Altair Astro Hypercam AA61CFX colour camera

A full-frame, cooled camera that will appeal to dedicated astro imagers

- TIM JARDINE

VITAL STATS

Price £3,850

Sensor Sony IMX455, full-frame CMOS

Resolution 61MP, 9,568 x 6,380

Exposure range 0.1 milliseconds to 3,600 seconds

Accessories 12V power supply, M54 nosepiece, M48 adaptor ring

Size 102mm x 91mm Weight 710g

Supplier Altair Astro

Tel [phone]

www.altair astro.com

Software

AltairCapture software is included with the camera. It allows full control of all the camera settings - including heating and cooling, 'HCG' (High Conversion Gain), 'LCG' (Low Conversion Gain) and 'Ultra Low Read Noise' modes, region of interest imaging and real-time live focusing - all in a simple-to-learn, intuitive interface that keeps any distracting complications to a minimum.

The Hypercam AA61CFX is a full-frame, one-shot colour astronomy camera with 16-bit capability. Designed for serious astrophotography and dedicated enthusiasts, the AA61CFX represents a significant investment. Matching its high-end capabilities to the rest of an imaging setup is a crucial exercise, as this camera will quickly reveal any shortcomings in the equipment it's used with. For our tests we selected a high-grade mount on a permanent pier and a 150mm apochromatic telescope, which provided a large enough colour-corrected, flat imaging field.

Accommodating the large sensor at the heart of the AA61CFX requires a stocky camera body, which is the familiar barrel-shape design. The front of the camera comes with an M54 x 0.75mm female thread, which gives plenty of unobstructed room around the edge of the sensor. Being a one-shot colour camera there is no need for additional filters, as the sensor's optical window has built-in ultraviolet and infrared blocking, but additional specific band filters can be used if they are large enough for the sensor.