New Never Used Altair GPCAM3 287M Mono USB3 Camera. RVO has purchased this camera but it has never been out of the box or used. 3 months warranty.
The Altair GPCAM3 287M is a specialist solar, planetary and guiding camera with an extremely fast frame rate and Global shutter.
The frame rate can reach a maximum 540fps on a high-end laptop, earning it the nickname of Baby Shark.
The 0.4mp sensor has 6.9µm pixels in a 720x540 pixel array to suit long focal length telescopes.
This camera is of particular interest to planetary, lunar and solar imagers, especially for long focal length, high resolution imaging. We recommend this camera for advanced users, who are familiar with long focal length imaging with a crop factor.
The pixel size is well suited to refractors of 115mm or larger, and the Altair Solar Wedge and 2-3X Flat Field Barlow, or the DayStar Quark, as well as reflectors of larger aperture using Baader Astro Solar Film and the Altair NUV 395nm filter.
Auto Guiding:
Another application is guiding with an OAG or Off Axis Guider, where the relatively large pixel size would be ideal for guiding at the full focal length of the main imaging scope. The camera has an ST4 auto-guiding port, and can be used to auto-guide directly with mounts from all the major manufacturers.
Lunar and planetary imaging: Not only is the GPCAM287M ideal for high speed Mono planetary imaging with filters, but also delivers impressive high power lunar imaging results with large reflectors.
File formats: The camera supports 8bit or 12bit ADC output. The camera can be fully controlled in AltairCapture and SharpCap to output uncompressed .AVI and .SER video files for solar system imaging, compressed MP4 files for social media uploads, as well as all common still image formats such as .JPEG .PNG (12bit) .TIFF (12bit) .BMP, and .FITS (12bit) for deepsky imaging.
Included in the box:
Camera body with dual USB3.0/2.0 socket and ST4 guide port.
1.5m High-speed USB3.0 cable.
1.5m ST4 guide cable.
1.25 inch x nosepiece with female 1.25" filter thread on the front.
(Optional 2" OD Nosepiece with dual 2 and 1.25" filter threads is available, code GPCAM-2IN)
CS-Mount insert (12.5mm back-focus) is pre-installed on camera. (Optional 5mm extension adapter is available for C-Mount lenses requiring 17.5mm back-focus.)
Removable Clear blocking filter with AR anti-reflection coatings. (Removable for sensor cleaning).
Plastic dust cap 1.25".
Silicon dust trapping dust cap for darkframes.
Note: This camera does not come with software in the box. To operate the camera you will need to download the latest camera drivers at www.altairastro.help (opens new window).
Sensor & performance specifications:
USB Interface: USB 3.0 and USB2.0 supported.
Colour/Mono: Mono/ Color
Sensor: SONY IMX287
Resolution: 0.4 Megapixel, 720px x 540px
Pixel Size: 6.9x6.9 m
Sensor Size: 1/2.9" 4.97mm x3.73 mm
Sensor Diagonal : 6.21 mm
Optical Window: AR-coated 350-1050nm transmission wavelength
Shutter: Global shutter
Read Noise: 1.41 0.91e-
Qe Approx: 71%@525nm
Full Well Capacity: 11459.84 e-
Adc: 8 / 12 bit
Cooling: Air Passive Cooled
Max Frame Rate:
8bit mode:
720x540 540FPS
640x480 611FPS ROI
320x240 1124FPS ROI
12bit mode:
Approx. 50% of above
Guide Port: Yes
Region Of Interest ROI: Yes
Camera Body Format and compatibility:
Camera body is shaped like a 1.25 telescope eyepiece and will replace an eyepiece in standard 1.25 accessory ports common on almost all telescopes.
Passive Cooling: CNC machined aluminium casing with external Heat-sink contacting rear of sensor.
Camera body overall length: 73 mm
Weight grams: 70 g (camera net weight)
Sensor to flange distance and lens compatibility:
Front cover glass mount is removable for cleaning and can be swapped with either a clear or UV/IR block glass as required.
CS/C-mount lens compatibility: Camera has a C-Mount female threaded front with 12.5mm sensor-to-flange spacing allowing use of CS Lenses. For C-Mount lenses, an optional 5mm extension is required, producing the required 17.5mm sensor-to-flange spacing.
Astro filter thread adapter: Included, 1.25" OD and 2 OD (optional), Female thread
Sensor surface distance from flat end of CS-mount adapter: 12.5 mm
Sensor surface distance from flat end of 1.25" / M42 Astro adapter: 37 mm
Power consumption:
0.3 W (standby)
0.97w (running)
Max operating temp: 50 °C
Lowest operating temp: -10 °C
Max operating humidity: 80 % RH
Power source in Volts: 5V DC (via USB cable)
Dust caps included:
Protective silicon dust trapping end-cap for camera CS-thread.
Plastic end cap for 1.25" nosepiece.