Altair Hypercam 174M Mono CMOS Camera
Unlock the wonders of the night sky with the Altair Astro Hypercam 174M Mono. This cutting-edge astronomy camera is designed to capture stunning, high-resolution monochromatic images of celestial objects with unrivaled clarity and precision. Whether you're an amateur stargazer or a seasoned astrophotographer, the Hypercam 174M empowers you to explore the cosmos like never before. Discover the beauty of galaxies, nebulae, and planets in remarkable detail. Elevate your astrophotography experience with the Altair Astro Hypercam 174M Mono and embark on a journey of awe-inspiring astronomical discoveries.
The Hypercam 174 is ideal for high speed solar and high resolution planetary imaging at long focal lengths, where fast frame rates, and high dynamic range are required to get the most detail in post processing. Because it's fan-cooled the Hypercam 174 is the best choice for solar imaging, maintaining internal electronics and sensor temperature at reliable levels for high speed operation.
You get a FREE 1 year SharpCap PRO License with this camera. Click here SharpCap PRO feature info. Just download the latest free version of SharpCap and connect your camera, then follow these steps to claim your Altair SharpCap PRO license. Sharpcap PRO has the amazingly accurate guidescope polar alignment routine, focus assistance, live flat field subtraction (great for solar imaging!), and many more great features for deepsky, Video astronomy or solar system imaging.
The Altair Hypercam IMX174 camera has the sought-after Sony Pregius Global Shutter IMX174 CMOS sensor, a very good match for the Daystar Quark and Altair Astro refractor combinations allowing prominences and solar surface detail to be captured in the same frame, without having to over-expose the image and lose detail. Images sharpen very well using wavelets with this sensor. The Hypercam IMX174 camera has in fact been developed with solar imaging in mind (Altair Astro partners are keen solar imagers!), and works very well with Hydrogen Alpha solar filters including SolarScope and the Daystar Quark. (Check out the Altair Camera Image Gallery for samples).
To sum it up, the most desirable features of the Hypercam 174M Mono camera are:
- Larger format 1/2" sensor
- Extremely fast frame rates of up to 160fps and Global shutter eliminates motion distortion
- Pattern noise artefacts (common with global shutter CMOS cameras) is eliminated
- Read noise of 6 electrons (e-)
- Saturation (full well) capacity 32,000 electrons (e-)
- Dynamic range 73 dB
Video astronomy and long exposure deepsky imaging: Although the Hypercam IMX174 is considered the best tool for long focal length solar system imaging, it will deliver very good results for video astronomy (or EAA) using the Live Stacking features in the free AltairCapture software or SharpCap.
Speed and reliability in one camera: USB3.0 and on-board memory buffering give much faster transfer speeds than the GPCAM USB2.0 series, pushing the USB3.0 format to the limit, yet within a stable envelope.
QUALITY software and drivers included: Unlike cheaper cameras, Altair Astro has spent considerable time developing the extensively featured and intuitive AltairCapture software, which can be downloaded from www.altairastro.help. AltairCapture is a fast, stable 64 bit Windows application, which allows full control of the camera in high speed video or still mode supporting all the major file formats useful for astro imaging. Furthermore, the popular PHD Guiding, SharpCap, APT and NINA astro software are directly supported. ASCOM drivers are also available for download at www.altairastro.help where you can also get regular driver and software updates. The installation process is simple, and unlike with cheaper cameras, there is no need to waste time tweaking .DLL files or firmware to make your camera perform as expected.
Wide compatibility: Although the Hypercam is a USB3.0 camera, it is also fully compatible with USB2.0 ports when a longer cable and less speed are required, for example in deepsky or video astronomy using the live stacking features in AltairCapture or Sharpcap.
Autoguiding: The camera has an ST4 auto-guiding port, and can be used to auto-guide with mounts from all the major manufacturers supporting ST4 format, including iOptron, Celestron and Skywatcher.
Fan cooling: The Hypercam is cooled with an internal low vibration fan, powered though the USB port. The fan can be switched on or off and the speed controlled in AltairCapture and SharpCap. Cool air is drawn in through the vents at the side of the casing, over a large internal heat-sink. The heat-sink is connected directly with the sensor board just like a computer CPU. The free flow of air through the casing cools not only the sensor, but all the internal electronics boards. Cooling is desirable for long exposure imaging to reduce thermal noise. Some camera casings get uncomfortably hot during a solar imaging session. The Hypercam is designed for consistent, reliable solar imaging with a solar filter and diagonal or Hershel Wedge. With the fan running, the Hypercam electronics and sensor will remain cooler than other cameras.
Supported File formats: The camera can be fully controlled in AltairCapture and SharpCap to output uncompressed .AVI and .SER video files for solar system imaging, as well as all common still image formats such as .JPEG .PNG .TIFF .BMP, and .FITS (for deepsky imaging) to mention just a few. The Hypercam supports 8bit or 12bit output. The 12 bit output mode can be used for deep sky imaging with less frames needing to be stacked and a wider pixel intensity range. Find out more about astronomy camera video & file formats here.
Support & warranty: Altair delivers English-speaking support with a 2 year manufacturer warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. The AltairCapture software interface supports English, German, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, and Turkish languages.