Product Questions and Answers
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Details
The QHY 294 M - PRO Serie
The QHY 294 Pro Series is a 4/3-inch camera equipped with the Sony IMX 492 (mono) sensor. The 294 Pro has 11.7 megapixels at 4.63 µm and 14 bit data depth. Sony supplies those sensor with a fixed pixel binning of a 2x2 matrix.
The IMX 492 chip has 46.8 million 2.315µm pixels, which Sony 2x2 bins on-chip to create the sensor's advertised 11.7 million 4.63 µm pixel array. The QHY 294 Pro serie camera is capable of locking and unlocking the on-chip binning to provide two readout modes. The first mode reads the sensor in "locked" mode to produce 11.7 MP images with 4.63µm pixel size and 14 bits per pixel. The second mode unlocks the binning to produce 46.8 MP images with 2.315 µm pixel size at 12 bits per pixel.
Important note:
Due to the quad-bayer matrix and a 2x2 binning defined by Sony as standard, the QHY294C-Pro is technically a special case. After internal tests, we can confirm that most applications support the 11M and 47M mode and a choice between 1x1 and 2x2 binning is possible. Testing was done with the native QHY driver and ASCOM. However, the software APT produced no output with 2x2 binning enabled.RAW files in binned 11M mode can be debayered with the RGGB pattern. Users report that in 47M mode, only B&W images are displayed or written in the live preview and output file respectively, even when the debayer preview option is enabled. RGB24 should be chosen as the color space instead of RAW8 or RAW16. Presumably the color interpolation in RGB24 is processed in-camera and results are correctly displayed 47M color images, compared to the RAW modes which are incorrectly displayed in grayscale due to the software-dependent external RAW converters not supporting the quad-bayer matrix natively.
A note concerning the manual white balance in 47M mode and RGB24 color space: Setting deviating RGB weights led us to see a matrix structure at the pixel level, which can easily be interpreted as incorrect color interpolation. Pleased customers could completely fix the effect by setting identical values (e.g. R=128, G=128, B=128). SharpCap 4.0 was used as the recording tool and SIPS 3.32 as the display tool.[As of 04.2022]
High quantum efficiency and low readout noise
Preliminary tests indicate that this sensor will be an outstanding performer with extraordinarily high QE, low read noise, and low dark current. The 294 has 6.8 to 6.9 e- read noise at the lowest gain, 1.6 e- read noise near unity gain, and 1.0 e- read noise at highest gain, with great dynamic range!
Dual Gain Auto Switch
HGC/LGC MODE - Boosts Low Light Performance
The QHY294 Pro CMOS sensor has a dual gain mode, HGC (high gain) and LGC (Low gain). The QHY294 Pro will switch the two modes automatically when the gain is set to 1600 you will get the benefits of the ultra low read noise (1 e- to 1.6 e-) of the HGC mode and a full well capacity of about 14.5 ke- at the switch point setting.
The IMX 492 adopts Type 4/3 as the optical size, and supports various output formats (angle of view) including 10M (3704 × 2778) for aspect ratio 4:3, UHD (3840 × 2160) for 16:9, and 4096 × 2160 for 17:9. In addition, the A/D converter can be selected from 10 bits, 12 bits, and 14 bits according to the application.
Pixel Size
Expanded Pixel Mode from 11.7 MP to 46.8 MP
The IMX 492 chip has 46.8 million 2.315um pixels, which Sony 2x2 bins on-chip to create the sensor's advertised 11.7 million 4.63 µm pixel array. The QHY 294 Pro serie camera is capable of locking and unlocking the on-chip binning to provide two readout modes. The first mode reads the sensor "locked" mode to produce 11.7 MP images with 4.63 µm pixel size and 14 bits per pixel. The second read mode unlocks the binning to produce 46.8 MP images with 2.315 µm pixel size at 12 bits per pixel. Further data of the two readout modes can be found in the following table:
QHY 294 M PRO Modus 0 Modus 1 Pixels 11,7 MP 46,8 MP Pixel size 4,63 µm 2,315 µm Read Noise 1,27 to 6,91 e- 0,64 to 3,4 e- Full Well Capacity 66,2 Ke- Ca. 17 Ke- Dynamic Range > 13 Stops > 12 Stops Dark Current @ /-20° Celsius < 0,0025 e- < 0,0025 e- 
With the ability to use the 294M PRO with two different pixel sizes, it can also be used for two different focal lengths, matching the optimum resolution of the telescope.
- Mode 1 for telephoto lenses and Mode 0 for longer focal length systems.
- For narrow-band photographers, the 296 M-PRO can be combined with the QHY Color Filter Wheel (CFW 3) (various versions available) with or without QHY Off-Axis Guider (OAG) (various versions available) with adapters that provide the 55 mm back focus required by many optical systems.
Connection adapters of the 294 PRO series, including OffAxis Guider and filter wheel. More details you can find on the original QHYCCD webpage: QHY294 Pro Specifications
The QHY294M is compatible with the new CFW3 filter wheel and OAG with adapters that will provide 55mm of backfocus required by many optical systems.
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