ZWO ASI2600 User manual

ASI2600 Manual
Revision 1.2
Jan, 2021
All materials related to this publication are subject to change without notice and its
copyright totally belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.
Please download the latest version from our Official website.

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Table of Contents
ASI2600 Manual.............................................................................................................................1
1. Instruction.....................................................................................................................................3
2. What's in the box?.........................................................................................................................4
3. Camera technical specifications....................................................................................................5
4. QE Graph & Read Noise...............................................................................................................6
5. Getting to know your camera........................................................................................................8
5.1 External View......................................................................................................................8
5.2 Power Consumption............................................................................................................9
5.3 DDR Buffer.........................................................................................................................9
5.4 Cooling System...................................................................................................................9
5.5 Back Focus Distance.........................................................................................................10
5.6 Protective Window............................................................................................................10
5.7 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................11
5.8 Binning..............................................................................................................................12
5.9 Tilt Adjustment..................................................................................................................12
6. How to use your camera .............................................................................................................13
7. Mechanical drawing....................................................................................................................17
8. Servicing.................................................................................................................................18
9. Warranty .....................................................................................................................................18

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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 take the time to read it thoroughly and if you have
any other questions, feel free to contact us at the support page of the ZWO site:
https://support.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
Welcome to join ZWO FB and User Forum below!
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ZwoDesignAstronomyCameras
User Forum: https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
ASI2600 Camera is specifically designed for astronomical photography. It is not only suitable for
DSO imaging but also for Planetary imaging. You will be impressed by its superior performance
and wide use!
Model
Mono/Color
（TEC）Cooling
DDR3 Buffer
Sensor
ASI2600MC Pro
Color
Two Stage
256MB
SONY IMX571
ASI2600MM Pro
Mono
Two Stage
256MB
SONY IMX571
For software installation instructions and other technical information, please refer to our official
website: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/

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2. What's in the box?
ASI2600

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3. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
SONY IMX571 CMOS
Diagonal
28.3mm
Resolution
26 Mega Pixels
6248*4176
Pixel Size
3.76μm
Image area
23.5*17.5mm
Max FPS at full resolution
3.51FPS
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32μs-2000s
Read Noise
1.0-3.3e
QE peak
Above 80% (OSC)
Around 91%(mono)
Full well
50ke
ADC
16bit
DDR3 buffer
256MB
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
M42*0.75
Protect window
AR window (mono)
IR CUT (OSC)
Dimensions
90mm
Weight
0.7kg
Back Focus Distance
17.5mm
Cooling:
Regulated Two Stage TEC
Delta T
35°C below ambient
Cooling Power consumption
12V at 3A Max
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX

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4. QE Graph & Read Noise
QE and Read noise are the most important parts to measure the performance of a camera.
Higher QE and Lower read noise are needed to improve the SNR of an image.
For ASI2600MC Pro, the QE peak value is above 80%.
For ASI2600MM Pro, the QE peak value is around 91%.
(The QE curve of ASI2600MM Pro)
Read noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise. The lower
the better.
As you can see, the Read Noise of the ASI2600 camera is extremely low when compared with
traditional CCD cameras. In addition, it is with Built-in HCG mode, which can effectively reduce
read noise at high gain and keep the same wide dynamic range for this camera as at low 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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5. Getting to know your camera
5.1 External View
1. Protective Window, D60*2mm,AR window for mono camera, IR CUT for color camera
2. Tilt adjustment ring which can be removed, M42*0.75 thread, thickness 5mm
3. Radiator
4. USB2.0 Hub
5. USB3.0/USB2.0 Interface
6. Cooling power supply DC power port: size 5.5 * 2.1mm, positive inside and negative outside,
12V@3A power is recommended.
7. Ultra-quiet magnetic levitation fan, will rotate only when the cooling is on.
The camera can be placed on a holder ring for Cooled cameras with a 1/4”thread under the ring.
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5.2 Power Consumption
ASI2600 camera is with low power consumption, max at 4.7W USB3.0 cable is recommended for
power supply.
Recommended power supply for cooling: 12V @ 3A DC adapter (5.5×2.1mm, center pole
positive).Also suitable: lithium battery with 11-15V.
Here is theASI2600 cooling efficiency graph.
5.3 DDR Buffer
The ASI2600 Pro camera includes a 256MB DDR3 memory buffer to ensure the stability of data
transmission.
5.4 Cooling System
The Cooling system of ASI2600 camera can precisely control the sensor temperature. Unlike
traditional CCD, theASI2600 camera has ultra-low readout noise, efficient cooling, and adjustable

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gain. There is no need to use ultra-long exposures to shoot targets, which significantly reduces the
requirements for the photography system as well as the guide system. However, if you use short
exposures (for example, less than 100ms), the effect of cooling on the image will be little. Cooling
system can be set to a minimum temperature of 35 ℃below ambient temperature.
Here’s the dark current curve ofASI2600 sensor between -25℃and 30℃
5.5Back Focus Distance
The female flange to the sensor is 17.5mm. You can reach 55mm back focus distance with the
21mm and 16.5mm extender included in the camera package.
5.6Protective Window
There is a protective window in front of the 2600 camera sensor, with 60mm diameter and 2mm
thickness.
ASI2600MM Pro uses anAR coated filter, while ASI2600MC Pro uses IR CUT filter.