ZWO ASI462MC color planetary and autoguider Camera

ASI462MC is the latest color planetary camera of ZWO which adopts Sony IMX462 1/2.8” format 12bit ADC sensor. The 2.9um pixel size accommodates a well depth of 11.2ke with a total of 2.1MP pixels.

With the ability in capturing infrared lights, the super high sensitivity and ultra low readout noise, this camera is considered as the upgraded version of ASI290MC, and will offer great performance for planetary imaging, solar and lunar imaging.

IMX462 sensor

The format of the IMX462 sensor is 1/2.8”. The sensor length and width are 5.6mm*3.2mm and the diagonal is 6.46mm. The resolution is 1936*1096.

HCG mode

The cameras has a built-in HCG mode which can effectively reduce the readout noise at high gain and keep the same wide dynamic range for this camera as at low gain. When the gain is 80, the HCG mode will be automatically turned on. Additionally, the read noise is as low as 0.47e while the dynamic range can still be close to 12stops.

QE curve

ASI462 has very high QE value at 800-1000nm wavelength (almost 2 times higher than that of ASI290MC). It’s sensitivity in near infrared light regions ranks first among all ASI planetary cameras.

ASI462MC vs ASI290MC

In general ASI462MC and ASI290MC share very similar parameters but ASI462MC has lower readout noise and higher QE value.

USB 3.0 Port & ST4 Port

USB 3.0 Port: Providing 5Gb bandwidth to let ASI462 run at 136.1fps (10bit, high speed mode) or 63.9fps (12bit, normal mode) at full resolution(2.1Mega).

ST4 Port: Can be used to connect with auto guide port of mount for guiding.