The ZWO ASI 585 MM monochrome camera is ideal for high-end planetary imaging as well as deep-sky photography.
What makes the ZWO ASI 585 MM camera special? Well, apart from its relatively low price for its capabilities, of course, it's the sensor and then the electronics hidden inside the camera.
The state-of-the-art sensor from SONY boasts a respectable 8 megapixels (3840 x 2160 pixels), a 6.26 x 11.13 mm sensor and 2.9 µm pixels, making it a contender in many areas of astrophotography.
Of course, it also has excellent features for lunar and planetary imaging. Its 12-bit output and very fast frame rate (47 frames per second)make it ideal for photography (video) mode as well. Thanks to the small pixel size, fine detail is not lost, and with longer focus scopes, additional focus stretching is often unnecessary. The fast image refresh also enables "electronically assisted astronomy" EAA, so small groups of astronomers can observe "stacked" images together.
The camera also has an ST-4 port, so it can be used as a driving camera with the right software. Importantly, there is only a high-clearance protective glass in front of the sensor, so the UV/IR range is freely transmitted. This allows the camera to remain at maximum sensitivity in these ranges.
The sensor's 12-bit output allows the capture of 4096 shades of colour (compared to 8-bit, or "only" 256 shades per colour channel on most cameras). The large sensor is also useful for taking pictures of the sun and moon. The camera also features a built-in HCG mode, which effectively reduces readout noise at high gain while maintaining the wide dynamic range that would only be experienced at low gain.
The camera connects with a T2 thread, but can be used with any 1.25" or 2" outrigger using the adapters included in the package.
The ZWO ASI 585 MM monochrome camera has a 256 MB DDR3 memory buffer, which increases the stability of the data transfer between the camera and the PC. The Sony IMX 585 back-illuminated sensor uses STARVIS2 technology that results in higher sensitivity and lower readout noise
.
The ZWO ASI 585 MM monochrome camera is equipped with 2 USB 2.0 and 1 USB 3.0 ports. The camera is cooled by a 12V supply voltage, for which the manufacturer recommends a minimum of 3A.
For image capture, a number of free software can be downloaded from the internet, we particularly recommend SharpCap and FireCapture.
