Moravian Instruments G3-6300 Spezifikationen

G3 and G4 CCDOperating Manual

These cameras are able to acquire color image in single exposure, without the necessity to change color filters. On the other side color mask brings l

Pixel size9×9 µmImaging area27,7×18,4 mmFull well capacity Approx. 100 000 e-Output node capacity Approx. 220 000 e-Dark current 1 e-/s/pixel at 0°CDa

Model G3-16000G3-16000 uses 16 MPx CCD Truesense Imaging KAI-16070.Resolution 4888 3256 pixelsPixel size7.4 7.4 µmImaging area 36.224.1 mmFull we

Dark signal doubling 6,3 °CCamera Electronics16-bit A/D converter with correlated double sampling ensures high dynamic range and CCD chip-limited read

15 e- (Preview)Full frame download 9.8 s (Low noise)8.1 s (Preview)Model G3-1000Gain 3 e-/ADU (1×l binning)5 e-/ADU (other binnings)System read noise

Full frame download 16.3 s (Low noise)13.1 s (Preview)Model G4-16000Gain 1.6 e-/ADU (all binnings)System read noise 9 e- (Low noise)11 e- (Preview)Ful

The cooling performance depends on the environmental conditions and also on the power supply. If the power supply voltage drops below 12 V, the maximu

consumption 52 W maximum coolingAdapter input voltage 100-240 V AC/50-60 HzAdapter output voltage 12 V DC/5 AAdapter maximum power 60 WPower supply co

Internal mechanical shutter Yes, blade shutterShortest exposure time 0.2 sLongest exposure time Limited by chip saturation onlyInternal filter wheel(G

Illustration 5: Head of the G3 camera without internal filter wheelIllustration 6: G4 camera head19

Version 2.4Modified on January 20th, 2014All information furnished by Moravian Instruments is believed to be accurate. Moravian Instruments reserves t

Package ContentsG3 and G4 CCD cameras are supplied in the foam-filled, hard carrying case containing:● Camera body with a user-chosen telescope adapte

long connection. Third-party USB extenders allow USB connection tens or even hundreds meters long.● An USB Flash Driver or CD-ROM with camera system d

Clear (C) filterOptional clear filter (optical glass with AR coatings) of the same thickness like RGB filters can be used in addition to (or instead o

T-thread long M42×0.75 mm inner thread, preserves 55 mm back focal distance as defined by Tamron.Pentax (Praktica) lens adapterM42×1 mm inner thread,

thread) cause vignetting with this large chip. E.g. TeleVue Paracorr PSB-1100 with appropriate adapter must be used with KAI-11000 CCD.If the mounting

M68×1 adapterAdapter with both inner and outer M68×1 threadCanon EOS lens adapterStandard Canon EOS bayonet adapterAdapters are attached to the camera

Getting StartedAlthough the G3 and G4 cameras are intended for operation at night (or for very low-light conditions at day), it is always better (and

connect it to the host PC using the included USB A-B cable. Windows detects new USB device and opens hardware installation wizard. The system driver i

Windows XP and Windows Vista System Driver InstallationThe operating system notifies the new USB device was plugged in the “Found new hardware bubble”

folder. The package can be even run directly from USB Flash Drive or CD-ROM.SIPS needs the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 libraries to work. These librarie

Table of ContentsIntroduction...5Camera Technical Specific

SIPS configuration filesThe software package distinguishes two types of configuration:● Global configuration, common for all users.● User-specific con

file, beginning from the position and open state of individual tool windows, to the preferred astrometry catalog and parameters for searching stars in

Filters are described in the [filters] Section. Every line in this section describes one filter position. Filter description is a comma-separated list

If there are more filters in the camera than the configuration file describes, another filters will be added with undefined name. And if the configura

directly in SIPS camera control tool, limiting camera resolution this way is not very convenient when multiple frames of different types (light, dark,

cable. Illustration. 10: Power connector (right) and USB connector (left) on the bottom side of the camera headNote the computer recognizes the camer

Camera LED state indicatorThere is a two-color LED on the camera body, close to the USB connector. The LED is functional only upon camera startup not

Illustration 11: Camera Id number is displayed in brackets after camera name in SIPSBut the user always needs to distinguish individual cameras – for

Camera OperationCamera operation depends on the software used. Scientific cameras usually cannot be operated independently on the host computer and G3

connected. Standard 2" barrel adapter allows camera connection to vast majority of astronomical telescopes.2" barrel adapter can cause vigne

Camera LED state indicator...36Working with Multiple Cameras...

The following chapters provide only a brief description of camera operation under SIPS (Scientific Image Processing System) program, supplied with the

Also notice the yellow line in the graph – it displays camera internal temperature. This temperature also somewhat grows as the cooling utilization gr

What is the best temperature for the CCD chip? The answer is simple – the lower the better. But the minimum temperature is limited by the camera const

It is necessary to define few parameters before the first shot. First, it is necessary to define the image type – choose “Light” from “Exposure” combo

Open the “Histogram and Stretch” tool .Illustration 15: Histogram and Stretch toolThe exact meaning of the histogram chart is explained in the SIPS s

effects of unevenly illuminated field, CCD thermal noise etc. significantly degrade image quality when imaging dim deep-sky objects for many minutes.T

Illustration 17: The dark frame corresponding to the above raw image Illustration 18: The raw image with subtracted dark frameSubtraction of the dark

possible to distinguish which part of the nebula is emission (red) and which is reflection (blue). But astronomical cameras are only rarely equipped w

sensitive to changes of color than to changes of brightness. This is why the CCD chip can be binned when capturing color images to 2×2 or 3×3 to signi

Illustration 22: ...and a resulting imageIf we take images for individual colors and also luminance image, possibly with different binning and exposur

IntroductionThank you for choosing the Moravian Instruments CCD camera. G3 and G4 series of CCD cameras were developed for imaging under extremely low

Every pixel receives light of particular color only (red, green or blue). But color image consists of pixels with all three colors specified. So it is

and no raw monochrome image is shown) or to perform this processing anytime later.Debayer processing can be performed from “Image Transform” tool (to

mix pixels of different colors. Images must be Debayer processed first and then stacked.Balancing colorsCCD chip sensitivity to red, green and blue li

53Illustration 24: Histogram and Stretch tool shows histograms of individual colors

Some General Rules for Successful ImagingAdvanced CCD cameras caused a revolution in amateur astronomy. Amateurs started to capture images of deep-sky

● Focus image properly. Almost unnoticeable focuser shift affects star diameter. Focusing, especially on fast telescopes, is critical for sharp images

first successful night out. Nights can become cloudy or foggy, the full Moon can shine too much, the seeing can be extremely bad… Number of things can

Camera MaintenanceThe G3 CCD camera is a precision optical and mechanical instrument, so it should be handled with care. Camera should be protected fr

The silica-gel container is accessible from the back side of the camera head.The slotted desiccant chamber cap can be unscrewed e.g. by a coin. Pour o

Warning:The blade shutter rotates 180° between individual snapshots. Camera cover could be opened only when the shutter is closed. If for instance the

G3 and G4 cameras are designed to operate with USB 2.0 high-speed (480 Mbps) hosts. Although they are fully backward compatible with USB 1.1 full-spee

Changing the Whole Filter WheelThe whole filter wheel can be changed at once. It is necessary to remove the front part of the camera case the same way

Power Supply FuseThe power supply inside the camera is protected against connecting of inverted-polarity power plug or against connecting of too-high

Camera Technical SpecificationsG3 and G4 series of CCD cameras are manufactured with two kinds of Truesense Imaging (formerly Kodak) CCD detectors:● G

● G3 cameras with Truesense Imaging KAI Interline Transfer (IT) architecture (G4 cameras are not produced with IT detectors). There is a shielded colu

G3 and G4 camera models:Model G3-6300 G3-1000 G3-11000 G3-11000CCCD chip KAF-6303E KAF-1001E KAI-11002 KAI-11002Resolution3072×2048 1024×1024 4032×268