ZWO ASI178 User manual

ASI178 Manual
Revision 1.3
Aug, 2021
All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice
and its copyright totally belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.

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Table of Contents
ASI178 Manual...............................................................................................................................1
1. Instruction.................................................................................................................................3
2. Camera Models and Sensor Type .............................................................................................4
3. What's in the box?.....................................................................................................................5
4. Camera technical specifications................................................................................................6
5. QE Graph & Read Noise...........................................................................................................7
6. Getting to know your camera....................................................................................................9
6.1 External View......................................................................................................................9
6.2 Power consumption:............................................................................................................9
6.3 Protect Window...................................................................................................................9
6.4 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................10
6.5 Binning..............................................................................................................................10
7. How to use your camera..........................................................................................................11
8. Clean the camera and redry desiccant.....................................................................................13
9. Mechanical drawing................................................................................................................14
10. Servicing.........................................................................................................................15
11. Warranty .........................................................................................................................15

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1. Instruction
Congratulations and thank you for buying one of our ASI Cameras！This manual will
give you a brief introduction to your ASI camera. Please read it thoroughly. If you
have any other questions, please submit it on the ZWO support site:
https://support.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
ASI178 Cameras are designed for astronomical photography.
Its excellent performance and multifunctional usage will impress you a lot!
For software installation instructions and other technical information please refer to
“Support”on our official website:
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/

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2. Camera Models and Sensor Type
There are 4 types ofASI178 models:
Models
Mono or Color
Regulated TEC Cooling
Sensor
ASI178MM
Mono
No
IMX178
ASI178MC
Color
No
IMX178
ASI178MM-COOL
(Discontinued)
Mono
Yes
IMX178
ASI178MC-COOL
(Discontinued)
Color
Yes
IMX178
Which camera to choose:
Monochrome camera sensors are capable of higher details and sensitivity than color sensors, but
you need additional accessories such as filter wheel and filters. The post-processing is more
complicated too. So color camera is often recommended for beginner of astrophotographer.
TEC cooling will help to reduce dark current noise for long exposures. For short exposures, such
as under one second, the dark current noise is very low. However, cooling is recommended for
DSO imaging when long exposures are required.

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3. What's in the box?
ASI178MM or ASI178MC

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4. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
1 / 1.8″CMOS
Diagonal
8.95mm
Resolution
6.4 Mega Pixels 3096*2080
Pixel Size
2.4µm
Image area
7.4mm * 5mm
Max FPS at full resolution
60FPS
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32µs-1000s
Read Noise
1.4~2.2e
QE peak
TBD
Full well
15k e
ADC
14 bit
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
2″/ 1.25″/ M42X0.75
Protect window
AR/IR-Cut window
Dimensions
62mm
Weight
120g
Back Focus Distance
12.5mm
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX
Working Temperature
-5°C—45°C
Storage Temperature
-20°C—60°C
Working Relative Humidity
20%—80%
Storage Relative Humidity
20%—95%

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5. QE Graph & Read Noise
QE and Read Noise are the most important parameters to measure the performance of a camera.
Higher QE and lower Read Noise are needed to improve the SNR of an image.
Mono 178 sensor Relative QE Curve
Color 178 sensor Relative QE Curve

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Read Noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise, and the
lower the better.
The Read Noise of the ASI178 cameras is extremely lower when compared with traditional CCD
cameras. It is even lower when the camera is set at a higher gain.
Depending on your target, you can set the Gain lower for higher Dynamic Range (longer exposure)
or set the Gain higher for lower noise (such as short exposure or lucky imaging).

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6. Getting to know your camera
6.1 External View
6.2 Power consumption:
ASI cameras are designed to have very low power consumption which is around 170ma@5V. You
only need the USB cable to power up the camera.
6.3 Protect Window
ASI178MM uses AR protective window. Dimension 21mm, thickness 1.1mm.
ASI178MC uses IR-Cut protective window. Dimension 21mm, thickness 1.1 mm.
1/4” screw
You can mount to tripod
ST4 guide port
USB3.0 & USB2.0 IN
ASI178MM: AR protect
window, D21*1.1mm
ASI178MC: IR-Cut protect
window, D21*1.1mm

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6.4 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)
The ASI178 camera records in 10bit ADC and 14bit ADC. You can image at a faster fps rate if you
choose to use 10bit ADC (high speed mode). This camera also supports ROI (region of interest)
shooting, and this smaller ROI has faster fps.
Here is the maximum speed of ASI178 running at 10bit ADC and 14bit ADC.
Resolution
USB3.0
10BitADC
14BitADC
3096×2080
60 fps
30 fps
2560×2048
62 fps
31 fps
2048×1080
116 fps
58 fps
1280×960
130 fps
65 fps
800×600
204.7 fps
102.3 fps
640×480
253.1 fps
126.5 fps
320×240
479.7 fps
239.8 fps
6.5 Binning
The ASI178 camera supports hardware bin2 and bin4 mode. The ASI178 camera supports
software bin2, bin3 and bin4 mode. Hardware binning is supported by sensor but is done in digital
domain like software binning and use 10bit ADC. The only advantage of hardware binning is
faster fps. We recommend customer to use software binning if you don’t care speed.

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7. How to use your camera
There are many adapters available for this camera for connecting to your scope or lens. Some are
included with the camera and others you can order from our site:
1. 1.25” T-Mount
2. 1.25”filter(optional)

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8. Clean the camera and redry desiccant
The camera comes with an AR protect window, which can protect the sensor from dust and
humidity. Should you need to clean the sensor, it’s better to do so during the daytime. To see the
dust, you just need to setup your telescope and point it to a bright place. A Barlow is required to
see these dusts clear. Then attach the camera and adjust the exposure to make sure not over
exposed. You can see an image like below if it’s dirty.
The big dim spot on the image (at right ) are the shadows of dust on the protect window.
The very small but very dark spot in the image (at left) are the shadows of the dusts on the sensor.
The suggested way to clean them is try to blow them away with a manual air pump. To clean the
dust on the sensor you will need to open the camera chamber.
We have a very detailed instruction on our website:
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/manuals/How_to_clean_ASI_camera_and_redry_the_desi
ccant.pdf

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9. Mechanical drawing
ASI178MM/ASI178MC

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10. Servicing
For software upgrades please refer to “Support-manual and software”on our official website.
https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
For repairs and consultation: https://support.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
For customers who bought the camera from your local dealer, dealer is responsible for the
customer service.
11. Warranty
We provide 2-year warranty for our products. We offer repair service or replacement for free if the
camera doesn’t work within warranty period.
After the warranty period, we continue to provide repair support and service on a charged
basis.This warranty does not apply to damage that occurred as a result of abuse or misuse, or
caused by a fall or any other transportation failures after purchase.
Customer must pay for shipping when shipping the camera back for repair or replacement.