The new ZWO ASI 294 MC colour camera features a high-end back-illuminated Sony CMOS sensor, the latest development with outstanding sensitivity and 14-bit colour depth. Unlike mono cameras, colour, so-called "single shot" cameras simplify the work of those who prefer not to shoot with L-RGB colour filtering.
The 23.2 mm diagonal, 11.7 megapixel SONY-manufactured chip is built with 4.63 micron pixels, which allows for high sensitivity and good resolution. Its 14-bit ADC converter and QE above 60% promise outstanding performance in deep-end photography. Built-in 256 Mbyte DDR memory improves data transfer and reduces the so-called "amp-glow" noise of the sensor.
The cameras are equipped with USB 3.0 connectivity, the latter allowing much higher image transfer speeds, meaning more shots can be captured in a given time with a larger image size. This is most useful for shooting the Moon and Sun, but less so for capturing planets or deep-sky objects.
There are several free image capture software downloads available on the internet, but for Windows we particularly recommend SharpCap and FireCapture. The cameras require Windows XP or later, but can also be used under Linux and even support Macintosh (we recommend USB 3 versions)
The package includes a number of adapters for mounting, including 1.25"/T2 and 2"/T2 adapters.