ZWO ASI294 Series User manual

ASI294 Manual
Revision 1.6
Jan, 2021
All material in this publication is subject to change without notice and its copyright totally
belongs to Suzhou ZWO CO.,LTD.

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Table of Contents
ASI294 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......................................................................................................10
5.1 External View....................................................................................................................10
5.2 Power consumption...........................................................................................................11
5.3 DDR Buffer.......................................................................................................................12
5.4 Cooling system..................................................................................................................12
5.5 Back focus distance...........................................................................................................12
5.6 Protect Window.................................................................................................................12
5.7 Analog to Digital Converter (ADC)..................................................................................13
5.8 Binning..............................................................................................................................13
6. How to use your camera..........................................................................................................13
7. Cleaning..................................................................................................................................17
8. Mechanical drawing................................................................................................................18
9. Servicing.................................................................................................................................19
10.Warranty ....................................................................................................................................19

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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, please feel free to contact us at [e-mail].
Welcome to join ZWO FB and User Forum below!
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/ZwoDesignAstronomyCameras
User Forum: https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/
ASI294 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!
Models
Mono or Color
Regulated TEC Cooling
Sensor
ASI294MC
Color
No
SONY IMX294 CMOS
ASI294MM
Mono
No
SONY IMX294 CMOS
ASI294MC Pro
Color
Yes
SONY IMX294 CMOS
ASI294MM Pro
Mono
Yes
SONY IMX492 CMOS
Which camera to choose?
Normally, mono camera sensors are with higher sensitivity, better at high-demand shooting tasks.
But extra accessories will be needed, such as filter wheel and filters, etc. Post processing of image
is also complicated, thus we recommend the color cameras to fresh users.
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. So cameras without TEC cooling are
normally recommend for planetary imaging. For DSO imaging, we recommend you use cooled
camera since long exposures are required.
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?
ASI294MM/MC
ASI294MM/MC Pro

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3. Camera technical specifications
Sensor
SONY IMX294 CMOS
SONY IMX492 CMOS（ASI294MM Pro）
Diagonal
23.2mm
Resolution
11.7 Mega Pixels
4144*2822
Pixel Size
4.63μm
Image area
19.2mm*13mm
Max FPS at full resolution
19FPS
Shutter
Rolling shutter
Exposure Range
32μs-2000s
Read Noise
1.2-7.3e (OSC)
1.2-8e (mono)
QE peak
About 75% (OSC)
About 90% (mono)
Full well
63.7k e (color)
66.4k e (mono)
ADC
14 bit
DDR3 buffer
256MB
Interface
USB3.0/USB2.0
Adapters
M42*0.75
Protect window
AR window
Dimensions
62mm Diameter (uncooled)
78mm Diameter (cooled)
Weight
140g (uncooled)
410g (cooled)
Back Focus Distance
6.5mm
Cooling:
Regulated Two Stage TEC
Delta T
35°C -40°C below ambient
Cooling Power consumption
12V at 5A Max
Supported OS
Windows, Linux & Mac OSX
Working Temperature
-5°C~45°C
Storage Temperature
-10°C~60°C
Working Relative Humidity
20%~80%
Storage Relative Humidity
20%~95%

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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.
Relative QE Curve forASI294MC
Relative QE Curve for ASI294MM
Read noise includes pixel diode noise, circuit noise and ADC quantization error noise, and the

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lower the better.
As you can see, the Readout Noise of the ASI294 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.
When the gain is 120, the HCG mode will be automatically turned on. Additionally, the read noise
is as low as 1.2e while the dynamic range can still be close to 14bit.
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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ASI294MC

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ASI294MM

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5. Getting to know your camera
5.1 External View
Left: ASI294MM/MC
Right: ASI294MM/MC Pro
*The first generation of cooled camera we used a ST4 port instead of USB2.0 hub
T2 extender ring:
2”diameter
T2 screws inside
11mm length
Can be removed
Protect and sealed window
AR coated D32*2mm
Heat Sink
USB2.0 Hub
USB3.0 or USB2.0
IN
Cooler power supply
5.5*2.1 DC socket
12V 3A AC-DC power
supply suggested
Cooler Maglev fan
Only on when cooler
power supply is there
Protective and
sealed window
AR coated
D32*2mm
USB3.0 or USB2.0 IN
ST4 Guide Port