/1,2″), Saturn(1″), Jupiter(4/3″).

Drivers and software download: https://player-one-astronomy.com/service/software/

Download manuals: https://player-one-astronomy.com/service/manuals/

State-of-the-art design

Planetary cameras developed by Player One Astronomy use a scientific and technological regular hexagon to construct the main body line, complemented by round chamfers for both rigidity and flexibility. The positive red, which is like a summer fire, is combined with the discreet and stable black, and the superfine glazing process on the entire surface makes the camera look luxurious and cool, highlighting the style of high-end players.

2nd Gen - Sensor tilt plate

When taking deepsky objects, the use of the sensor tilt plate can obtain a much smaller field curvature of the telescope.

The built-in high-density sponge shading pad can block the light from the side slits without any side leakage.

Passive Cooling System

Player One adds a new feature called Passive Cooling System to conduct heat from the sensor to the outside.

256M DDR3 Cache

Player One astronomy cameras are the first to adopt DDR3 cache in all planetary cameras worldwide. It helps stabilize and secure data transmission, effectively prevents frame drops and greatly reduces read noise.

With DDR3 cache, the camera no longer has high demands on computing needs, it will still have excellent performance even if it is connected to a USB 2.0 port.

DPS technology

The planetary cameras from Player One Astronomy feature DPS (Dead Pixel Suppression) technology. DPS analyzes many dark frames to find the abnormal fixed pixels and record the map in the camera's memory. In the images, each exposure frame, the position of dead pixels will receive an average value according to the active pixels around that abnormal pixel.

Over-voltage and over-current protection mechanism

Player One cameras produced by us ensure the safety of your camera and other equipment through overvoltage and overcurrent protection mechanisms.

Data port

When the camera is connected to the USB3.0 interface and full resolution preview is used, it can reach 43 FPS in RAW8 mode (10bit ADC). When recording images, since the actual writing speed will be affected by the writing speed of the hard disk itself, when the writing speed of the hard disk is slow, the recording may not reach the theoretical speed. It is recommended to use a high quality solid state drive to record data in order to take full advantage of the camera's performance.

Use the ST4 guide cable to connect the camera and the AUTO GUIDE port on the equatorial mount for guiding.

Performance

HCG open with gain=125. Saturn SQR series has dual sampling mode, Normal mode has faster fps, LRN (low read noise) mode has lower read noise and higher dynamic range.

Read noise

As for the read noise, we solemnly promise that all values are obtained from real tests. And for users, they can use Sharpcap 4 for testing. SC4 has a feature called Sensor Analysis, which provides a very simple way to test read noise.

We have written a tutorial on our website: https://player-one-astronomy.com/service/manuals/

If you are interested in testing read noise, you can try it yourself, which is very simple.

Absolute QE curve