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High Resolution

26 Megapixels, APS-C format

The QHY268C is a cooled, back-illuminated, color CMOS camera based on the Sony IMX571 sensor with native 16-bit A/D and 3.76um pixels.

Native 16-Bits

On-chip 16-bit A/D, 65536 Levels

The Sony IMX571 sensor has on-chip 16-bit A/D for highest resolution of greyscale. The output is real 16-bits with 65536 levels. Compared to 12-bit and 14-bit A/D, 16-bits provides higher sampling resolution. At high gain, the camera yields close to 1e-/ADU with no sample error and low read noise.

High Dynamic Range

51ke- Full Well at 3.76um

75ke- at Extended mode

One benefit of the back-illuminated CMOS structure is improved full well capacity. This is particularly helpful for sensors with small pixels. Even with unbinned, the 3.76um pixels of the QHY268C has a full well capacity of 51ke-. QHY268C also offer a unique read mode up to 75ke per pixel.

Ultra Low Readout Noise

0.7e- Noise at High gain

3.5e- Noise at Low Gain

The QHY268C has only 0.7 electron of read noise at highest gain and 6.8 FPS at full resolution readout speed. One electron of read noise means the camera can achieve a SNR>3 at only 4 to 6 photons. This is perfect performance when conditions are photon limited, i.e., short exposures, narrow band imaging, etc., making this large area sensor ideal for sky surveys and time domain astronomy.

Backside-Illuminated, High QE

Very Low Dark current, Electronic Shutter

The back-illuminated Sony Exmor sensor has about twice the QE of similar front illuminated sensors. In addition the dark current is only 0.0005e/pixel/sec @ -20C. In general, a fan-blade mechanical shutter may fail after several hundred thousand cycles and is subject to intermittent problems in very cold weather. The advantage of an electronic shutter over a mechanical shutter is high reliability and stability when the observer takes a large number of images.