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FireWire Monochrome Astro Camera for High Resolution Astrophotography
* Monochrome FireWire camera with IR cut filter
* 1/2" CCD, progressive scan
* Resolution 1280 x 960
* Max. 15 fps
* Max exposure time 60 min
* C/CS Mount
* Software included
* Nosepiece not included
Resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels
The telescope camera DFK 41AF02.AS exceeds with its high resolution (1280 x 960 pixels). Additionally, the DFK 41AF02.AS can
output these high resolutions images at a speed of up to 15 frames per second. Using the shipped software - IC Capture.AS - you
can capture lossless and uncompressed images sequences as AVI files.
Fast display of color images
Using the original images from the CCD (RAW format) for visualization purposes does not make much sense. Only after color
interpolation, is it possible to view the images in common formats. The bandwidth required when transferring interpolated images
is considerably broader than when transferring the original RAW formatted images. The CCD camera DFK 41AF02.AS allows color
interpolation to be switched off, thus achieving 15 color frames per second. In this case, color interpolation is performed by IC
Capture.AS on the host computer. Alternatively, should color interpolation not be desirable at all, AVI files can be written in
RAW format.
Sony® color CCD
The astro CCD camera DFK 41AF02.AS deploys the color CCD ICX205AK, manufactured by Sony®. This chip has a 1/2" format and 1280 x
960 pixel resolution. Even at long exposure times, its noise is minimal. Thanks to the high quality of the ICX205AK, it is often
used in scientific image processing applications.
IR cut filter
Unlike the human eye, CCDs are sensitive to near infrared light (wavelengths over 700nm). It is often not desirable to capture
light that is in the near infrared range. Indeed, such light often disturbs an otherwise perfect shot. Therefore, the CCD camera
DFK 41AF02.AS ships with an IR cut filter.
Fast data transfer via FireWire
The telescope camera DFK 41AF02.AS outputs high resolution images, without compression at high speed. This results in large
amounts of data being generated. In order to transfer these to the host PC, a very fast bus is required. Hence, the camera is
fitted with a FireWire connector.
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Shipped software for Windows®
This camera ships with the camera driver IC WDM DCAM TIS and the control software IC
Capture.AS. To learn more about these software products, please take a look at the software section: |
A device driver and the camera control software IC Capture.AS are shipped with every telescope camera on this web site. Both
components run on Windows® 2000 and Windows XP.
IC WDM DCAM TIS - Device driver for FireWire telescope cameras
The driver IC WDM DCAM TIS embeds all FireWire telescope cameras, manufactured by The Imaging Source, into Windows® 2000 and
Windows® XP. By deploying this driver, all CCD cameras are compatible to DirectX®. Consequently, all The Imaging Source
telescope cameras can be used with all astro-photography software that is compatible to DirectX®.
Software requirements
* PIII/800 MHz, 128 MB
* Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
* Windows® 2000/SP2 or Windows® XP
* DirectX® 9.0c or higher
IC Capture.AS - Camera control software
IC Capture.AS is authored by The Imaging Source and has been specifically designed for use with telescope cameras. The software
ships with all the telescope cameras sold on this web site. Using IC Capture.AS, you can do the following:
* Set all camera parameters
* See the live image data stream from the camera
* Retrieve singular images from the camera and save them as BMP or JPG files.
* Capture image sequences and save the single images as enumerated BMP or JPG files.
* Capture image sequences and save them as lossless, uncompressed AVI files. These files can be post-processed in other
astronomy applications, such as RegiStax.
Software requirements
* PIII/800 MHz, 128 MB
* Graphics card with 24 or 32 bit
* Windows® 2000/SP2 or Windows® XP
* DirectX® 9.0c or higher
Please note that in order to save image sequences, a host computer with a fast CPU and fast secondary hard disk is required.
AVI file generation
With IC Capture.AS you can save the images outputted from the camera as an AVI file. There are two approaches to achieve this:
* If you would like to save a compressed AVI file, simply select the appropriate codec in IC Capture.AS (DivX, for example).
* If you prefer uncompressed AVIs, simply select the shipped codec (uncompressed Y800, uncompressed RGB24, uncompressed
RGB32, uncompressed UYVY).
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