The ZWO ASI 664 MC colour camera is positioned between the ASI 662 and ASI 585 cameras in terms of technical parameters. Although the resolution of the cameras is different, all three are built with 2.9 micron pixels, making them ideal for capturing detailed lunar-planet images.
The ZWO ASI 664 MC colour camera is the "happy medium" between Sony's 2.9 micron cameras. Not only is it recommended for shooting moon, sun and planetary videos, but with twice the field of view of the ASI 662, it is also better suited for shooting compact depth-of-field objects.
The sensitive, back-illuminated Sony IMX664 sensor features a resolution of 2704 x 1536 pixels (4.15 megapixels). The sensor measures 7.84 mm x 4.45 mm and has an image diagonal of 9.02 mm. Thanks to Sony's STARVIS technology, longer shutter speeds can be recorded with low noise while eliminating the "amp glow" or "flare effect" that can occur when signal amplification is applied. Similar to the IMX662 and IMX585, the Sony IMX664 sensor features a very high 91% QE sensitivity,
The sensor is passively cooled by a heat-dissipating pad. As a result, excess heat is transferred to the camera housing, which is then cooled back by the environment. This allows it to operate at temperatures up to 15°C lower during long shutter speed shooting.
The camera is particularly well suited for use with APO refractors even at short focal lengths, but is ideal for example when using the popular 200/1000 newton at 3x focus extension.
In contrast to monochrome cameras, colour "single shot" cameras simplify the work of those who prefer not to shoot with L-RGB colour filtering. As the camera does not have a built-in UV/IR filter, it remains particularly sensitive to the infrared.
The ZWO ASI 664 MC colour camera can record at 95 fps in full resolution, but this is further increased in ROI mode. The cameras have a USB 3.0 connector, which allows for much higher frame rates, meaning that more shots can be captured in a given time at a larger image size, but this requires hardware support of a suitable level of sophistication. Also to ensure smooth data transfer, there is a built-in 256GB memory buffer. It can also be used as a driving camera using the ST4 port.
There's a range of free image capture software available to download from the web, with SharpCap and FireCapture particularly recommended for Windows. The cameras require Windows 7/8/10 or later, but can also be used under Linux and even Macintosh support.
Package includes:
- ZWO ASI 664 MC colour camera
- 1.25" dust cap
- ST4 cable for driving
- 1.25"-T2 adapter with filter thread
- USB 3.0 (2 m)
- User Manual
