Player One ARES-C PRO Color Camera (IMX533)

Download drivers and software: http://player-one-astronomy.com/service/software/

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

The Ares-C Pro (IMX533) camera has been developed by Player One Astronomy, the Ares-C Pro is not only ideal for DSO imaging, but also for solar and lunar imaging. The Ares-C Pro camera adopts the 1" square format Sony IMX533 color sensor. The pixel size of 3.76um accommodates a 73Ke well depth with a total of 9MP (resolution is 3008*3008), and the diagonal is 16mm.

STARVIS Technology

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

Format
The Ares-C Pro camera has a 1″ format, this size is quite large for image capture.

Highlights

Avant-garde design
This time with a round body, a classic red and black color scheme, and the use of carbon fiber to keep the weight low and the outlook cutting edge. We have also integrated the sensor rocker plate and anti-mildew PCB board. This series of designs makes the camera not only lightweight and attractive, but also functional.

Front tilting plate 3P and rear tilting plate 4P
When photographing deep sky objects, the sensor tilt plate can be used to adjust the tilt angle of the sensor to make the stars in the corners more rounded. The Ares camera provides both front and rear tilt plate to satisfy all usage scenarios.

Front 3P tilting plate is the default part in the camera, we believe most users have experience with this before. it works well in a lot of basic scenarios.

4P rear tilting plate is an alternative part for camera, when using filter wheel/filter box and OAG with fixed angel, it is necessary. And it is also convenient for RASA users to adjust the tilt angel of the sensor.

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

Carbon fiber and light weight
The Ares series uses carbon fiber in the camera housing and has been optimized for weight reduction in its structural design. The camera weighs only 420 grams, making it one of the lightest models on the market.

Deep cooling
Player One series refrigerated chamber uses 2-stage TEC refrigeration unit, after improving the structure design to reject heat back to the chamber, the Delta-T of the chamber can reach 35-40℃.

Anti-mold heater
In the design of lightweight refrigerated chambers, Player One continues to pursue perfection, any necessary features must have, especially the anti-mold system, it is the problem that many small refrigerated chambers ignore.

Full well
Ares-C Pro camera has 73Ke full well, it is almost 1.5 times than IMX533 Basic (50ke).

Frame rate
The Ares-C Pro camera can run at 43FPS in RAW8 mode, much faster than existing models on the market.

Dual sampling mode
The Ares series has two sampling modes. The normal mode and the LRN mode have different advantages in imaging.

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

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

No-Amp-Glow
The dark frame of the Ares-C PRO (IMX533) camera is totally "dark", it is also a "Non-Amp-Glow" camera

300s@gain=0, offset=10, -10 degrees, Ares-C PRO camera dark frame

Dark frame preview: Exposure=300s, gain=0, offset=10, temp=-10℃ STF auto-Stretch in Pixinsight 1.86

Non-Amp-Glow can give us a very clean background, much easier to obtain high quality images.

The Ares-C PRO camera is also very good for solar, lunar and planetary imaging. Its 1″ square sensor can easily capture the full disk of the Sun and Moon with short focal refractors. And it could also do the most efficient mosaic work.

512 MB DDR3 cache
As an improvement, the DDR3 cache memory of the cooled cameras has been increased to 512 MB. It helps stabilize and secure data transmission, effectively prevents frame dropping and greatly reduces read noise.

With the DDR3 cache, the camera no longer has high demands on computing needs, it will still perform excellently even when connected to a USB 2.0 port.

Type-C data port and power port
The rear of the cooled camera has 2 Type-C data ports and a 12V DC 5.5×2.1mm power port.

The main data port supports USB3.0 protocol, the camera can run at 43fps in RAW8 mode. The Type-C port is easier to connect when mounting the imaging equipment at night.

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 for recording data to take full advantage of the camera's performance.

The camera has a 12V DC5.5*2.1mm port to provide sufficient power to the TEC cooling system. If you do not need to power the cooling, just connect the main Type-C port, the camera will work as an uncooled camera.

Use of standard cable

Anti-Mold Heater and Cooling System
In the ASCOM window, we provide 3 adjustable parameters: Target temperature, Fan speed and Mold power.

Delta-T standard: 35℃-40℃, when ambient temperature is 30℃, fan speed 100%, spray heater 1%.

Recommended Delta-T settings: 30℃-35℃ below ambient temperature, fan speed 50-70%, spray heater 10%, power consumption 40- 60%.

The rotation speed of the cooling fan is also adjustable, the default value is 50% speed.

The problem of dew is the biggest enemy of astral images, the camera integrates an anti-dew heater in front of the camera. The heating power is adjustable.

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

Performance
HCG open with gain=125.

Reading noise
As for the read noise, we solemnly promise that all values have been obtained from real tests. And for users, you can use Sharpcap 4 for testing. SC4 has a function 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 reading noise test, you can try it yourself, which is very simple.

Dark current
The dark current is only 0.000044 e/s/pix at -20℃, and 0.000996e/s/pix at 0℃. In the whole curve, the dark current is almost like a straight line, which can prove that the Ares camera has very good quality and stable performance.

QE curve

BFL Solutions
Some 55mm BFL solutions are recommended below for this camera. If you do not consider about BFL, the connection way is different.

• Sensor: New SONY IMX533 1" CMOS (Color)
• Diagonal: 16mm
• Total pixels: 9 megapixels
• MAX Resolution: 3008×3008
• Pixel size: 3.76μm
• Sensor size: 11.31mm×11.31mm
• Frame rate: 43FPS（10bit）
• Shutter: Rolling shutter
• Exposure time: 32μs-2000s
• Reproduction noise: 4.46-1e
• Full well: 73k e
• Peak QE: ≈80%
• ADC: 14 bits
• Cooling system: high quality 2-stage TEC cooling component
• cooling power: 12 V - 3 A max.
• Delta T: 35°C-40°C (below ambient temperature)
• Working temperature: -10°C-60°C
• Working humidity: 0%-80% (below ambient)
• Protective glass: D32*2MM High-quality AR Plus multilayer coating (anti-reflective)
• USB port: USB3.0/USB2.0
• Adapter: 1.25″ / M42X0.75
• Rear focal length: 17.5mm
• Diameter: 78mm
• Weight: 420g
• Resolution and FPS
• In USB 3.0 mode
• Resolution 10bit ADC 14bit ADC

3008×3008 43FPS 19.5FPS
2560×1440 95FPS 40FPS
1920×1080 125FPS 53FPS
1280×720 185FPS 79FPS
800×600 220FPS 93FPS
640×480 272FPS 115FPS

• Option: camera, camera + Phoenix 8x1.25 wheel + FHD-OAG MINI

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