SBIG STF-8050C Color Bayer Camera

Over the years, the STF-8050C Color Bayer Camera has emerged as a top choice for photography and videography enthusiasts, thanks to its high-quality, durable, and innovative design. This advanced camera model, part of the SBIG STF-8050 series, is available in monochrome (STF-8050M) and two color models. The color models are equipped with either the standard Bayer Color Filter Pattern (STF-8050C) or the higher sensitivity TRUESENSE Sparse Color Filter Pattern (STF-8050SC).

The heart of this sophisticated camera is the KAI-08050 Image Sensor, an 8-megapixel CCD in a 4/3" (22 mm diagonal) optical format. This sensor is based on the TRUESENSE 5.5 micron Interline Transfer CCD Platform, renowned for its broad dynamic range, exceptional imaging performance, and flexible readout architecture. The TRUESENSE Sparse Color Filter Pattern offers a 2x improvement in light sensitivity compared to a standard color Bayer part, ensuring that your images are always vibrant and detailed.

The STF-8050C Color Bayer Camera is optimized for fast full frame download and maximum cooling, making it an ideal choice for high-speed photography applications. It boasts a high resolution of 8.3 megapixels, and a 16-bit frame can be downloaded in about half a second using the dual channel readout mode. Despite this rapid download rate, the read noise remains exceptionally low, about 9e-.

This camera is designed with exceptionally strong cooling, capable of a cooling delta greater than -50 degrees C. This feature reduces the need for dark frames and ensures that the camera at room temperature can cool enough to reduce the dark current to 1/100th of an electron per pixel per second, or less.

The STF-8050C is an excellent choice for solar, lunar, and planetary imaging, while still being a very capable deep sky imager. For acquiring dark frames, mechanical shuttering can be achieved using an SBIG filter wheel with one slot blocked. The combination of a large 8.1 megapixel CCD, high resolution 5.5 micron pixels, low noise 16-bit images, and fast exposure times make the STF-8050C camera a standout choice for solar and lunar imaging.