Professional astronomical imaging camera featuring the Sony IMX178 color CMOS sensor with STARVIS and Exmor R technologies, delivering exceptional resolution and low-light performance for planetary, lunar, and solar photography.
The planetary camera G3M178C adopts SONY STARVIS and Exmor R technologies, which are suitable for astronomical photography, microscopy, industrial vision, and more. In addition, it has extremely low readout noise, high sensitivity and 14-bit ADC back-illuminated CMOS image sensor. This enables G3M178C to take high-resolution astronomical photos with exceptional detail and color fidelity.
G3M178C features Sony's advanced STARVIS and Exmor R technologies, delivering exceptional low-light sensitivity and high image quality. The back-illuminated sensor structure maximizes light collection efficiency, achieving over 81% quantum efficiency. With a sensitivity of 425mv at 1/30s, this camera excels in capturing faint celestial details even under challenging conditions.
The G3M178C sensor offers excellent spectral response across the visible spectrum from 380-690nm (with IR-cut filter). The optimized color filter array ensures accurate color reproduction while maintaining high sensitivity, making it ideal for capturing the subtle hues of planetary features and lunar landscapes.
G3M178C features a native 14-bit ADC providing 16,384 levels of tonal gradation, ensuring smooth transitions and preserving subtle details in your astronomical images. With 6.2 megapixels (3040×2048 resolution), the camera captures fine planetary features and lunar craters with exceptional clarity. The camera also supports hardware ROI for increased frame rates when focusing on specific regions of interest.
| Resolution | 14-bit Output | 8-bit Output | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USB3.0 | USB2.0 | USB3.0 | USB2.0 | |
| 3040 × 2048 | 29.1 | 2.4 | 58.6 | 4.9 |
| 1520 × 1024 | 58.2 | 10.4 | 58.2 | 20.8 |
Unit: Frames Per Second (FPS)
G3M178C achieves remarkably low read noise of just 1.4e⁻ at high gain settings, ensuring clean images even when pushing the camera's sensitivity limits. This exceptional noise performance, combined with the high full well capacity of 10.7ke⁻, provides an impressive dynamic range of 82dB, allowing you to capture both bright planetary features and subtle atmospheric details in a single exposure.
The G3M178C supports digital binning from 1×1 to 8×8 in either stacking or averaging method, and hardware binning from 1×1 to 2×2 in averaging method. Hardware pixel binning provides faster frame rates while improving signal-to-noise ratio, making it ideal for capturing fast-moving atmospheric features on planets or for imaging in less-than-ideal seeing conditions.
With USB 3.0 connectivity, G3M178C delivers stable high-speed data transfer, achieving up to 58.6 FPS at full resolution in 8-bit mode. This high frame rate capability is essential for lucky imaging techniques, allowing you to capture hundreds or thousands of frames quickly to select and stack only the sharpest images affected least by atmospheric turbulence.
Standard 1.25" barrel design fits directly into telescope focusers and accepts 1.25" filters when used with the included extender.
The camera operates via USB 3.0 interface power delivery. Upon establishing a connection with the host system using the USB 3.0 cable, the device is immediately ready for operation. This single-cable solution simplifies setup and reduces cable clutter at your imaging station.
| Maximum Frame Rate (USB 3.0) |
14-bit: 29.1 FPS @ 3040×2048 8-bit: 58.6 FPS @ 3040×2048 |
|---|---|
| Read Noise | 1.4e⁻ (minimum) - 2.2e⁻ (maximum) |
| Full Well Capacity | 10.7ke⁻ |
| Peak Quantum Efficiency | >81% |
| Dynamic Range | 82 dB |
| Signal-to-Noise Ratio | 40 dB |
| Exposure Time Range | 0.1ms - 3600s |
| Gain Range | 1× - 100× |
| Sensor | Sony IMX178 Color Back-Illuminated CMOS |
|---|---|
| Image Resolution | 6.2 Megapixels (3040×2048) |
| Pixel Size | 2.4μm × 2.4μm |
| Sensor Format | 1/1.8-inch (8.92mm diagonal) |
| Image Area | 7.4mm × 5.0mm |
| Shutter Type | Rolling Shutter |
| ADC Bit Depth | 14-bit |
| Spectral Range | 380-690nm (with IR-cut filter) |
| G Sensitivity | 425mv with 1/30s |
| Data Interface | USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 |
|---|---|
| Camera Adapter | Standard 1.25" for telescope connection Standard C adapter for industrial lens |
| Back Focus Distance | 17.5mm with C adapter 12.5mm with CS adapter |
| Camera Dimensions | Diameter 37mm × Height 72.4mm |
| Weight | 70 grams |
| Cooling | Passive cooling |
| Supported OS | Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10/11 Mac OS X, Linux |
| SDK Support | Native C/C++, C#/VB.NET, Python Java, DirectShow, Twain, etc. |
Camera performance can be evaluated with e⁻/ADU, Read Noise, Full Well and Dynamic Range. The G3M178C demonstrates excellent performance characteristics across its gain range.
Camera Settings: Full resolution, RAW 14-bit mode
The performance curves show G3M178C's behavior across different gain settings. Read noise decreases from 2.2e⁻ to an impressive 1.4e⁻ as gain increases, making it excellent for capturing faint planetary details. The full well capacity of 10.7ke⁻ at low gain provides good headroom for bright targets, while the camera maintains over 8.6 stops of dynamic range even at maximum gain settings.
Conversion factor from electrons to digital units, ranging from 0.65 e⁻/ADU at minimum gain to 0.01 e⁻/ADU at maximum gain.
Exceptionally low read noise of 1.4e⁻ at high gain ensures clean images with minimal noise interference, critical for planetary imaging.
10.7ke⁻ full well capacity provides excellent headroom for capturing bright celestial objects without saturation.
82dB dynamic range allows simultaneous capture of bright and dim features, essential for high-contrast planetary surfaces.
The G3M series body, made from tough alloy, ensures a heavy-duty, workhorse solution. The camera is designed with high-quality IR-CUT or AR coating to protect the camera sensor and block IR while eliminating reflection. With no moving parts included, these measures ensure a rugged, robust solution with an increased lifespan when compared to other industrial camera solutions.
