QHY 600M-PH - Cooled BSI Monochrome Camera - Full Frame Sensor, Photographic Version - 110060

The QHY 600M-PH at a Glance:

• Photographic Grade (PH) for Astrophotographers

• IMX455 Exmor Monochrome Sensor (35mm format, BSI, Industrial Grade)

• 3.76um Pixel Size

• 61.17 Effective Megapixels

• 16-Bit A/D

• 2GB DDR3 Memory

• Air-Cooled & Anti-Dew

• Back Focal Length of 17.5 mm with 6mm for CAA

• Body Length of 142 mm

QHY 600M-PH Overview:

A monochrome, back-illuminated, high-sensitivity, astronomical imaging camera like the QHY600 is the ideal choice for astro-imagers. All QHY600 series cameras use The Sony Exmor IMX455, a BSI full frame (35mm format) sensor with 3.76um pixels and native 16-bit A/D.  

• Extremely low dark current (0.002e/p/s@-20C) using Sony Exmor BSI CMOS technology.

• Zero amplifer glow.

• Only one electron of read noise at high gain and full resolution and 4FPS 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, time domain astronomy, fluorescence imaging, DNA sequencing and microscopy.

2GB DDR3 Memory: In order to provide smooth uninterrupted data transfer of the entire 60MP sensor at high speed, the QHY600-PH has a 2GB DDR3 image buffer. The pixel count of the latest generation of CMOS sensors is very high resulting in greater memory requirements for temporary and permanent storage. When using some computers that do not have fast processors or have poor support for USB 3.0, the computer can’t transfer high-speed data well, and the data is often lost. The DDR can buffer a lot of image data and send it to the computer. Even if the USB 3.0 transmission frequently gets suspended, it will ensure that data is not lost.

For example, the QHY600 sensor produces about 120MB of data per frame. The data band-width is also increased from the original 16-bits to the current 32-bits. Transferring such a large file size necessarily requires the camera to have sufficient memory. This large image buffer meets the needs of high-speed image acquisition and transmission of the new generation of CMOS, making shooting of multiple frames smoother and less stuttered, further reducing the pressure on the computer CPU.

Native 16 bit A/D: The IMX455 Sony sensor has native 16-bit A/D on-chip. The output is real 16-bits with 65,536 levels. Compared to 12-bit and 14-bit A/D, a 16-bit A/D yields higher sample resolution and the system gain will be less than 1e-/ADU with no sample error noise and very low read noise.

BSI: One benefit of the back-illuminated CMOS structure is improved full well capacity. In the back-illuminated sensor the light is allowed to enter the photosensitive surface from the reverse side. In this case the sensor’s embedded wiring structure is below the photosensitive layer. As a result, more incoming photons strike the photosensitive layer and more electrons are generated and captured in the pixel well. This ratio of photon to electron production is called quantum efficiency. The higher the quantum efficiency the more efficient the sensor is at converting photons to electrons and hence the more sensitive the sensor is to capturing an image of something dim.

TRUE RAW Data: In the DSLR implementation there is a RAW image output, but typically it is not completely RAW. Some evidence of noise reduction and hot pixel removal is still visible on close inspection. This can have a negative effect on the image for astronomy, such as the “star eater” effect. However, QHY cameras offer TRUE RAW IMAGE OUTPUT and produces an image comprised of the original signal only, thereby maintaining the maximum flexibility for post-acquisition astronomical image processing programs and other scientific imaging applications.

Zero Amplify Glow: The QHY 600M-PH is a zero amplifier glow camera.

Cooling & Anti-dew Control: In addition to dual stage TE cooling, QHYCCD implements proprietary technology in hardware to control the dark current noise. The optic window has built-in dew heater and the chamber is protected from internal humidity condensation. An electric heating board for the chamber window can prevent the formation of dew.

Sealing Technology: Based on almost 20-year cooled camera design experience, The QHY cooled camera has implemented the sealing control solutions. The sensor itself is kept dry with our silicon gel tube socket design for control of humidity within the sensor chamber. By the way, there’s no oil leaking.

Random Change Thermal Noise Suppression Function: You may find some types of thermal noise can change with time in some back-illuminated CMOS cameras. This thermal noises has the characteristic of the fixed position of typical thermal noise, but the value is not related to the exposure time.  Instead, each frame appears to have its own characteristics.  The QHY600/268/461/411 use an innovative suppression technology that can significantly reduce the apparent level of such noise.

UVLO Protection: UVLO (Under Voltage Locking) is to protect the electronic device from damage caused by abnormally low voltages.

Our daily life experience tells us that the actual operational voltage of an electrical device must not significantly exceed the rated voltage, otherwise it will be damaged. For such precision equipment as cameras, long-term work at too low input voltage can also be detrimental to the working life of the camera, and may even make some devices, such as power manager, burn up due to long-term overload. In the all-in-one driver and SDK after 2021.10.23 stable version, the camera will give a warning when the input voltage of the camera is below 11V.

Optimizing USB Traffic to Minimize Horizontal Banding: It is common behavior for a CMOS sensor to contain some horizontal banding. Normally, random horizontal banding can be removed with multiple frame stacking so it does not affect the final image. However, periodic horizontal banding is not removed with stacking so it may appear in the final image. By adjust the USB traffic in Single Frame mode or Live Frame mode, you can adjust the frequency of the CMOS sensor driver and it can optimize the horizontal banding appeared on the image. This optimized is very effective to remove the periodic banding in some conditions.

Reboot the Camera by Power Off and On: The camera is designed to use the +12V to reboot the camera without disconnecting and reconnecting the USB interface. This means that you can reboot the camera simply by shutting down the +12V and then powering it back on. This feature is very handy for remote controlling the camera in an observatory. You can use a remotely controlled power supply to reboot the camera. There is no need to consider how to reconnect the USB in the case of remote control.

Multiple Read-Out Modes: Multiple Readout Modes are special for QHY 16-bit Cameras (QHY600/268/461/411).  Different readout modes result in different performance. These readout modes are currently supported in the ASCOM, SharpCap and N.I.N.A.

Photographic DSO Mode (Mode #0)

This mode is suitable for most DSO imaging situations. Since there is a drop in the noise between Gain 25 and Gain 26 (unity gain), we recommend it as default gain setting; however, gain0 is also good enough for a 16-bit sensor.

High Gain Mode  (Mode #1)

 This mode is something like double native iso of some new digital cameras, whose danamic range can greatly incerase at the vary high iso value, like iso800, iso3200, etc. The high gain mode provide such improvement for QHYCCD 16bit cameras. We recommend you choose this mode when you have to capture at high gain, for example, a vary dark object.

Please note the switch point of HGC/LGC of QHY600 268/461 is 56. That means you must set Gain 56 to make the best of it.

Extended Full Well Mode (Mode #2) 

With a pixel size of 3.76um, these sensors already have an impressive full well capacity of 51ke. Nevertheless, QHYCCD has implemented a unique approach to achieve a full well capacity higher than 51ke- through innovative user controllable read mode settings. In Extended Fullwell Mode, the QHY600 can achieve an extremely large full-well charge value of nearly 80ke- and the QHY268 can achieve nearly 75ke-. Greater full-well capacity provides greater dynamic range and large variations in magnitude of brightness are less likely to saturate. 

2CMS Modes

Extended Full Well Mode-2CMS (Mode #3)

Photographic DSO Mode-2CMS (Mode #4)

High Gain Mode-2CMS (Mode #5)

Based on the three basic modes above, 2CMS mode can greatly reduce readout noise by secondary sampling while keeping the same full well value and system gain. We prefer 2CMS modes than basic modes in astrophotography. By the way, the recommend gain values are the same as their basic modes.

SPECIFICATIONS