The ZWO ASI 662 MC colour camera is an excellent choice for planetary imaging: its 6.46 mm sensor diagonal and 2.9-micron pixel size provide a wide field of view at high resolution.
Compared to earlier models, the new Sony IMX662 sensor offers higher sensitivity (91% QE) and lower read noise. The Full HD (1920x1080) sensor features passive cooling via a thermal pad, allowing it to operate at temperatures up to 15°C lower during long-exposure imaging. The camera is particularly well suited to APO refractors, even at short focal lengths. Compared to monochrome cameras, colour, so-called "single-shot" cameras simplify imaging for those who do not wish to use the L-RGB colour filter technique. As the camera does not feature a built-in UV/IR filter, it remains especially sensitive in the infrared range. The "amp glow" or light leak effect typically experienced at high gain has also been eliminated while maintaining low noise levels.
The ZWO ASI 662 MC camera features an USB 3.0 connection, enabling significantly higher image transfer speeds, meaning that more frames can be captured within a given period when using larger image sizes. This is particularly important for lunar and solar imaging, while it is less significant when capturing planets. Thanks to its ST4 port, it can also be used as a guide camera. With a frame rate of 107 fps, it is also well suited for shared group observation of planets and the Moon when connected to a computer.
A number of free image capture applications can be downloaded from the internet; for Windows, we particularly recommend SharpCap and FireCapture. The cameras require Windows XP or later, but can also be used with Linux and support Macintosh systems as well (USB 3 versions are recommended for this purpose).
