Imaging Source 1280x960 FireWire Color Astro Telescope Camera without IR Cut Filter

With its 1280 x 960 pixel, the telescope camera DBK 41AF02.AS offers a very high resolution. It outputs uncompressed image data at a speed of 15 images per second. Using the shipped software - IC Capture.AS - you can capture lossless and uncompressed images sequences as AVI files. The CCD camera DBK 41AF02.AS outputs high resolution, uncompressed images at a high frame rate.

These image sequences generate a large amount of data. In order to transfer these to the host PC, a very fast bus is required. Hence, the camera is fitted with a FireWire connector.

Color CCDs output their data in RAW format. For visualization purposes this data cannot be used. It must first be subjected to a color interpolation process, in which the raw data is post processed. Much broader bandwidth is required to transfer interpolated images, than the original raw data from the camera.

Color interpolation can be switched off in the CCD camera DBK 41AF02.AS. In this mode, a transfer rate of 15 color images per second can be achieved. Color interpolation is then carried out by IC Capture.AS on the host PC. Alternatively, should color interpolation not be desirable at all, AVI files can be written in RAW format

The most important part of the astro CCD camera DBK 41AF02.AS is the high resolution color CCD ICX205AK from Sony. It has a resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels at a format of 1/2". Even at long exposure times, its noise is minimal. Due to the high quality of the ICX205AK CCD chip, it is often used in medical image processing applications. Color cameras that do not possess a color filter offer users a large degree of flexibility: Filters may be added as required by a specific application.