ASI071MC Pro: What Improvements Have Been Achieved?

As we may know before, ZWO ASI071MC Pro was made with the Legendary Sony CMOS chip IMX071. It fits telescopes of all sizes and does not have many requirements for flatteners. The perfect performance in dark field with extremely low amp glow makes it an excellent camera for long exposures. Since we already have a cool version of ASI071, in this article, we are going to reveal the differences between these two cameras. Let’s see what changes and improvements ASI071MC Pro has made on earth.

ASI071MC Pro has been redesigned from the inside out, using a larger 86mm shell to accommodate bigger boards and internal devices.

 

Improvement No.1: 6 tightened screws

The new sealing way brings excellent sealability for the camera, also keeps it safe and sound in rough roads. No matter how bad the weather is, ASI071MC Pro can always stay dry and sealed inside.      

 

Improvement No.2: DDR Memory Buffer

DDR memory buffer can act like computer memory. The image date from CMOS will be saved into DDR memory buffer at a very high speed, then slowly transferred to the hard disk through the USB cable. One advantage to this is that the speed of exporting images can be very fast, while the noise accumulated in the readout process could be greatly decreased. Another advantage is that the images won’t be lost even if something wrong happens with the connection between the camera and computer. It can be re-transferred.  

DDR memory buffer is the main difference between ASI “Cool” and “Pro” cameras.

 

Improvement No.3: Dark current 

Thanks to DDR buffer and new improvement of hardware design, ASI071MC Pro’s control ability to dark current has been greatly increased. The dark current is very close to that of a cooled CCD camera now, and will only be 0.00064e/s/pix when it comes to -15℃.

 

Improvement No.4: Main parameters

ASI071MC Pro offers very good performance for astrophotography. Low read noise, high dynamic range.

 

Improvement No.5: QE value

The QE peak value of ASI071MC Pro is about 50%. Such efficiency is not suitable for snapshot obviously, instead, you can use it to take some great long-exposure photos.

 

Some other features of ASI071MC Pro:

1. It includes a unique tilt adapter. You can now easily adjust the camera imaging plane with the adapter outside without screwing off the camera cover.

 

2. It equips with2 extra USB ports which allow you to connect more USB devices(like guide cameras). That will greatly help solve the USB HUB shortage problem.

 

3. All necessary cables and adapters are included with ASI071MC Pro in the box. You can match them with the 55mm flattener to get 55mm back focus!

 

 ASI071 Gallery:

 

Rho Ophiuchi and Antares region

Adam Jesionkiewicz

Imaging telescope or lens: William Optics Star 71 f/4.9 Astrograph

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI071MC-Cool

Mount:iOptron CEM25-EC

M42

HappySkies

Imaging telescope or lens: HyperStar C8 v4

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI071MC Pro

Mount: Celestron AVX

M51

José Luis Bedmar

Imaging telescope or lens: GSO RC12 truss

Imaging camera: ZWO ASI071MC Pro

Mount: Sky-Watcher EQ8 Pro

M33

Reto Bolliger

Imaging telescope or lens: TS Optics TS PHOTOLINE 102/714 APO

Imaging camera: ZWO Company ASI071MC Pro Cooled

Mount: Sky-Watcher AZEQ6 GT