ToupTek G3M 178C color camera

The ToupTek G3M 178C colour camera is a high-sensitivity astrophotography camera with a back-illuminated sensor, offering astrophotographers who are looking for planetary and depth-of-field photography a very low noise level (as low as 2.2e at 0 gain).

The Sony IMX178 back-illuminated sensor camera has the same sensor as the ZWO ASI 178 colour camera, but this model does not have a UV/IR block filter in front of the sensor, so it can be used in these ranges. Another difference is that the camera is not T2 connected, but can be mounted directly in a 1.25" housing, which makes it more practical as an autoguider camera. Thanks to the basic C-mount end, you can also use the camera directly with optional C-mount lenses (and with the right adapter, it can also be used as a microscope camera).

Not only for capturing the sun, moon and planets, but also for photographing low-altitude objects, and even as a guide camera, it is no coincidence that the camera also features an ST4 port.

The sensor measures 7.4 x 5.0 mm, with 3096 x 2080 pixels involved in the imaging, so you're looking at a 6.4 megapixel camera capable of imaging at a whopping 14 bits of colour depth. The camera uses a USB 3.0 port for the huge colour depth and requires the right hardware on the computer side.

Using it as a day, moon, planet camera, a very important feature of the camera is that it captures video at 30fps when used at full resolution 14 bits color depth, meaning that in just one minute, a lot of frames are generated which is the basis for successful planet images. At lower resolutions (1520 x 1024), this can be increased to 58fps! When photographing deep objects, the 14-bit colour depth and small 2.4 micron pixel size translates into fine detail and the potential for better post-production.

For image capture, there's a range of free software available to download from the internet, and for Windows we particularly recommend SharpCap and FireCapture, but it's also great to use with the manufacturer's own software (ToupSky). The popular PHD2 software also supports the camera, while the use of the ASCOM driver gives the device even broader support. The camera can be used with Windows, Linux and even Macintosh operating systems.

Contents of the package:

• ToupTek G3M 178C color camera
• USB cable (2 m)
• ST-4 cable (2 m)
• C thread / 1.25" adapter

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