Discover the power of astrophotography with the Altair Hypercam 294C PRO TEC Camera featuring a remarkable 4GB DDR3 buffer. Capture stunning, high-resolution celestial images with ease and precision. Unleash your creativity and take your astrophotography to new heights with this cutting-edge camera designed to deliver exceptional performance and unmatched image quality. Explore the cosmos like never before with the Altair Hypercam 294C PRO TEC Camera - your gateway to the wonders of the night sky.

The TEC-cooled Hypercam 294C Colour camera has a Thermoelectric cooling system for extremely low noise imaging.  

The Hypercam 294C has a 11.6mp Sony IMX294 4/3rds sensor (23.2mm diagonal) capable of 14bit depth. It is Back Side Illuminated (BSI) with both STARVIS and Exmor-R ratings, making it ideal for low light imaging applications such as astronomy.

The Hypercam features TEC-cooling, amp glow reduction for easier image capture and processing, as well as an an impressive 66ke- full well capacity.

A sealed chamber system with heated optical window enable a two year frost free guarantee*

Due to it's low read noise, the Hypercam 294C is suitable for both deepsky and solar system imaging with ROI, as well as "frame stacking and averaging" for video astronomy. The TEC system can be switched off for fast exposure solar system imaging. 

In fact this sensor outperforms the Panasonic sensor used in our Altair 1600C Camera by such a wide margin, we have stopped manufacturing them. It also outperforms similar CCD sensors in both read noise and sensitivity.

The Hypercam 294C has the following features:

• Amp glow reduction.
• TEC Cooling system - cools down to -40C below ambient.
• Temperature sensor, with data available in realtime, temperature written to .FITS files for easier processing.
• Free offer armoured case.
• 12v Power supply (specify EU UK or USA cord)
• ROI (Region of Interest) for cropped higher speed solar, lunar and planetary imaging.
• Binning supported.

SPECIAL OFFER! FREE 1 YEAR SharpCap PRO License! Includes ultra-accurate polar alignment assist, deepsky CMOS exposure time optimisation assist, live stacking for EAA/Video astronomy, live darkframe and flat frame subtration. Click here for more SC PRO features. Just download the latest SharpCap, connect your camera, register when the screen pops up and sign up for your free license.  Download SharpCap 3.0+ now to take advantage of this special offer.

Easier than a DSLR and no "astro modding" required: Unlike a DSLR, there's no need to risk modifying your camera to capture detail in red hydrogen wavelengths, because it has no "red blocking filter" in the way. Hypercam is much easier to use and focus than a DSLR, thanks to the live preview mode which shows uncompressed video at full resolution. You can see a tiny star-point clearly in real-time, because there is no video compression like with a DSLR video stream. There are no clumsy power connectors which drop out easily, no firmware to fight with your software, no mirror to lock up, and a "true" uncompressed RAW mode output. You get exactly what this Sony sensor "sees" from without alterations.

Low read noise. The Sony IMX294 CMOS sensor has very low read noise at approx. 2e, wide dynamic range. Being Back Illuminated, it has high-sensitivity, low dark current, no smear, and zero blooming characteristics as found on CCD sensors. BSI technology moves the sensor circuitry behind the pixel where it does not block light, resulting in higher quantum efficiency than a CCD sensor. 
 
HGC mode: HGC is can be switched on in the AltairCapture software, allowing read noise to stay below 2e but preserving dynamic range of 13 stops. 

Recommended Telescopes for the Hypercam 294C: With a pixel size of 4.63 microns, and an active imaging area of 17.47x12.86mm, the Hypercam 294C performs well with telescopes of around 750mm imaging focal length or more. It will tend to under-sample at shorter focal lengths (therefore the Hypercam 183M or 26M series cameras are suggested for shorter focal lengths). In particular the Hypercam 294C is recommended for Altair Wave Series 115mm, 130mm and 152mm refractors, 200mm and larger Newtonians, and Schmidt Cassagrains (SCTs) such as the Meade and Celestron ranges, Celestron Hyperstar and RASA scopes. Basically telescopes with a larger spot size are more suitable for the 294C sensor pixel size. For lunar and planetary imaging, at long focal lengths, the 294C is is quite a formidable solar system camera.

Try deep-sky "lucky" imaging. The low read noise lets you stack shorter exposures to take advantage of the low read noise, reducing atmospheric aberration, mount tracking errors and wind vibration. The more frames you stack, the smoother the image becomes, and the higher the cumulative dynamic range. In this way, long cumulative exposure times of many hours can be achieved with a modest mount. The result is a smoother, sharper image with more detail.

Video Astronomy/EAA Friendly. The Hypercam 294C camera is not only desirable for Deepsky Imaging - it's also great for Video Astronomy or "EAA" Electronically Assisted Astronomy. The resolution, high sensitivity, and amp glow reduction technology are well suited to this task. What's more, you can use the Live Stacking features in the AltairCapture software or SharpCap PRO. All-sky time-lapse imaging or video is easy with a DSLR lens and optional Hypercam Lens Adapters (product code: CLA-EOS or CLA-NIKON).

Specifications

SONY Exmor R BSI IMX294 Colour sensor
Sensor Size: 4/3" diagonal (23.2mm)
Exposure duration shortest/longest: 0.1 ms (0.00014 secs) / 5 secs (Video Mode)
0.1 ms (0.0001 secs) / 1000 secs (Trigger Mode)
Bit depth: 8bit & 14bit mode switchable
Pixel size microns: 4.63 x 4.63 um
Resolution in pixels: 4128x2808 (11.6mp)
Recording System: Still Picture and Video
Region of Interest (ROI) support: Available
Approx. Max frame rates (assuming computer Bus operating at full bandwidth)*:
4128x2808  35FPS
4096x2160  39FPS
2048x1080  71FPS
1360x720   97FPS
640x480 ROI 63FPS
320x240 ROI 63FPS
14bit mode:
Approx. 50% of above FPS.*
* Based on average testing. May be revised as we get more data. The shorter the exposure duration, the faster the frame rate.
An expensive PC does not guarantee a fast frame rate because PC bus and main board architecture vary.
 
Sensor QE / Quantum Efficiency: Approx. 90%
Readout: Progressive Scan
Shutter: Electronic Rolling Shutter

What's in the box?

Camera body with internal Thermoelectric cooling system and front female M42x0.75mm T-Thread interface (17.5mm backfocus).
A spare, rechargeable desicant cartridge is included for servicing (Note: This should not be replaced unless confirmed by your dealer).
1.8m High-speed USB3.0 cable.
2" OD Nosepiece with standard 2" M48x0.75mm filter thread on the front. (code ALTAIRH-2IN) to accept standard astro filters.
Built-in UV-IR Blocking Filter, AR coatings. (Removable for sensor cleaning).
Plastic screw-on dust cap.
Armoured sealed case with foam insert.
110v/240v Power supply for camera (specify US, UK or EU plug when ordering).
Note: This camera does not come with software in the box. To operate the camera you will need to download the latest camera drivers at www.altairastro.help (opens new window)